Knight of Pentacles

Weekly Card Prince of Pentacles

July 19, 2013
130718 Illuminati PrinceP
Illuminati Tarot

We’ve met this hearty card before but he was using one of his other names:  Knight of Pentacles .  The beautiful new Illuminati Tarot deck  is one of several that use Princes instead of Knights.  The Enchanted Tarot  is another, and so is the Crowley Thoth Tarot.  You’ll want to note that the Thoth Tarot also uses Knights, but Thoth Knights are equivalent to Kings in other decks.

There are other names for Knights in some of the modern decks.  Two notable aliases are Brother, in the Tarot of the Spirit  (we saw one of the Tarot of the Spirit cards in the 9 of Wands post ), and Explorer in the Gaian Tarot.

What do you make of these titles, Prince, Brother and Explorer?  Explorer is very upfront about the Knights’ mobility.  But what’s with Princes and Brothers?  If our other choices are Kings and Fathers, we get a clue as to the differences.  Princes and Brothers don’t have the responsibilities of a kingdom or family to tie them down.  Although they have responsibilities, they also have more freedom.  What kind of lessons might the Prince of Pentacles be learning if he is in training for eventual coronation in the practical Pentacle kingdom?  And what sorts of interests would the very earthy Pentacle Brother (and remember, Tarot of the Spirit names the suits for the elements they represent) be pursuing?

We can see illustration of the Knight we were introduced to last month in the Illuminati deck.  Remember the image of tending the garden?  Notice where our ponderous Prince is standing.  Might he have come to the field to see how his investments are growing?  Notice that he’s focused on his Pentacle.  The material — facts and results — are his guide.  He’s always measuring his ideas for expansion against the visible reality.  If they don’t show results, you can be sure he’ll turn his big, solid horse around and go back to the drawing board to tweak the plans.  He didn’t get all that beautiful finery from wishing and hoping.

What if our Prince of Pentacles rides into an 8 of Swords situation?  How do you think he’d meet all that criticism and stuckness?  What would the situation become with his involvement?

How about a 9 of Wands (or 9 of Fire in the Tarot of the Spirit) situation?  What would the Prince do if he met up with the guarded 9 of Wands?  What would 9 of Wands look like when he was done with it?

Don’t forget about the nature and health aspect of the Prince/Knight of Pentacles.  Have a look at your own little slice of the natural world this week.  Enjoy deepening your knowledge of your body, your garden or the plants and critters that are part of your life.

Empower your inner tree-hugger!

Weekly Card Knight of Pentacles

May 31, 2013
Ciro Marchetti's Gilded Tarot
Ciro Marchetti’s Gilded Tarot
Rider Waite Smith Tarot
Rider Waite Smith Tarot

 

 

Welcome to the Court!

Court cards can seem as confusing as any attempt to manage yourself in a real court.  But once you know the rules, it’s really very easy.  And there’s much less chance you’ll hear “off with his head!”.

Court cards can refer to actual people in your life.  Once we get into the description for Knight of Pentacles, you’ll be able to relate his character to people you’ve met.  Court cards can also indicate aspects of yourself that will be important in a given situation.  Or they can indicate the energy with which circumstances will proceed.

Let’s look at the Knight of Pentacles — since he’s so kindly standing still for us — and then we’ll look at examples of each of the 3 applications.

Knights are the Air of the Court.  Air has lots of movement and operates in the mental field.  Pentacles, remember, are Earth, the material world.  So, if we bring Air into Earth — we get movement and ideas around practical matters.   But Earth is more dense than Air, so it will take persistent effort for Air to move Earth.

Not to worry, the Knight of Pentacles has that persistence and doesn’t mind working hard.  By the time he’s done, you’ll think a bulldozer’s been in.  And, being the embodiment of Air’s mental correspondence, the Knight of Pentacles knows how to plan and organize.  He’ll plan your garden, prepare the soil, plant everything, maintain it along the way, harvest it and make a profit from the produce.  Since Knights are in service to a calling (remember, they work for the King and Queen), they’ll just keep at their task till it’s done, for the betterment of the kingdom.

So who are we looking for when we look for an actual Knight of Pentacles in our life?   Look for that really practical person who keeps his nose to the grindstone.  He’s business savvy and can be counted on to invest wisely.  He may not move very quickly or dramatically, but he’ll keep it real and make sure the project gets done and everyone stays down to earth about it.  Traditionally, Knights are young adults of either gender, but my experience over thousands of readings says that it’s really the energetic commitment, rather than the actual age, that shows up.  Keep track of your own experiences with Knights to see how they appear in your world.

If we’re looking to the aspect of ourselves that is most useful (or, in some positions, a hindrance), we’re looking to tap into our practical side.  We’ll want to plan well, pay attention to details, and be prepared to work steadily in the mundane world to get things done.  We’ll have a change we can point to in the world around us when our inner Knight gets involved.

And if we’re considering the general energy around a situation, expect things to proceed slowly, step by step.  If you like intuitive leaps, progress will be maddening slow and infuriatingly logical.  If you’re reassured by well-planned situations that can be explained and improved gradually, you’ll be delighted to see Knight of Pentacles.  Again, we’ll be involved with the practical, the wise investment financially or naturally or health-ally.

There are some systems in Tarot that look to the Court cards to supply answers to timing questions.  The timing for Knight of Pentacles is Taurus in western astrology: 21st April to 21st May.  I have no experience to back up that tradition, so I’ll leave you to document your own experiences.

And keep on keeping on this week:  your practical investment is sure to pay off!
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