That there above is the original line drawing for the Ten of Disks, decan Virgo 3. The Ten of Disks, Wealth, from Telos Tarot of 777. It feels so long ago, even though it was done during this decan in 2021, at least just the drawing and inking. The decan, and the sign, is ruled by Mercury. It is the last of the numeric disk cards, and last minor card of the numeric cards if you are going in order Ace thru Ten of each suit, in elemental or YHVH order of Wands-Cups-Swords-Disks. And it is the exact opposite to the actual last card of the zodiac, Pisces decan 3. So the card has a definite hint of endings and legacies.

Here are some of the decan images. Virgo decan 3 is one of the few that Crowley based on Agrippa’s image (a white woman and deaf OR an old man leaning on a staff) rather than the Picatrix image, as you can see he used the Picatrix image here for Virgo decan 2. I rather like his switch; the old age theme makes sense for the final minor. It aligns with the Bruno and Raphael images too.

Per 777: Cadent decan of Virgo: An old man leaning on a staff and wrapped in a mantle.

Here it is in color, done during this decan in 2023. (2022 I think was spent on the Majors) striking colors on this one. The main color for Virgo decan 3 is Black, rayed with Yellow; plus the colors of the associated Majors.

Colors of the associated Majors

The Hermit: Yellowish Green – Slate Grey – Greenish Grey – Plum The Magus: Yellow – Purple – Grey – Indigo, rayed Violet

The statue above was the inspiration for this old man leaning on a staff and wrapped in a mantle, as per the description. I think this is a figurine of a Chinese myth, the Divine Fisherman. He is holding a round basket rather than a cornucopia as shown in my image, and the basket is full of fish rather than the ten coins I’ve added. But the figurine almost looks like he is standing on a pile of coins, though that might just be the stylistic effect of the carving. The Chinese character for fish, yu, is a homophone for words meaning “plenty” and “affluence;” thus, fish are symbols of wealth.

The Divine Fisherman casts his line into chaos and darkness to bring forth the creations of the material world. The myth is seen as a metaphor, where the act of fishing represents the cyclical process of the continuous renewal of life. Within the story lies the theme and moral of contentment. The Immortal Fisherman learns that true happiness does not stem from wealth, but from appreciation of more simple blessings in life. His journey reflects the universal truth: that fulfillment comes from within.

A sad truth about this figurine is that I inherited it when I had to clean out a loved one’s house after they died, someone I loved very much, who was still very young but had an old soul. For me it thus echoes the card’s themes of inheritance, legacies, and inevitable mortality. So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Here are other takes on the cards:

RWS, Thoth, Tabula Mundi. RWS has the old man, perhaps at his estate with family. Thoth has the ten coins all marked with symbols of Mercury – except for one solar one, symbolizing renewal of a cycle.

Tabula Mundi has the ten coins as a sort of Adam Kadmon figure, based on the cards of the Hermit and the Magus. Here is the black and white version of Tabula Mundi, that I started in 2011 and released in 2015. Yes, I’ve been working with the decans for a long time! Before they became popular.

It shows how I combined the Hermit (Virgo) with the Magus (Mercury ruling the sign and decan) to make the Adam Kadmon figure. The supernal triad at the top of the tree has the Mercurial winged helm, and its two profiles – the three faces of deity. The pentacle the Magus touches with his right hand forms the Geburah disk/sphere, the galaxy he holds in his left hand is on the Chesed disk. The sun and the serpent on each side of his turntable are combined in Hod and Netzach, the Mercury lever on the turntable forms Yesod, and the four trees of life on the front of the turntable are on the Malkuth disk. The yod-flame is at the heart in Tiphareth. The coins are either rising from the earth-vault (crust of earth=Virgo), or sinking into it.

The Rosetta, started in 2008 and released in 2011, has the ten coins similarly marked with various but different Mercury symbols, and one solar, like the Thoth version. But all except the Malkuth coin are tied together, as the Chinese coins as a feng shui symbol of wealth. The Malkuth dangles free, ready to drop to the next world.

The deities are Cronus, associated with Saturn, age and endings, and Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home, where true happiness comes from.