Exploring the Ten of Cups

Welcome to Tarot Thursdays! This week we will be exploring the Ten of Cups and how it can be used as a prompt or brainstorming in our writing.

Tarot is an interesting thing. It’s based upon symbolism and metaphors through imagery. With these images the subconscious mind is tapped into through the story provided. Not everyone gets the same thing from a piece of art. Each piece will influence each person in a slightly different way.

Introduction of the Card

The Ten of Cups is card number 45 in the deck and the tenth card of the Cups Suit in the Minor Arcana of the Tarot.

Let’s take a look at the following examples of Ten of Cups below.

Card Examples

Notice the similarities between them and take note of their differences. Do any of these move you more than the others? Take your time and allow these cards to tell you their story.

My Analysis of These Cards

In every one of these cards, it looks as though they have found their happiness. They are together with the other half of their soul and all is well with the world for them. The heart is at peace and for the moment, there is nothing to trouble them.

Themes of the Card

Each card has a set of keywords associated with it that serve as themes for its image. These keywords will vary somewhat depending on who you ask.

According to the Learning the Tarot website, the keywords associated with the card are:

JOY
PEACE
FAMILY

You can learn more about what this site has to say about this card here.

According to the Biddy Tarot website, the keywords associated with the card are:

HARMONY
MARRIAGE
HAPPINESS
ALIGNMENT

You can learn more about what this site has to say about this card here.

What this Card Means to Me

This is when everything is going right in the world. My boys are well and they’re not bickering with each other. We have food on the table, a roof over our head, clothes on our back, and a place to sleep. It’s moments of harmony like this that keep me going.

We shouldn’t always reserve these moments for just the end of our stories. Sometimes we should consider adding small moments of harmony for our characters throughout a story to create depth and humanness. Sometimes it needed to show why the character is striving for their main goal. Other times it’s what keeps them afloat.

The keyword I am choosing for this card is: HARMONY.

Music Playlist

In this spirit of all this, these are the songs I have picked out for this card.

The Writing Exercise

This exercise is a free write. Permit yourself to write whatever comes to mind based upon the theme of this card. Choose a keyword or key phrase and run with it to see what you come up with.

I would love it if you linked or pinged back what you wrote so I could see where you went with this.

Happy writing!

Mythic Tarot by Liz Greene (Author), Juliet Sharman-Burke (Author), Tricia Newell (Illustrator) © 1989
Dragon Tarot by Terry Donaldson (Author), Peter Pracownik (Author) © 1996
Universal Tarot by Lo Scarabeo (Author), R. De Angelis (Illustrator), A. E. Waite (Designer) © 2001
Tarot of Dreams by Ciro Marchetti (Author), Lee Bursten (Author) © 2015