Ten of Disks

Ten disks like coins, each bearing a symbol, are arranged in the pattern of the Tree of Life, heavy with detail; the whole is rich and slightly inert.

Malkuth, Kingdom, in Assiah, the world of action. The Kingdom, the tenth Sephirah, the world as it actually is: matter, the body, the finished thing that has fallen away from its source and yet contains it. Malkuth is the Daughter, the final Heh. The Tens are Malkuth in the four worlds and show the element carried to its end, for good or ill; the Princesses belong here.

Malkuth in the world of Earth: the element carried to its end, matter fixed in matter, the last card of the deck's descent. Mercury in the last decan of Virgo, both ruling and exalted, is intellect fully embodied. Crowley says the Ten of Disks must be used, or it turns to the Ace of Wands again.

Mercury in the third decan of Virgo (20°–30°, about Sep 12–22). Mercury is the messenger: mind, speech, writing, trade, sleight of hand, the go-between. On the Tree it is Hod, Splendour; among the trumps it is the Magus, and the Magus's ape is the lie that language makes possible.

Virgo is mutable Earth: the virgin and the harvest, discrimination, the seed and the wheat. Mercury both rules and is exalted here. Its trump is the Hermit. The trump of Virgo is The Hermit.

This decan is ruled by the Queen of Swords, whose arc runs from 21° Virgo to 20° Libra. The two Shem angels of the decan are Chavakiah and Menadel.

The crystallised Actual: the cycle complete, matter as it is known, the end that contains the next beginning. Malkuth, the Kingdom. The Tens carry each element to its extreme; Fortune is trump X.

Sensation at its limit; the material world complete, and asking what it was for. The Disks are usually read as the sensation function in Jung's typology, an interpretive convention rather than a text of Jung's.

Rider-Waite calls the suit Pentacles or Coins. Its small cards carry scenes; the Thoth small cards carry the suit emblems arranged geometrically, with the keyword printed at the bottom and the colours of their Sephirah and decan. The Golden Dawn title (Lord of Wealth) is shared by both traditions.

Mercury at its best gives wit, eloquence, adaptability, curiosity, skill. At its worst: manipulation, lying, anxiety, superficiality, nervous overthinking.

Virgo (“I analyse”) brings precision, service, analysis, skill, humility, health-consciousness. Its shadow is perfectionism, criticism, anxiety, self-denial, getting lost in details.

Together: Mercury rules Virgo and is at home here; Mercury is exalted in Virgo, an honoured guest. Dignity explains part of the title and the Sephirah explains the rest: a planet at home in its sign can still sit in a hard sphere, and a weak planet can be carried by a strong one.

The Sun crosses this decan around Sep 12–22, so it is the decan card of anyone born then; their court card is the Queen of Swords. Find a birthday.