Llewellyn's Complete Book of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot

by Sasha Graham

  The juggler in the Two of Pentacles wears a “sugar loaf” hat, commonly found in England under the reign of Henry VI (1422–1461). Pamela’s theatrical background continues to influence her deck of cards. Shakespeare often used the symbol of the ship in his plays. They serve as powerful symbols and plot tools. Prospero summons a storm in The Tempest to wreck a ship and bring characters to his magical island. Twelfth Night’s Viola suffers a shipwreck where she is separated from her twin brother, thus thrusting the play into action. Ships are objects subject to unknown forces carrying the fate of man. We can gaze at the juggler standing on Pamela’s stage and wonder, is it he who juggles or are the forces of fate and the universe juggling him?

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: On the one hand it is represented as a card of gaiety, recreation and its connexions, which is the subject of the design; but it is read also as news and messages in writing, as obstacles, agitation, trouble, embroilment.

  Reversed: Enforced gaiety, simulated enjoyment, literal sense, handwriting, composition, letters of exchange.

  Three of Pentacles

  Mars in Capricorn—Lord of Material Works

  Grand-Word and Pass-Word and Number thine,

  Grades and Degrees to the height advancing,

  And the golden dawn and the glory glancing

  Far and away the secret shrine!

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  The enterprising Three of Pentacles is the card of collaboration. It reflects building, manifesting, and invoking creativity in the material world with outside help or expertise. One may embark on garden, home, or professional projects of renovation. Help is assembled for a creative project. A photographer assembles an assisting team. A couple seeks financial advice and guidance. Business collaborations are formed. The card implies growth in all areas, fostered and nurtured by one’s own hand.

  The Three of Pentacles leaps out viscerally. One can hear the echoes of the chamber, sense the cool stone of the chapel, and detect the faint smell of incense. The figures are theatrically adorned in the colorful costumes, especially on the hooded figure. Pamela crafts a deceptively simple image laced with rich historic symbolism and secret clues.

  The card brims in esoteric symbolism, yet Waite is coy when he describes the scene to his reader: “A sculptor at his work in a monastery.” What Waite conceals from his readers is that the sculptor is a Freemason. He suggests the reader “compare the design which illustrates the Eight of Pentacles. The apprentice or amateur therein has received his reward and is now at work in earnest.” The comparison reveals the Masonic nature of progression and building. The apprentice becomes the master, like the novice reader who becomes the expert, versed in the secrets of the cards.

  Monasteries act as containers for sacred space. Historically, chapels and cathedrals were built by operative Freemasons. An operative Freemason is a professional builder, the actively working Mason and stoneworker. Speculative Freemasons are non-builders who join Masonic organizations, like Arthur Waite, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. These men participate in Masonic practice and ritual without actually engaging in career Masonry. The Freemason on the card is identified by three Masonic symbols: apron, bench, and tool. The apron suggests work. The bench is an elevated space upon which to perform sacred work. The tool is his agent of change. Stop for a moment and think. When and how have you crafted sacred space for yourself? What does it mean to construct and create sacred space? Does sacred space require stone walls or something different? How does one construct an inner temple? What is the higher significance of your work?

  A Masonic legend lies beneath this card like Pagan relics buried beneath a Christian church. The story of Hiram is the basis for the Masonic Third Degree. The tale begins as King Solomon appoints Hiram to design and construct his temple. Hiram is culminating his project when three creepy Fellow Craft Masons (Masons who have received their second degree) barge in, demanding Hiram’s secrets. Hiram, forever loyal, refuses their requests and is killed. King Solomon declares that the Master Mason’s secrets are now gone forever. The moral of the story is fidelity to Masonic secrets. It also speaks to the acknowledgment of the unavoidable death that we all will face.

  We don’t see fellow Craft Masons on the card. Instead, we see a monk displaying the practice of tonsure, the practice of shaving one’s head to display religion devotion. The practice was popular under the reign of Henry VI (1422–1461). Monks with tonsure are seen at the feet of the Hierophant. A figure with a long caped hood (also popular men’s fashion during the reign in Henry VI) holds master plans next to the monk. A close examination of the master plan document reveals the outline of the space where they stand.

  The card’s three pentacles form the shape of the supernal triad (top pyramid or triangle) of the Tree of Life. Inside the three pentacles is a circle with a cross, reflecting two paths on the Tree of Life. Below these symbols is a rose cross, which suggests future development of the tree and the paths that will connect the next two Sephiroth when they appear. This triad is also found in the Three of Cups via the three maidens and their cups. The tree’s formation continues to evolve in the stained glass window of the Five of Pentacles. It concludes in complete formation within the Ten of Pentacles.

  Pamela deviates from her normal roman numeral design by placing the number three into the card as if it were inside the monastery and part of the design of the delicate arches. This is a special mark as Pamela places the roman numerals on top of the images. The three pentacles’ star tips equal fifteen, which is the number for Capricorn in the major arcana, as represented by the Devil.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: Métier, trade, skilled labour; usually, however, regarded as a card of nobility, aristocracy, renown, glory.

  Reversed: Mediocrity, in work and otherwise, puerility, pettiness, weakness.

  Four of Pentacles

  Lord of Earthly Power—Sun in Capricorn—Stage Card

  The God-light falls lost, if it shine,

  on the eye unresponsive and blind;

  While the eye that would see hath no light,

  as we tread the dark maze of the mind.

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  A figure sits on a cube. He holds a pentacle at his chest. One pentacle sits atop his crown

  and two are beneath his feet. A sprawling city is drawn on the scrim behind him. He stares straight ahead. The Four of Pentacles can be interpreted as stability in the material world by plugging in the structural meaning of the number four into the suit of earth. The card reflects having what you need. The card is often interpreted literally as the “miser” card because it looks as if the figure is desperately grasping his financial resources. The city behind him is the symbol for what he has built. It reflects the idea of hard work and clever financial planning as well as the idea of being attached to what is ultimately ephemeral. Buddhists practice the art of non-attachment because nothing in the material world lasts forever. The material world is the ultimate illusion.

  Pamela’s pentacles are placed on chakra locations for the crown, solar plexus, and two feet of the character. The pentacle placement matches up with the four Hebrew letters Yod Heh Vau Heh of the tetragrammaton. The Zohar, a collection of mystical Jewish writing, indicates the four letters form the shape of man. Waite offers little clue to the card, saying only, “A crowned figure, having a pentacle over his crown, clasps another with hands and arms; two pentacles are under his feet. He holds to that which he has.”

  Pamela’s illustration adheres to her traditional theatrical and Shakespearean context. The figure strongly suggests Richard III from the play of the same name. Richard’s character contains a wicked history. Richard III is described as a hunchback with physical deformities who is as crooked as the day is long. He is willing to lie, cheat, and steal his way to the crown. Thomas More describes him in The History of King Richard the Third, 1513 as “ill featured of limbs, croo
k-backed, his left shoulder much higher than his right, hard favored of visage.” This accounts for the card figure’s bizarre and strange arm positions. Certainly Richard and many other royals sought to claim the esoteric title “Lord of Earthly Power” in their lifetimes. The crown is also

  similar to the ones often seen in stage productions of Richard III, and the figure’s hair color matches Richard’s black hair. The black cloak is a symbol of melancholy, as in the Five of Cups. His character lies, cheats, and steals his way to the crown, only to be killed by the end of the play. He is one of Shakespeare’s great villains who clings to the prizes offered in the material world, only to lose everything in the end, yet another reminder that all life is ephemeral. No matter how hard we grasp material possessions, we, like them, will someday be reduced to dust.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: The surety of possessions, cleaving to that which one has, gift, legacy, inheritance.

  Reversed: Suspense, delay, opposition.

  Five of Pentacles

  Lord of Material Troubles—Mercury in Taurus

  If, when weaker sentiments invade,

  The ragouts of our wintry course,

  Abstention and divorce,

  Make hearts afraid.

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  The Five of Pentacles reflects a moment when insurmountable challenge lies ahead. All appears lost. It is a moment of angst and anguish not faced by the solo traveler but by a pair. A challenge is faced together. This card often reflects the ups and downs of long-lasting relationships, marriages, friendships, and the tumultuous nature of parenting. Puccini’s operatic La Bohème’s moonlit snowscape is evoked as white snowflakes fall to the ground in somber beauty.

  A couple moves through a frigid winterscape. Night falls as quick as snowflakes in an icy blizzard. A woman draws her scarf closed at her neck. A leper on crutches is identified by a bell around his neck. Bells were used in medieval Europe as leprosy affected the larynx and caused a loss of voice. The figure is wrapped in bandages and pleads with the reader as if in great pain. A glowing yellow stained glass window is above them.

  The Five of Pentacles contains a centerpiece of shining hope. It hints at salvation in a way that none of the other challenging minor arcana fives of tarot do. The glowing stained glass window of the cathedral contains the upper portion of the Tree of Life. The pentacles represent the tree’s Sephiroth. The glowing light of spiritual knowledge fills the window and enlightens the beholder. Salvation is next to the couple. Can they see it? Warmth, rest, food, and shelter is there. Do they smell it? They can find refuge within the safety of the church’s walls. Will they? Like the figure in the Four of Cups who is oblivious to the cup, will this couple seize upon an opportunity? This interpretation of the card does not advocate for specific religious dogma but stands as a powerful metaphor. It is a stark reminder. No matter how desolate, horrible, or terrible a situation appears, there is always hope. One must only look for it. Help, hope, and resolution is often closer than we think.

  Waite is simplistic in his description: “Two mendicants in a snow-storm pass a lighted casement.” A mendicant is a professional beggar, one who begs on the street as a way to survive. Waite’s wordage may contain a hidden clue. Mendicant orders were Franciscan and Dominican religious orders of traveling monks. During the medieval period, they moved from city to city, assuming a lifestyle of poverty in order to live like Jesus. They would proselytize to the poor. This links the Five of Pentacles to the Six of Pentacles, which also contains a pair of beggars who kneel in mysterious cloaks as if they are concealing their true identity. Regardless of Pamela and Waite’s intention, note the center challenge of the number five in the run of pentacles. The suit reflecting money and material wealth contains characters who have lost all material possessions. Examine the entire suit to discover the story of abundance, loss, and renewal. It echoes life cycles, the ebb and flow of energy, and ultimately the fact everything is constantly in motion. Nothing remains in its true form except for love.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: The card foretells material trouble above all, whether in the form illustrated—that is, destitution—or otherwise. For some cartomancists, it is a card of love and lovers—wife, husband, friend, mistress; also concordance, affinities. These alternatives cannot be harmonized.

  Reversed: Disorder, chaos, ruin, discord, profligacy.

  Six of Pentacles

  Lord of Material Success—Moon in Taurus—Stage Card

  We seem to wait

  Forever at the opening gate

  Of resonant, intelligible speech,

  And ever still the Word is out of reach.

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  The Six of Pentacles is a deceptively complex card reflecting many layers of meaning and interpretation. In the simplest terms, its appearance suggests an act of charity, gifts to others, and helping less fortunate souls. A well-dressed man stands in stark contrast to two beggars who kneel before him. He drops coins into a beggar’s hands and holds a scale over the head of another.

  When a tarot card contains multiple characters, it is a useful technique for the reader to discover which figure they identify with in their current situation. Do you identify with the wealthy merchant or the beggars? Are you in a place of lack or abundance? Answering these questions will access the current situation, and additionally, it cracks open the card’s many levels. The merchant holds a scale over a beggar’s head. This connects the Six of Pentacles to the Judgement card’s scales and the act of weighing the pros and cons of a situation. Is the act of charity reflected also an act of reciprocity? Is give and take expected? Does the figure doling out coins contain an ulterior motive? Does his act of charity make him feel superior? Does he give from the decency of his heart or is he expecting a karmic return on his investment?

  The Six of Pentacles contains a pictorial image of hierarchy, as do all the minor arcana sixes. One figure towers over others, implying separation. The Six of Pentacle’s merchant connects to the Six of Sword’s ferryman, the Six of Cups’ youthful boy, and the Six of Wands’ triumphant rider. The number six connects these cards to the Chariot, who bears the same number and rises above all to reach his final destination. The implied hierarchy additionally marks a visual connection to the number six on the Tree of Life in the place of Tiphareth. Tiphareth is the heart of the Tree of Life, the very center, and as such it implies giving, sharing, compassion, and integration. Therefore, it is the energy of the tree manifesting downward into the material world, sharing all of its gifts. The three figures additionally become a visual representation of the three pillars of the Tree of Life.

  The Six of Pentacles is visually connected to the Hierophant card. The merchant’s hand makes the Hierophant’s sign of benediction as he drops his coins. The merchant stands in the center of two lower men as the Hierophant towers above his two disciples. The merchant holds scales in his left hand; the Hierophant holds the triple staff. The merchant and Hierophant are both draped in red garments (note the red slip peeking out of the left beggar’s pocket). The Hierophant and Six of Pentacles are each ruled by Taurus. The connections speak volumes on the nature of spiritual and material gifts.

  Waite tells us, “A person in the guise of a merchant weighs money in a pair of scales and distributes it to the needy and distressed.” His use of the word guise, which is an appearance that hides a true nature, hints the merchant may be concealing something from us or the beggars. Waite continues, saying, “It is a testimony to his own success in life, as well as to his goodness of heart.” Waite speaks in a gentle tone. The Book T describes this card as “power, influence, rank, nobility, rule over people.” This is an idea blatantly expressed by Pamela’s image. This card denotes its esoteric title as the “Lord of Material Success” in all ways. It is always simple to demonstrate material success against those who are less fortunate. Doing so solidifies one’s standing in the materia
l world. Judging the inner wealth of an individual, however, is a much harder task.

  The bandage on the head of the beggar suggests spiritual duress and redemption as the crown chakra heals. Four coins fall from the hand of the merchant, suggesting stability and evoking the Four of Pentacles. The merchant once clung tightly to his pentacles; now he distributes them freely. Are the beggars a spiritual test of the merchant on the material level? And what mysterious ticket pokes from the right beggar’s cloak?

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: Presents, gifts, gratification another account says attention, vigilance now is the accepted time, present prosperity, etc.

  Reversed: Desire, cupidity, envy, jealousy, illusion.

  Seven of Pentacles

  Lord of Success Unfulfilled—Saturn in Taurus

  And it isn’t intended that men should get

  A fuller glimpse of the secret yet.

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  Seven pentacles have grown to fruition in a garden. The gardener pauses to lean on his tool, lost in thought as he looks at his crop. A tendril reaches forth. He reflects on his work. It is time to take stock and evaluate the path you’ve chosen and the seeds you’ve planted. Reexamine motives and perceived outcomes. The Seven of Pentacles reflects moments where results are seen. This card successfully poses the question, “Where do I go from here?” A promotion is received, but what comes next? Romantic advances are accepted. Is the person what you expected? Can you do something better, quicker, or in a more efficient way? More will evolve. Will you coax it to receive the ideal outcome? What slight adjustments can be made now that you’ve observed results?