Weekly Tarot

October 20-26, 2025
Ten of Pentacles

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.
Carl Sandburg

This pivotal week, the New Moon of Libra arrives at the very last degrees before the Sun changes signs, taking us into Scorpio Season, with its gifts from the land of the beloved dead. We are nearing one of the most important thresholds in the Wheel of the Year, so it is no wonder that this card, itself a portent of signs and wonders, arrives. Say hello to the Ten of Pentacles.

Tarot legend, the late Rachel Pollack, notes that this is one of the “Gateway” cards, which would be appropriate for this particular time of year. Thus, the so-called gate cards of the Tarot open levels of information not intellectually understandable. Rachel has called this quality “the Strangeness,” which draws in the viewer, offering both information and also more questions.

In the Ten of Pentacles, the idea of a gateway is especially appropriate, since in it, we see an archway that is literally a gate.

But more to the point of “the Strangeness,” despite the superficial ordinariness of the scene, this is a multi-layered card full of magic. It points to the fact that in the mundane lies the most mysterious. For as above, so below.

Wonders Hidden in Plain Sight

Notice the placement of the ten floating Pentacle coins. They form the Qabalah’s Tree of Life, a symbol shown in its entirety nowhere else in the Waite-Smith Tarot.

In the foreground is an old man, wearing a richly illustrated, multicolored cloak comprised of astrological and ritual magic symbols. Above his head, on the arch column, we see a set of scales in balance, referencing Justice, and the settling of karma.

Is he a mystic traveler, a disguised mage, or the patriarch of the family depicted? Interpretations vary widely. I am personally fond of Rachel’s suggestion that he may be Odysseus, home from the wars, but only recognized by his dog.

Speaking of the dogs, the old man and the child connect, yet do not actually touch, through their love of the dogs. Dogs are also important figures in both The Fool and The Moon.

Further back from the old man and the child, we see a blue-cloaked man and scarlet-robed woman standing shoulder to shoulder. Are they happy, or are they turning away from one another?

In the man’s hand there is a magic wand – the only time one appears in the Minor Arcana. And not in the suit of Wands, mind you, but Pentacles.

And what is the dark, ghostly castle behind the old man? Is it simply a tapestry hanging on the wall, or is it actually another doorway to a shadowland that exists in counterpoint to the seemingly more “real” marketplace under the blue skies through the archway to the right?

As the final card of all the Pips (the numbered Minor Arcana cards), this is the threshold that leads to the karmic life mysteries of the Major Arcana.

As the gate of Mystery in our card implies, the most magical gifts of Life are right in front of us. They are not hidden but are not obvious, either, unless we know how to discern them. Like the symbol of the Qabalah Tree of Life, this pattern of power is obvious once you know how to see it.

Coming to a Divine Threshold

Today (Monday), the Moon squared Jupiter in homeland security-focused Cancer. Our Ten of Pentacles is all about things to do with security and home. But also, this week’s New Moon comes at the very end of the Sun in Libra, because mere hours later, our solar system’s star moves into the sign of Scorpio.

Thus, we are in a gateway of cosmic time itself.

In what will possibly be my last reference taken from her beautiful endeavors, since it was written before the heartbreaking announcement of her retirement, Lorna Bevan once again illuminates the synchronicity between the Tarot and the astrology of the moment. Earlier this year, in her monthly 5-D report, she wrote of this week’s New Moon (emphasis is hers):

The New Moon at 28° Libra forms a Grand Cross with Pluto in Aquarius, Chiron in Aries and Jupiter in Cancer. It is in the Via Combusta aka the Burning Grounds – the degrees between 15° Libra and 15° Scorpio – traditionally regarded as a testing field. Neptune stations Retrograde at 0° Aries returning to his own sign of oceanic Pisces to join Lord of Time and Karma Saturn there until Spring 2026.

The Via Combusta spans the transition from Libra to Scorpio—from the cardinal air sign concerned with balance and relationship to the fixed water sign exploring depth, power, and transformation. This creates a liminal or threshold space where consciousness navigates between different modes of being.

If you collaborate with this New Moon in the Via Combusta, it is a rare opportunity for:

• burning away the superficial
• greater passion and depth
• more profound experiences
• accelerated evolution through challenge
• breaking down established patterns to make way for new growth—like a forest fire clearing underbrush to allow new saplings to receive sunlight.

And so, here we are. At the end of the Pentacles suit, we either transition to the Major Arcana’s intimate soul lessons, or we recycle back to the Ace. Either way, this is no time for ambivalence. Set your intention, choose wisely, and prepare to act.

Then, our beloved “Heather Cox Richardson of astrology,” Elisabeth Grace, offers her vast experience and insight, which are so needed at this crossroads time. She discusses this important New Moon also, telling us:

The Ascendant is 9 degrees Scorpio, perhaps my least favorite degree in the zodiac. Why? Because 9 Scorpio is the Moon in the 2017 Inauguration chart, and 9 Scorpio represented the New Moon in Scorpio on November 1, 2024, that’s why. In hindsight, it was a screaming red flag, especially with its exact and brutal Mars-Pluto opposition at the verrrrrrry end of homeland-security Cancer and patriarchal Capricorn. Mars and Pluto together suggest extreme force. That pattern continues to drive the action in 2025, if you ask me.

A New Moon in Libra is an opportunity to focus on fairness, balance, justice and relationship, with a strong need for appreciation on both sides. Wherever it falls in your horoscope, that’s where you may plant seeds for renewal in these Libra concerns.

Because as magical people, we know that New Moons are the time to plant both literal seeds and the seeds of our intentions. And the Ten of Pentacles is going to be closely aligned with all issues to do with homeland and security. Elisabeth focuses on the placement, as well, of —

Venus — women, arts, money, worth, social expression — may be high-functioning in lovely Libra and striving mightily to bring together benefactors and groups of like-minded souls. However, Venus is stressed out by an obsessive contact with Saturn, suggesting streamlining and/or ambition. Venus is conjunct the Fixed Star Vindemiatrix — a/k/a the “Widow’s Star,” suggesting scandal. Venus rules the 12th house and the 7th house of partnerships and open enemies.

The North and South Nodes are activating the September 7th lunar eclipse. A curtain may fall; a genie may jump out of a bottle.

And of course, we have already noted that the Tens in the Tarot denote endings, with the next phase already stirring. So it makes sense that, as Elisabeth tells us:

The Sabian Symbol for this New Moon is “humanity seeking to bridge the span of knowledge.” Always, always, always in horoscope, we will have patterns saying the same thing. This Sabian Symbol echoes the Mercury-Mars in Scorpio need to consolidate knowledge, but with a piece of advice, according to Sabian sage Blain Bovee. 

Today, the unknown towards which you feel yourself drawn, may put you at odds with convention, with the crowd and with whatever mainstream media would have you believe. The challenge today is to neither feel too empty in the face of vast horizon over the bridge; nor to feel overly full of proud knowing lest your reach surpass your grasp.

Indeed. And with the help of the Ten of Pentacles, may we find our balance by appreciating that our wealth also includes the rarest, most irreplaceable treasure of all — time.

And in conclusion, our wise woman friend, astrologer Diotima Mantineia offers brilliant ways to harness the powers of this New Moon and the month ahead (emphasis is hers):

This Libra New Moon gives us opportunities to find some balance and harmony in our lives, to restore our souls and repair our relationships. The world is not going to get any less tumultuous anytime soon, but the Sun will be coming through the clouds and illuminating the beauty of this world. Despite the harm humans do to each other and to the planet, that beauty is still there. Always there.

Making the most of this New Moon’s opportunities will take a commitment to seeking out and gathering all the love, joy, and beauty that we can find in the world, multiplying it, and spreading it around.

If we have a vision of a future that includes love and joy and beauty then we need to acknowledge those things in the present, strengthen them within us and let them show us how to steer a course towards the world we want to live in…

Each one of us contributes our thoughts, emotions, and the resonance of our souls to this creative weaving of physical existence. It is not a conscious process, any more than breathing is. It’s just the way reality works. But we can learn to control our thoughts and emotions and expand our perceptions, which strengthens the influence we have on our world, though it requires consistent and deep inner work…

Echoing this understanding, our card addresses what it means to be a part of a family or a legacy handed down through the generations. Connect with your clan as a way to stay grounded and safe. It is especially important that we work to ensure that within our definition of family (either of blood or else our chosen families), we act as role models, support, and allies for the greater good. This is certainly not the case for many of those in power in our country.

The Greatest Wealth

Overflowing-ness is the message of the Tens of the Tarot, for they are the culmination-plus of each suit; the ultimate of the energy of their element, and then some.

And with Pentacles being about the Element of Earth — money, physicality, health, home, and well-being —  this Ten is certainly a card that insinuates affluence. Thus, we are invited this week to focus on the riches of the physical and natural world and observe this time of the final harvest (or early springtime in the lands below the equator).

In traditional divination, this is a very happy card to receive if you are concerned with a successful outcome to a project or job. It is certainly a card of long life, great satisfaction, and enjoying the fruits of one’s labors.

After all, it follows the Nine of Pentacles, the “wishing card,” implying that this is what it looks like when your desires are manifested in the physical world.

But what would the greatest possible wealth be, exactly? Winning the lottery with the highest number of dollars (or euros, or yen) you could possibly think of?

The mysterious elements of this card remind us that our ultimate assets are not from some vast financial empire or success in the marketplace. One glance at the old orange man-who-would-be-king of the richest nation on earth makes it clear that huge sums of money and even vast power do not bring meaningful pleasure or peace of mind.

Our real prosperity is to be found in our everyday life and the people nearest us. Within these most ordinary matters, there are forces of great mystery and power. The greatest wealth in the world is the world itself: our interconnectedness with our living Planet.

Legacy of the Generations

True prosperity is the kind you “can’t take with you.” It is the endowment that you pay forward beyond yourself.

Its source is the stewardship that flows from the Ancestors, to the Living, to our Descendants — those future generations yet to be. What kind of planet are we going to give our children and children’s children?

We stand this week at a brink of time between past and future, the fullness of the year in its last hurrah all around us, and looking to the final harvest next week. What did we sow, and what are we reaping?

This is our choice to make, by the small, everyday, ordinary actions we take. It is underscored in how we work to heal our world. It shines in our care and kindness towards animals, children, our environment, and one another.

One day, we will be the old one who sits outside the gate. How do we want our descendants to remember us? What will be our legacy, and to whom will it be given?

How might we move through our lives with more awareness? How can we be faithful to the nameless ones waiting to be born, whose inheritance will be what we are now creating?

With the guidance of this powerful Tarot teacher, let us vow that we will have lived so that we have enriched others and thus wear with ease the cloak of Mystery.

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