Hi everyone
Very interesting thread.
I have been pulling a card each day to try and get to grips with this deck and today, the 10 of pentacles is the one.
I have read everybodys views on this card and especially, on the old man that sits in the foreground. I have learnt from studying this deck to never take any of the images for granted and also that there is a lot more within the 'stories' than you may see at first glance. I was especially interested in the threads that spoke of the skull on a cup (7 of cups) and the two faces on the girl (6 of cups). I had not noticed either of those details ... but from now on, as I study, I am keeping my eyes peeled! For example, I could see the old man staring at the dogs but it was not until someone here observed that he was actually petting them that I looked closer and could see that he is.
Now forgive me if my observation here is silly - maybe I have just misinterpreted what you have all been saying or possibly my eye sight is on its way out. From what everyone has said, I got the impression there were four figures in this card - the old man, the younger man, the woman and the child. Obviously, there are also the two dogs. Have I got that correct?
The reason I say this is as follows - when I looked at the staff/spear that was being held, I could not see it being held by the young man as it seemed too detatched and far away. It is also too far away for the old man to be holding it. Someone said here that the man that the woman was talking to was possibly not her husband/lover and just a guard.
If you look at what I think people are referring to as the arm holding the spear, in my eyes, this is a fifth person - the real guard. He is dressed in black and is leaning against the pillar of the arch. The spear is resting over his shoulder and it's tip touches the arch behind him. His head is dropped forward. He has quite long hair but on top, he is bald. Did everyone else see this already? Am I repeating the obvious? If so, I apologise, but if not, I hope I have shed just a little light on what seems to be a very complex card.
My other observations of this card are the pictures on the wall to the left. What are these? Is there anything written to tell the meanings of these images as I would be most interested? They must be there for a reason. My first thoughts (as a Rider Waite novice) is that the bottom one reminds me of a set of scales - maybe indicating a balance). To it's left, I can not make out the image, even though it does remind me of the castle (adventure) that erupts from the cup in the 7 of cups. I can see that the last image at the top is of a castle. Is it the castle in which this scene is based.
I hope that this thread continues, since I have enjoyed looking into this card very much and would be very interested to hear other peoples views and knowledge.
Best wishes to you all
Yaboot