the solitary character descends into a hole in the earth. they leave behind eight neatly stacked cups, on the night of a full moon.
what is on the surface is incomplete, in perception or in reality. the moon, though full, is partially obscured. and the eight cups are not yet ten. furthermore, the way that they are stacked suggests a lack of understanding: we know that ten represents completeness, but the one stacking did not know just how close they were.
the character, mid-descent, gazes further down into the abyss below, looking at something that we cannot see: the card does not show us, readers, what is down there. it is possible that the character is as blind as we are. it is also possible that they in fact know very well what they are looking for, and see it clearly at the bottom.
abandoning partial solutions in favour of something deeper.