ten of pentacles // creative prompts

hello, dear friends. our final piece on the ten of pentacles is our creative prompts, an assortment of questions and ideas designed to encourage you to make this card your own. i love writing about tarot and sharing my perspectives and experiences, but the reality is that i am just one person — and my relationship with the tarot might be (and almost certainly is) wildly different than yours.

that difference is a feature, not a bug. the tarot is so much more interesting and useful and provocative and powerful when we let the tarot meet us where we are, instead of trying to memorize someone else's keywords or associations for each card. i send these questions in an effort to empower you to make the cards your own, to engage with these cards on your own terms, to make space for you to walk your own path and make your own meaning.

the following questions are meant as inspirational springboards, rabbit holes and breadcrumbs, clues to follow and mysteries to unravel. use them as you like, for journaling or discussion or reflection or investigation, for creative projects or internal discovery or whatever strikes your fancy. let these be beginnings, and see where they take you.

what does the ten of pentacles mean to you? how does this card connect back to other cards in the suit of earth? how does ten represent an ending and a beginning simultaneously, and what does that even mean? what connections do you see between the ten and the ace, and how is this card a culmination of that energy? how do the nine and the ten represent different moments of ending, and what do they each have to offer in terms of medicine and encouragement?

if you were to step into the energy of this card, what would you see and hear and taste? how does the ground feel beneath your feet? how does the air feel in your lungs? what do you experience in choosing this energy deliberately, in making it a landscape and a place that you can inhabit?

what kinds of people or characters embody this energy? what does it mean to live out the ten of pentacles, to exist in this kind of headspace or mentality on a daily basis? what does a ten of pentacles choice look like, a ten of pentacles personality act like?

how do you feel about words like completion, perfection, endings? how do you know when something is finished, or at least when it's done enough? what does that even mean, and how does it connect to themes of success, ambition, and reaching your goals? what is your relationship with ambition, with legacy, and how do those concepts tie into the ten of pentacles in your tarot practice?

when have you pulled this card in the past in your own readings, and what has it meant to you? how does it reflect certain journeys or stories in your own life, and what do you associate with this energy? does this feel celebratory, restorative, exhausting, pressurizing, or something else? where do your meanings for this card come from, and how does that impact your relationship with endings?

finally, what medicine might this card have to offer you right now, in october 2025? how can the ten of pentacles support you, inspire you, ground you, encourage you to rest? what does it mean to celebrate with and through this card, to honor what you have accomplished and to look ahead with well-resourced anticipation?

reminder that if you want intermediate resources for building personal meanings for your tarot cards, i've got an extensive collection of journaling prompts available through the 3am.tarot conservatory as well as a gorgeous lecture on astrological correspondences that i did with my wife jeanna kadlec!

since we've now completed our adventure through the pentacles pips of the minor arcana, i'll be sharing new topical essays throughout the rest of 2025. stay tuned for some big announcements including year-ahead readings, my 2026 journaling series, and several grief-themed containers that you won't want to miss.

thanks for being here, and sending you a lot of love.