Divination Articles

Tarot Talk

Page of Pentacles

 

(The Page of Pentacles card is from the artist Ciro Marchetti http://www.ciromarchetti.com/)**

 

Let’s continue our work with the Tarot “Royals” by examining the Page of Pentacles. As always, we will begin by reviewing some basic information.

A Tarot deck has 78 cards. There are 22 Major Arcana cards dealing with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in our lives. There are 56 Minor Arcana cards that are customarily grouped into four categories or suits that represent the four elements dealing with day-to-day issues.

The Court Cards are a part of the Minor Arcana that can act as a representation of the family unit. Individually, the members of the Tarot Court represent particular personality traits, traits of people, places and events in our lives. These cards can also tell us about our own personality, and how it is perceived by others. I think of my Tarot cards as people, with each card having an individual personality. This is particularly appropriate for the Court Cards, as they are the most human of all the cards in a Tarot deck. Even the illustrations for the Court Cards usually show humans in the majority of Tarot decks.

Generally speaking, there are three different ways that Court Cards can speak to us in a spread: they can indicate personality traits of our Seeker or someone affecting the Seeker; they can refer to actual individuals in the Seeker’s life, including the Seeker; and they can refer to the general aura or atmosphere of a place or situation. Court cards offer us these descriptions of personality traits and of different ways of being or acting, so we can make use of these styles or avoid them, whichever is appropriate. Of course, the trick is to know which message is being given in a particular spread!

Instead of numbers, Court Cards have rank. The early creators and users of the Tarot lived within a culture that was layered according to rank, so it makes sense that the Tarot Court shows a progression from low to high. We don’t live in a feudal culture any more, however our culture has its own set of rules and ranks and roles. The Tarot Court can help us to understand the roles of parent, teacher, manager, laborer, scientist, priest, and many others.

The lowest ranking (but not the most powerless) Court Card is the Page, usually seen as the messenger or intern or apprentice (sometimes male, sometimes female, sometimes androgynous, depending on the deck) who is still learning of life and living, but who is also good at dealing with the unexpected. Being the lowest in rank does not necessarily mean being the least effective, important to remember when thinking about our Page of Pentacles. Next comes the Knight, the representation of strong, focused, and even excessive manifestations of his suit. Here is the mercenary whose reputation depends on his ability to shut out distractions and focus on the goal at hand.

Both the Queen and the King usually represent mature adults. The Queen manifests her suit in a feminine or yin or inner way, and the King manifests his suit in a masculine or yang or outer way. This manifestation does not necessarily correspond to gender; a man can be represented by a Tarot Queen if he has a strong inner focus, and a woman can be represented by a Tarot King if she projects a strong sense of authority.

The suit of Pentacles/Disks/Coins corresponds with the playing card suit of Diamonds, the cardinal direction of north, and the element of Earth. The cards of this suit are about the physical, earthly world, our physical bodies, and everything we need in order to maintain our earthly world and those physical bodies, including health and exercise. Pentacles cards talk about fertility, prosperity, and the wealth that can bring both physical shelter and mental and emotional pleasure. Pentacles cards can show a possible outcome or end result of our efforts, the product of our labors; they can give information about material manifestations of all kinds. These cards can represent discipline and diligence, and an interest in quality rather than quantity, but they can also indicate the influence of greed and avarice, and the lack of an ability to access or be aware of resources.

In its natural state, the element of Earth is cool and dry. When amassed Earth has weight; it is able to bind together or shape the other elements. For example, Water and Earth bind together to make mud, and a lake is shaped by the Earth that supports it. Earth energies are tangible, stable, and practical, and they are slow to change.

In the Tarot Court, the suit of the card has an elemental correspondence, and the rank of the card has an elemental correspondence. Kings correspond with either Air or Fire (depending on the deck), Queens correspond with Water, Knights correspond with either Air or Fire (depending on the deck), and Pages correspond with Earth. That means our Page of Pentacles represents Earth of Earth, where Earth strengthens itself and becomes a manifesting force.

Like the other cards of the Tarot, Court Cards have astrological correspondences. Our Page of Pentacles corresponds with the season of Spring and the signs of Aries, Taurus and Gemini.

Aries is a catalyst, a person that inspires others by being totally committed to his or her own vision. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, the leader of the pack who prefers to initiate than to follow. The great strength of those born under this sign is found in their initiative, courage and determination.

Taurus, the second sign of the zodiac, is all about reward. Physical pleasures, material goods, and soothing surroundings, the good life in all its guises, are all heaven on Earth to those born under this sign. Taurus is a true-blue, loyal sign as well, and slow to anger; like the element of Earth, Taurus is about strength of body as well as strength of heart.

Gemini is about communication of all kinds, and about collecting information and stimulating the mind. Geminis are a mix of yin and yang, and they can easily see both sides of an issue; they are all about the intellect and the thinking process. Gemini rules the nervous system, and calmness is a quality they need to cultivate in order to remain effective.

Our Page of Pentacles offers leadership by communicating goals, inspiring others to create solutions, and reminding us of the well-being created by manifesting a mutual goal through the ideas and support of the group.

Because they are Minor Arcana cards, Court Cards also correspond with a sephira on the Tree of Life. The Pages correspond with the sephira of Malkuth, along with the Tens of the Minor Arcana and the element of Earth. Malkuth is the bottom sephira on the Tree, corresponding with our physical world, and opposite of Kether at the top of the Tree, corresponding with the purest form of Deity, mostly unknowable by physical world beings. Malkuth is located at the bottom of the Pillar of Balance and is receptive in nature; it receives emanations from all the other sephiroth on the Tree.

Pages are often associated with the Ace of their suit; the Ace of Pentacles is the root of the powers of Earth (not the manifested powers, but the beginnings of them), and the potential for those powers to manifest. The Ace of Pentacles tells us that we could be presented with the opportunity to deal with the physical world and with manifestation of some kind of goal, possibly connected to health, home or career, with the potential to have a real-world impact. Pages are also seen as representing a more immature version of the Queen of their suit; the Queen of Pentacles represents someone who is a caregiver of some kind whose life skills include the ability to nurture others and to serve with generosity of spirit and without self-interest. The Page of Pentacles offers us this potential and asks us to embrace it.

The Thoth Tarot Princess of Disks is the card on the cover of DuQuette’s book, “Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot,” and it is a beautiful image. This Princess screams fertility; she holds a many-segmented seed in one hand, and a diamond-tipped wand, representing the concept of as above, so below. She may stand in front of a grove of dying trees, but she brings fertility and regeneration, and new life (she appears to be pregnant). She is generous, kind, diligent, courageous and benevolent. Crowley equates the fertility and limitless potential of this card with the lottery: no matter how many times a particular number has been drawn in the past, each new draw presents the same odds of it being drawn again, or not being drawn.

The Llewellyn Welsh Page of Pentacles stands in an open field, surrounded by beautiful flowers, green growth, and even some harvest, with mountains in the distance. Our Page is dressed in sturdy clothes appropriate for travelling, with booted feet and a cloak that billows in the breeze. This card represents the enthusiastic youth about to enter the world of business, a reliable, hard worker or a serious student, an offer or communication regarding some kind of exchange, and the asking of good questions.

The image on the Wild Unknown Daughter of Pentacles is a fawn, covered with spots, ears pricked forward. She is filled with child-like wonder, watching and learning, curious and eager to experience the great mystery that is the world around her, yet hesitant, even uneasy at times. But her hesitation does not last for very long, because her curiosity (flavored with gentleness and purity) is more powerful. The delights of the forest await her, and she is eager to begin!

The Legacy of the Divine Page of Coins, dressed in green and gold with the symbol of Earth at her throat and flowers in her brown hair, offers her golden Pentacle. She shares with us the tools of manifestation and asks us to learn the skills necessary to use these tools to increase and support our own well-being, manifesting health, wealth and the pleasure of living, as well as luck and resources. Don’t hesitate to begin from a humble place, keep things simple, and look for quality rather than quantity in all things.

The Page of Pentacles is realistic, pragmatic, diligent and focused, and yet filled with curiosity and the need to touch in order to believe. This Page gathers details, studies hard and considers carefully, and yet enjoys the pleasures of the body’s senses and respects the earth. The Page of Pentacles reminds us to listen to our body and what it is trying to tell us, to be patient, responsible and conscientious, to follow instructions, and to embrace with enthusiasm the many ways that fertility can manifest within our lives. Education is important to this Page, as is everything connected to education: student, teachers, secretaries, curators, coaches, archivists and librarians, event coordinators, social workers, and even animal trainers; the list is long. News and communications of all kinds are also important to the Page of Pentacles, especially news regarding business, health, birth, commerce, and all other physical matters.

Pages are really good at thinking out of the box. They don’t have fixed expectations because of their inexperience, and this can be very beneficial to most situations. When we don’t know that the odds are against us, we are more courageous and more eager to think and act in new ways and try out new methods. Pages may often be discounted or underestimated because of their lack of past experience, giving them an edge, and often those in power assume that the messenger does not understand the content of the message, something else that can tilt things in a good direction.

Earth of Earth that is the Page of Pentacles is an extraordinary and powerful manifesting force; combine this with the fertility of the element and the youthful openness of the rank, and nothing will prevent success!

** We Feature the art of Ciro Marchetti as part of Tarot Talk. You can view his work and Decks at http://www.ciromarchetti.com/.

***

About the Author:

Raushanna is a lifetime resident of New Jersey. As well as a professional Tarot Reader and Teacher, she is a practicing Wiccan (Third Degree, Sacred Mists Coven), a Usui Reiki Master/Teacher, a certified Vedic Thai-Yoga Massage Bodyworker, a 500-hr RYT Yoga Teacher specializing in chair assisted Yoga for movement disorders, and a Middle Eastern dance performer, choreographer and teacher.  Raushanna bought her first Tarot deck in 2005, and was instantly captivated by the images on the cards and the vast, deep and textured messages to be gleaned from their symbols. She loves reading about, writing about, and talking about the Tarot, and anything occult, mystical, or spiritual, as well as anything connected to the human subtle body. She has published a book, “The Emerald Tablet: My 24-Day Journal to Understanding,” and is currently working on a book about the Tarot, pathworking and the Tree of Life. Raushanna documents her experiences and her daily card throws in her blog, DancingSparkles.blogspot.com, which has been in existence since 2009. She and her husband, her son and step son, and her numerous friends and large extended family can often be found on the beaches, bike paths and hiking trails of the Cape May, NJ area.

 

page