Barbara Walker Tarot - Ten of Wands: Oppression

A victor complacently watches his defeated rival fall into a dark, dangerous pit. Like Gnostic Christians who revered the defeated Lucifer, “Light-bringer,” and regarded the triumphant deity as a tyrant, interpreters of the culminating card of the power suit recall that absolute power corrupts and leads to injustice. The ten might mean misuse of power, selfish authority, and too much pressure generating resentment and possible mutiny.