In the Thoth Tarot’s Suit of Disks, the ten cards from Ace to Ten depict the complete spectrum of the material world — from success manifested both internally and externally, through change and balance, through worry and fear, to tangible harvest and abundance. These ten landscapes are the material journey that each of us takes every single day.
Ace: Success — Inner and Outer Manifestation
The Ace of Disks represents success experienced both internally and externally. Internal success is represented by the four sets of angel wings, which symbolize the four levels of success in consciousness: mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical. External success is represented by the coins within the coins and the crystals within the crystals at the center of this symbol. This card represents success that is manifested internally as well as externally.
When you draw this card, it indicates that you are no longer willing to support the split of experiencing internal success without external success, or external success without internal success. This card means that success has manifested deep inside as well as externally. Among all the manifestation cards, the Ace of Disks is the highest — it represents the capacity to manifest or produce what you want in both the inner and outer worlds.
The Ace of Disks represents the opportunity to experience internal and external success manifested equally within a year’s time. It also indicates that this experience could manifest during the earth sign months of Capricorn, Virgo, and Taurus, or with Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo people in your life. The Ace of Disks symbolizes success that comes from being organized and centered both internally and externally. When you draw this card, it indicates that for the next twelve months, you can use and draw upon this gift of practical organization and manifestation.
Two: Change — Expansion and Stable Balance
The Two of Disks represents change. The Eastern Uroboros snake that eats its own tail reminds us that change is the only constant and that it moves in cycles. For the purpose of rebalancing what is out of balance, the serpent forms the shape of the number eight — the number for balance and adjustment. Change serves to expand our awareness, symbolized by the crown on the snake’s head. Change also reveals to us what is knowable and what is unfamiliar, represented by the black and white serpent. This black and white serpent is the Eastern representation of the yin-yang symbol, associated with the principle of unifying opposites.
The Two of Disks represents tangible changes that can be pointed to in external reality, reflected by the yin-yang symbols placed horizontally. The vertical yin-yang symbol indicates internal change, while the horizontal yin-yang symbol indicates external change. The change represented here is also elemental, because within the yin-yang symbols, the old alchemical symbols of earth, fire, water, and air are drawn in their triangular shapes.
The astrological aspect of this card is Jupiter in Capricorn. This is expansive, positive, opportunistic change that is also stable, solid, and secure. When you draw this card, it indicates that within the next two weeks or two months, you have an opportunity to make external changes that are both expansive and stable in your life. It is an opportunity to rebalance your life experience. The Two of Disks also indicates that within the next two weeks or two months, it is a good time to make expansive and more balanced changes in your relationships with Capricorn people in your life.
Three: The Works — Focus, Priorities, and Commitment
The Three of Disks represents the capacity to give things “the works.” It represents persistence, tenacity, and getting clear on your priorities and commitments. This symbol reflects the power of focus, priority, and commitment, represented by the pyramid. The three red wheels symbolize the alignment of mind, heart, and action. The clarity of what you want to give your energy to — and what you do not want to give your energy to — is symbolized by the blue light surrounding the pyramid. The lighted pyramid represents the power of intention and the clarity of priorities and commitments, which can break through any sense of confusion or obstruction — represented by all the grey waves in the background.
The astrological aspect of this card is Mars in Capricorn. Mars is the planet of energy, vitality, and assertion. The Three of Disks is the assertion of mind, heart, and action moving in the same direction. This kind of focus and intention allows things to become tangible and secure, represented by the astrological sign of Capricorn.
When you draw this card, it indicates that the next three weeks or three months are the best time to get clear on your priorities and commitments, and to determine what you want to give the works to and what you do not. It is also the best time to clarify or reassess your relationships with Capricorn people. Within the next three weeks or three months, your priorities and commitments may become so clear that you are able to tenaciously stick with and see through those endeavors that you want to make stable, solid, and tangible in your life.
Four: Power — Knowing Your Boundaries and Domain
The Four of Disks represents power, vitality, and forcefulness. Depicted on this card is a castle with a moat around it — a symbol of knowing one’s limits and boundaries, and of being very able to take care of one’s own castle or domain. This is the true meaning of power. Power is the ability to empower oneself and to empower others.
The astrological aspect of this card is the Sun in Capricorn. In astrology, the Sun is a symbol of your inherent dynamism or power. Capricorn is the astrological sign of being able to implement or apply your full power in the world in a practical and tangible way.
When you draw this card, it indicates that within the next four weeks or four months, it is very important for you to know what your limits and boundaries are and to be very comfortable setting them. It also indicates that any issues that came up during the month of Capricorn or with Capricorn people can be resolved if you are willing to honor your own domain, your own limits and boundaries, your own inner and outer castle — that which you have created for yourself.
The Four of Disks reminds us of inner and outer power manifested through the four towers, which represent the four levels of consciousness or the four elements. Air is associated with mental power, water with emotional fluidity and power, fire with spiritual energy, life force, and vitality, and earth with our physical health and well-being.
Five: Worry — Anxiety and Rumination about External Things
The Five of Disks represents worry, physical concern, and rumination. This is worry about external things involving health, finances, work, creativity, or relationships. Astrologically, the aspect represented here is Mercury in Taurus, which could also reflect worry about communication and how that communication is being received or coming across. It could also be worry about your own productivity and your ability to implement or apply your communication effectively.
Whenever you draw this card, it indicates that within the next five weeks or five months, there is an opportunity to release worry about health, finances, work, creativity, relationships, or communication. You may also release old worry patterns that may go back to five months ago, five years ago, or to when you were five years old.
Worry is an interesting state of consciousness because it takes us to the future and to the past, and has us completely avoiding the present. One way to collapse worry is to stay in the present and handle things as they come up, without getting pulled into the “what ifs” of tomorrow or the “if onlys” of yesterday.
This could also be worry about Taurus people in your life. Within the next five weeks or five months, there is an opportunity to release worry patterns with Taurus people, or to release worry surrounding communication that affects Taurus people in your life. It is important to see which of your parents carried worry within his or her nature, because within the next five weeks or five months, you are no longer willing to be the bearer of family worry patterns — especially worry about health, finances, work, creativity, or relationships. The Hierophant is the major archetype that has moved through worry, and can be drawn upon in the next five weeks or five months to help you with old worry patterns imprinted from the past.
Six: Success — The Six-Step Formula for Achievement
The Six of Disks represents success, a symbol of physical attainment and accomplishment. The astrological aspect on this card is the Moon in Taurus. The symbol of accomplishment or productivity is Taurus, and deep inner satisfaction is represented by the Moon. In other words, there is a deep subconscious desire to have very tangible, productive results.
This card contains the formula for success, represented by six planets with their astrological symbols inside them. Saturn represents that success is achieved through discipline and step-by-step procedures. Jupiter reminds us that success is achieved by being open and flexible to options we may not have considered and to opportunities that present themselves. Venus reminds us that success is attainable as a result of following what has heart and meaning in our lives. The Moon reflects that success is attainable if we stay in our authenticity and truth. Mercury reminds us that success is attainable if we organize our communication so that context and timing are aligned. Mars reminds us that success is attainable if we put consistent energy into personal and professional issues, rather than expending uneven or sporadic energy.
The Six of Disks represents success that comes from deep within and manifests outward. It is the sense of success experienced internally, pictured by both Eastern and Western spiritual symbols joined together — the Eastern lotus blossom superimposed on the Western cross. Both symbols remind us that all outer success is a picture of what we can manifest and create as a result of being motivated from deep within. The cross symbolizes the ability to integrate and synthesize our experience, while the lotus blossom symbolizes the ability to open and unfold — both of which allow success to happen.
When you draw this card, it indicates that within the next six weeks or six months, you can manifest success by following the six-step formula represented by the planets on this symbol. It also indicates that within the next six weeks or six months, you will experience success in producing something that has deep internal motivation or inspiration for you.
Seven: Fear of Failure — Worry about Success and Limitation
The Seven of Disks is a picture of fear of failure, or fear of success. The astrological aspect of this symbol is Saturn in Taurus. The whole function of fear is to constrict energy or distort energy, symbolized by the planet Saturn, which people often experience as a feeling of limitation or restriction. Taurus is the astrological sign of productivity and achievement. This aspect is often experienced as feeling that your productivity or achievement is limited, or it can produce a sense of failing, or induce fears of success or fear of failing.
When you draw this card, it indicates that within the next seven weeks or seven months, you have an opportunity to move through old fears of failure that may have surfaced in the last seven months, or that go back to seven years ago, or as far back as when you were seven years old. These fears involve finances, health, work, creativity, or relationships. They are fears about something external failing, or fear that something external might succeed, or fear of handling success. This could also be fear of failure surrounding Taurus people in your life.
The number seven is associated with the Chariot. The Chariot is the major archetype of change, transformation, and movement. The Chariot can be used as a meditation symbol to help you move through old fears of failure. Within the next seven weeks or seven months, you have an opportunity to move through fears of failure or fears of success, or to release old memories of failure or of having failed.
Eight: Prudence — Wisdom and the Harvest Tree
The Eight of Disks represents prudence, wisdom, or the Harvest Tree. This symbol represents the Harvest Tree that manifests as a result of using prudence and wisdom. The astrological aspect on this card is the Sun in Virgo. Virgo reminds us that harvest can be generated by attending to details and using our organizational skills. Harvest follows order, not chaos; harvest follows trust, not control. Prudence and wisdom are those qualities of not pushing to make things happen, nor resisting or holding back. Here, the coins have exploded into flowers and are perfectly protected by leaves that embrace each bloom.
When you draw this card, it indicates that within the next eight weeks or eight months, you can experience harvest as a result of using prudence and wisdom, and as a result of organizing, systematizing, or attending to details. It also indicates that within the next eight weeks or eight months, there might be harvest opportunities through Virgo people, or that by using prudence and wisdom in your relationships with Virgo people, those relationships can bear fruit. The Eight of Disks reminds us of that state of consciousness that is prudent and wise — a state that does not move to extremes or overextend itself externally. It operates from a place of centeredness and integration, from a place of order rather than chaos.
Nine: Hitting the Mark — Tangible Gain and Benefit
The Nine of Disks represents hitting the mark — hitting the bull’s-eye. This symbol represents tangible profit, benefit, and gain in all arenas of our life: mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, and financial. The astrological aspect is Venus in Virgo. Venus is the planet of love, beauty, and creative power; Virgo is the astrological sign associated with balance, order, and organization.
The Nine of Disks reminds us that if we follow what has heart and meaning for us — which is the meaning of Venus — and if we organize and systematize things — which is Virgo — the results are gain. This is tangible gain, giving one the feeling of having hit the mark or the bull’s-eye, as represented on this card. Gain comes as a result of unifying our wisdom (the blue circle) with our love nature (the pink circle) in a creative way — represented by the green circle at the center of this card. Creative love and wisdom facilitate tangible gain in all areas of our life.
This card also shows that gain comes as a result of using our dynamic energy, represented by the three male figures in the top three coins, who hold the symbols of Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter. Saturn, the helmeted warrior, reminds us that gain comes from knowing our limits and boundaries and from doing things step by step. Mars, the young man with the feathered cap, reminds us that through our energy, vitality, and assertion, we can manifest gain. Jupiter, representing the king, reminds us that gain can come from being flexible and open to opportunities that can expand our leadership.
When you draw this card, it indicates that within the next nine weeks or nine months, there is tangible external gain as a result of organizing things (Virgo) and following what has heart and meaning (Venus). This tangible gain is experienced as a result of being dynamically assertive and magnetically open to following what has heart and meaning.
Ten: Abundance — Fulfillment and Stability from Within
The Ten of Disks represents wealth, riches, abundance, and prosperity. The astrological aspect represented on this card is Mercury in Virgo. Through your communication skills (Mercury) and your organizational skills (Virgo), you can manifest abundance and prosperity in a tangible way.
This card also symbolizes that by using your communication gifts (the three Mercury signs on the top three coins), your healing gifts (the healing caduceus on the bottom coin), and your inspirational gifts (the coins that hold stars within them), you are able to manifest abundance — represented by the Hebrew symbols for abundance in the middle three coins. This is wealth on every level of consciousness: mental, emotional, spiritual, financial, and physical wealth — made tangible in external reality. By utilizing communication, healing, and inspirational gifts, we can manifest abundance in a tangible way. The coins and the slices from trees represent the abundance found on earth — which is the essence of Disks.
When you draw this card, it indicates that within the next ten weeks or ten months, you can manifest abundance by communicating, by organizing, or by systematizing things in your life. The result is a better alignment with the principles of prosperity and abundance. It also indicates that within the next ten weeks or ten months, by communicating with Virgo people in your life (anyone born August 21 to September 21), the results can be healing, inspirational, and enriching.
A Complete Map of the Material World
From Ace to Ten, the Disk Suit leads us through the complete spectrum of the material world:
The Ace is success — the fulfilled state of inner and outer manifestation happening simultaneously. The Two is change — balanced transformation that is both expansive and stable. The Three is “the works” — clarity of focus, priorities, and commitment. The Four is power — knowing your boundaries, empowering yourself and others. The Five is worry — anxiety about external things, needing to stay present. The Six is success — material achievement through a six-step formula. The Seven is fear of failure — worry about success and limitation, the constriction of energy. The Eight is prudence — harvest gained through wisdom, order, and trust. The Nine is hitting the mark — tangible gain and benefit, the bull’s-eye of manifestation. The Ten is abundance — the completion and fullness of the material world.
These ten landscapes are not destinations to be reached once and for all. They are states that each of us experiences daily. Sometimes we stand at the peak of the Ace’s success, sometimes we fall into the quagmire of the Five’s worry, sometimes we rejoice in the Nine’s harvest, and sometimes we feel trapped by the Seven’s fear. The material world is not a prison to be transcended, but a canvas that can be continuously transformed and elevated through our focus, wisdom, prudence, and love.
References
Arrien, A. (1997). The Tarot handbook: Practical applications of ancient visual symbols. Tarcher.
