The Tarot
Journey through the Major and Minor Arcana
Daily Draw
Tarot · Suit of Pentacles
Nine of Pentacles
Prudence and Material Well-Being
A richly dressed woman stands among grapevines, with a bird on her wrist and a snail at her feet.
What it meansFor Waite, the abundant garden suggests material well-being. The card signifies prudence, safety, success, accomplishment, certainty and discernment; the property may belong to the woman.
The FindingWaite wrote in 1911 that the garden was possibly the woman's possession: ownership and self-made wealth are not facts established there.
Tarot · Suit of Swords
Three of Swords
The Pierced Heart
A red heart pierced by three swords under a rainy sky, with no figure in the picture.
What it meansWaite gives removal, absence, delay, division, rupture and dispersion, alongside the sorrow suggested by the pierced heart. The image supplies the scene without a human figure.
The FindingThe Three of Swords is not Smith's only unpeopled minor card: Waite's 1911 Eight of Wands also has no person in its landscape.
Tarot · Suit of Wands
Ten of Wands
Oppression and Burdensome Success
A man bends under a bundle of ten staves, carrying them toward a village.
What it meansFor Waite, the principal meaning is oppression, including the burden of fortune, gain and success. Other readings include false appearance, disguise and betrayal.
The FindingWaite acknowledged in 1911 that the Ten of Wands has readings that cannot be harmonised, and explicitly rejected its association with honour and good faith.