The Ten of Ribbons

Sometimes, everything just... goes... wrong.

The woman is naked, curled up in a ball on the ground beside an outdoor soaking pool. Above her, a tangle of her ribbons swirls off in a tornado, leaving her behind. She has lost grip of the ends of her dreams and is no longer connected to them at all. What is there left to live for?

In a reading, this card presents the grim news that the Querent is done. The worst possible outcome is at hand. The path is ended. Things have not turned out as planned, and now it's too late to change that. People seldom plan for the end. As frustrating as this moment is, the Querent may take solace in the idea that he or she can not be any more done; the dead need not fear dying.

The Ten of Chains

Two women stand in the garden. One woman wears a karada made of chain, and is in the process of tying a chain karada onto another woman from behind. The second woman smiles back over her shoulder at the first.

This card represents the culmination of our relationship hopes and dreams. We have invested in ourselves, weathered adversity in our relationships, and we now have the skills of good partner selection and good communication which allow us to make choices that lead to solid, healthy, long-lasting relationships. We now have all we need to invest in the relationships that add value to our lives. The Ten of Chains usually represents a romantic relationship, though on a more abstract level it may also stand for a business relationship a familial relationship, or even a friendship.

This is not necessarily a "happily ever after" card, though, for all relationships require ongoing investment if they are to succeed.

The Ten of Books

The girl has developed her knowledge, increased her skill, built her own business, defended it against the whims of the mob, and now she does the most important thing of her life: she passes it on to the next generation.

In this card, we see the girl next to a shelf with nine books. She has a tenth book in her hand, and she kneels down to hand it to a young girl in pigtails. The book that she is giving the younger girl will inspire her on her own journey of learning and discovery. Will it inspire courage, or fear? Will it lead to joy, or cynicism? It is essential that the older girl choose wisely.

When it comes up in a reading, this card tells the Querant that it is time to pass on his or her knowledge to the next generation, and cautions the Querant to make wise choices about what to pass on. The values and ideas that he or she holds will serve as the foundation for others, on which they will build their own lives; that foundation must be built with care.

The Ten of Tentacles

The schoolgirl has been released by the tentacle monster; she sits leaning against the wall, covered in goo, while spent tentacles lie in tangled heaps beside her. Her eyes are closed; she believes the ordeal is over. She does not see a new tentacle, belonging to a different tentacle monster, reaching toward her.

This is the card of beginning and end, death and rebirth. The schoolgirl has reached the end of one cycle, and is about to begin another, regardless of how she may feel about it. In a reading, it reminds the Querant that nothing ever ends; there is no growth that is ever final, no achievement which does not signal the beginning of something new.