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The Tarot of The Old Path, also seems to see ruin in the Ten of Swords. Here a young man, dressed in the yellow color attributed to the element of Air, is seen with a sword piercing his chest; a wound to his heart which is also seen on the Thoth Ruin card. Seven swords at his back, two laying on the ground, under and over his right arm.

The meaning of this card seems to mean that complying with other people's ideas and methods will bring only defeat and ruin, if not bitter disappointment and pain.

Ah, the paradox of swords! This card indicates a new hope, a new direction born out of ruin and despair. The 10 of Swords card represents a mental conclusion, long sought, that has been a mental struggle which has rented asunder our plans and left us in an insomniac’s mental paradigm. One may have reached a conclusion that things are just not going to work out in two areas of their life.

1. Things of the heart (lower half of the image) as shown by the pierced heart
2. And areas of finance as shown by the balance scales at the top of the card.

This realization may cause one to experience a deep fear of "things not Working out" which only ensures that they don't.

The Astrological sign of this card is Sun in Gemini. Individuals who have their Sun in Gemini are very gifted at synchronizing paradoxes, polarities, and/or oppositions. Thus, they can look at all aspects of a situation, balancing the positive and negative aspects. This facility also can produce a deep heart-felt fear about the issues of finance, relationships, and creative initiative.

With powerful facilities of any kind, we have the Great Creative Pendulum of the Imaginative Mind that can swing from positive motion to negative motion right at the apogee of creative endeavors. When we are powerfully imaginative, we must also exercise powerful digression concentrating our thought on what we want rather than what we fear thus avoiding the negative swing right when we can see successful endeavor looming soon.

As stated, astrologically this card represents the Sun in Gemini and is the most destructive card in the deck. However, many astrologers state that, “The stars impel, they do not compel." This simply means that we are not slaves to our destiny but have the inner-spiritual capacity to improve our earthly life. Choices are to be made and a change of perspective is always possible.

Qabalistically the 10 of Swords represents Malkuth (Physical World) in Yetzirah (Astral World). The divination meaning of this card is ruin, death, failure, disaster. This is more of a death card than the Key 13-Death trump, which is more of a transformational card than a physical death. The reason the 10 of Swords can be more of a death card is that it is the Physical World influencing the Astral; the Astral being the foundation of the physical world where dreams become reality and some of those dreams, we most fear are nightmares of ruin.

What makes this card so very destructive is not just ruin itself, but also the fear of ruin which doesn't allow us to move on and therefore change our destiny.

The Swords on the Thoth Card are arranged in a Tree of Life format, showing us a break in the connection of "as above so below" which indicates our survival mind has closed itself off from the Higher Self of Spirit and wallows in its own fantasies of fear. There is destruction of relationships, ruin, death, disaster, complete disruption, and failure, fearfully dancing in the almost gleeful brain as it may laughingly plot the destruction of happiness in others who it blames for its failures. Not a great card. However, it is also a harbinger of change.

The Angels of the Decan are Dambayah and Menqal.

To reiterate; for Material things, this is the most destructive card in the deck and most people dislike seeing it in a spread; however, those who know and use the Tarot as an instrument of Divination, understand that as in Astrology, "the cards impel, they do not compel".

Since, by focusing our thoughts and/or expectations, we have the capacity to improve our life-motion, and the 10 of Swords suggests that we should do just that. Ethically this is no less moral than resigning a position when one sees a work-related disaster on the horizon. What moral is broken, when one is told by the cards," that if you walk in the street, you will be struck by a motor vehicle", and that person now chooses to walk on the sidewalk instead? Divination helps us make focused choices. We should use the capacities we are given, as we are not Slaves of any destiny outside of our own making.

However, this destiny control, requires us to "Above all things, know thyself", and to be an Active Personality, rather than a personality made by environment and/ or a reactionary presence that is controlled by peers, or cultural definitions, our destiny is that of Ruin, as our performance is always "after the fact".

The Ten/10 of Swords Ruin implies the horse is already out of the barn, and closing the door is a Band-Aid, not a solution. Something that our governments are slow to learn.

It's best to focus on what you are thinking, pay attention! For your thoughts create no others, nor their definition, as your thoughts are the operating fulcrum of your Life-Motion, they create your destiny! For a fulcrum to operate efficiently, a rigid base is a necessity. Thus, as in a "personality", which is a mechanism of the Mind, if the mechanical (personality) Fulcrum (thinking) must devote most of its energy trying to hammer out a permanent way of movement (overcome negative thought), while trying to overcome the counter motion of a "wobbling base", i.e. an uncertainty of Self, the outcome for proper performance is bleak indeed.

Again, I cannot overstate the necessity for "Above all things, know thyself"! Each of us must understand that by thinking ill of ourselves or of another, we only supply our body with ill thoughts that confuse our performance and ruin our destiny!

However, relief is on the way as 10's are notoriously short lived, they are the end of a cycle, and soon a new cycle begins. So, a Ten can also mean, the pain you are going through now is on the mend, especially if you are recovering from a physical or mental injury, where your movement has suffered a "ruin", but by focused perspective, you are aiding your recovery. A ten is 1+ 0=1, which is the number of Kether, on the Tree of Life, thus a cycle of the Tree ends, and a new one "down the Tree" begins.

The 10 of Swords card reminds us that with positives comes negatives and when thrown during a divination it indicates:

• The Divinatory meaning of the TEN/10 OF SWORDS is ruin, death, failure, and disaster. Since this card is in #10-MALKUTH (Earth) it is more of a death card than Key 13-DEATH, of the Major Arcana. DEATH, key 13, is more of a situational death, a transformation, whereas #10 of Swords- Ruin, is a "personal disaster" waiting to happen. 
• When and if this card shows up in the "house and Home" or "Beneath you" position in a Celtic cross reading, get a thorough physical checkup from your doctor and focus on your physical and mental health. 
• You need a "personality tune-up" and it’s time to pay attention to how you perceive the world.

Also:

• That in the next 10 weeks or 10 months, we will have the capability to experience resolve negative thinking about both finances and things of the heart. Especially our fear of ruining relationships with Gemini people in our life (May 21 to June 21).
• One will feel fears of things not working, or “I know this is not going to work" and are cautioned not to believe them and just concentrate on what you desire to happen.
• There is a positive here to understand, and that is just when we are about to achieve our goals, great fear of not achieving them shows up. So when that fear is experienced, one may now know it as a positive sign that a little more effort is needed to "get over the hump" towards successful pursuance of your dreams.
• When fear of ruin is seen as a steppingstone, its debilitating effect is greatly reduced, and we are there, wherever "there" may be.
• Swords remind us of the conundrum of the mind.... that if you think with great self-power, you can also be powerfully self-destructive. This is the paradox of the Artistic personality.
• Knowing that these moods of creative joy swinging into heart felt fear only means we are a highly creative thinker, can help us to avoid being a victim of our own powerful oracle, that is imagination.
•  Within 10 days, 10 weeks, or 10 months, choices for a new beginning may be seen, depending on how long we fear.
• Transcending one's old patterns does require a ruin of the past patterns so this card can also represent the realization of ruin if we continue with the patterns of the past.
• It can also represent ailments of the heart and depending on the cards around it, a visit to your health practitioner is advised.
• It is good to remember, however much doom our thinking is immersed in our future is fluid and can change in a moment just by shifting one of our operational patterns. We have the Power of Spirit, which is to identify and transform identity, moment by moment. This card tells us it is time to do so!

Thank you for your interest, comments, and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper.