I'm lost

In LOTR, there is the chapter called "The Mirror of Galadriel." In it, Galadriel says thing that I feel can be very relevant to Tarot. She says that her mirror will often show her people and events far off, and that she can tell the mirror what she wishes to see. However, far more interesting for her are the events that the mirror decides to show her by itself. But even the Wise cannot always tell if what they are seeing is the future, past or possible future. Tolkein said it far better than I, but i don't have the book with me at present so I can't give you the exact quote.

Tarot does not always show us what is, but also what should be, or should have been. Context is everything. The reading should be interpreted to fit the situation, not the other way round. I don't know what your situation is, so I would remiss if I would tell you anything, but the Ten of Cups could be a ray of hope for you, that times will be better. It could be a sign that you should enjoy what is, and not what you wish it to be.

Again, flexibility is everything.

The 10 of cups shows a culmination point to the emotional decisions you've made in the issue at hand. It's a 10, and it's cups... you're at the end of the emotional ride, essentially. And it was your own decisions which put you in the space you're currently in.

I agree with all this good advice you have recieved.

To me the 10 of cups is not a happy card.
It's often the end of a relationship.
Had enough, its over.

Good luck working things out with your partner.
Wether you stay together or split up, I hope everything works out well for you.

And I have also known people who say it was all gravy before the relationship.
It's just a way of saying, Im not happy and it's your fault, or the relationships fault.
It doesn't have to be true, it's just an expression of dissatisfaction, and an attempt to lay the blame.
also it's often a case of selective memory. They choose to remember the good things before the relationship, rather than the bad.
The grass is always greener on the other side.

good luck

for me, ten cups suggests only the "idea" of emotional fulfillment, but does not say anything, except maybe in context, about whether this idea is an illusion, or an approaching or receding "reality" (again, perception).

from the bits and pieces I am picking up here about your situation, I would suggest that -- among the other meanings you are seeing here -- there might also be the idea that at some point in the past you imagined that this relationship would be a fulfillment of some kind . . .

zb

I don't generally read reversals, but perhaps this card was essentially meant to be read reversed. To me, that's what it sounds like your situation is--the 10 of Cups Rx.

When you don't usually read reversals, you often have to use instinct or intuition to read a card as its flipped version.

Just a possibility...?

zach bender said:

for me, ten cups suggests only the "idea" of emotional fulfillment, but does not say anything, except maybe in context, about whether this idea is an illusion, or an approaching or receding "reality" (again, perception).

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I had this card come up in a recent reading and it reflected a relationship that looked perfect to others but within the relationship the two partners were actually feeling unfulfilled.

I have often seen this card show up as "too good to be true" card. The 10s show the peak - the next step is away from that peak already. This card can show illusions, facades, clinging to dreams that won't come true, false ideals who hurt you because they have no place in your life... a lot of things can go wrong with the 10. It's that moment when you're at a party and you know you should have left 10 minutes earlier.

Astrologically, it's Mars in Pisces, and even if the trouble that Mars can bring is hidden from sight, his energy will burst out - already in the next decan. I suppose you read with an RWS deck that doesn't show the inner tension so clearly but have a look at the card. It's a theater stage, you can see the background is just painted. The question is, what will you see once this painted curtain is lifted. Under ideal conditions, reality behind the curtain will look just like the curtain.

If your life is difficult right now, take this card as jumping point, lift the curtain of the idyll on stage and look at what is really there.

ETA: Oh, and my advice is: you got your answer, now work with it. Don't pull another card. The tarot is not your servant who has to bring you what you wish when you ring, and it's not your student whom you check whether he's able to guess your situation just as you would have described it. The tarot shows you something you need to see and until you make sense of it, I'd really advise you not to ask the tarot about the same question again.

What you can do is pick a card that encourages you to improve your situation. If you know for example that you'll need a clear head and optimism, meditate over the Ace of Swords or the Star.

But don't keep pulling cards hoping for the "right" one. You'll only muddle your message until you really can't see it any more.

Nemia said:

Astrologically, it's Mars in Pisces, and even if the trouble that Mars can bring is hidden from sight, his energy will burst out - already in the next decan. I suppose you read with an RWS deck that doesn't show the inner tension so clearly but have a look at the card. It's a theater stage, you can see the background is just painted. The question is, what will you see once this painted curtain is lifted. Under ideal conditions, reality behind the curtain will look just like the curtain.

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^ The idea of it being a theater stage is something I never thought of before, but now that I look it seems so obvious! Thank you for that, it's another nuance to add to my understanding of this card and I'll remember it in the future.

This was actually a reading for a friend. Thankfully there were other cards in the spread that pointed to the problematic aspects of their interactions and what they can do to improve the relationship.

aquanesha said:

Today, I wanted to see about a situation and this is what I got.
The current situation -10 of cups

This is not true at all. The situation I'm in has not been a happy thing.

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But perhaps the card is telling you to look to being more positive in your reaction to life in general: regard the difficulties of your situation as a challenge to your optimism, your abilithy to extract at least one little moment of pleasure or one positive thought out of every day.

If you can do that, then your negative situation won't seem so overwhelming. So perhaps the card is advice on how to deal with your situation.

My first thought was the 10 of Cups could be a stage card. As example I always think about Angelina Jolie and Bradd Pitt. We thought that they had a happy relationship. But they worked hard to keep this illusion alive to the outside world.