The death card is driving me crazy. I can't see it as the ten of swords as I see the ten of swords more as the tower, the ending being rather a painful end, however, i can't think of another minor for the death card. is there any good threads about this, I did do a search but didn't find anything. maybe I am typing it in wrong. thank you.
Are you trying to connect the Death card with the 10/Swords? Most connections between the majors and minors connects the 10's with the Wheel of Fortune (You've reached the end of the spin and spin again), or the World (again, you've finished something—graduated—and now need to continue on at a different level).
The 10's are not usually connected to the Death card even if, like the Ride-Waite 10/Swords, they feature a dead person. They are endings, but Death is about something leaving unexpectedly and all that remains is an empty spot. Like a place you used to have coffee at, it goes out of business and they tear down the building. All that's left is an empty lot and who knows what will go there. So, you mourn for that. Death includes that, a period of mourning.
Something will take that empty place, but you'll have to be sad for a while till it does.
The 10's can indicate something ending o the earthly plane but going to a spiritual plane—or continuing on after the death. The 10/Swords, for example, tells the story of Solomon's architect who wouldn't tell secrets to two unworthy persons, and they killed him for that. He is dead, but his story continues on as an example to those who hear it, making them understand that they should die rather than reveal secrets to the unworthy. So, yes, he died, but he wasn't erased, gone, leaving behind nothing but an empty space. To the contrary, he left a legacy, a story, a lesson. It continues on long after him. A lot of the 10's are like that. Coming to an end, but leaving behind something that lasts and has an affect on the future.
Does that help?