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.