Feb 01 | 2023 — King of Pentacles
Today’s card is the King of Pentacles. Please go check out the two decks I featured above: Madam Clara’s 5-Cent Tarot and Gregory White’s The WilderWoven Tarot. They are both amazing and different takes on the traditional Tarot. Confession: I don’t own either of these decks (sadly). However, I came across these two yesterday when I was browsing decks and wanted to use them for today’s spread. If you would like to be my Tarot sugar daddy, please reach out.
Now… onto the King. Truth be told, I don’t like the King of Pentacles. As a personality, he seems like a douche. He flaunts his luxuries, sharing the wealth, but often in a way that says “look at me and what I have!” Yuk. I see him as giving to a charity, but only so he can write it off on his taxes. I know, I know. A lot of people see the King of Pentacles as a symbol of generosity who likes to take care of others. He provides out of the goodness of his heart and blah, blah, blah. Well, there are always two sides to every Pentacle.
And I still don’t like him.
Message of the Day: It’s kind of surprising to me that my view of this particular card, in particular, is particularly negative. He’s not reversed. Maybe it’s because I’m mad at taxes right now and just feel like flipping off all those who have in abundance. Le sigh…
From a traditional representation that is not soured by my view, the King of Pentacles is someone who is slow, but deliberate in their decisions. He has claimed his throne by working his way to the top, experiencing every level of work on the way. He’s not someone who slept his way to the top (I said this was traditional!). He is a great manager, authoritative, and <cough> honest. He will unabashedly tell you no, and he will raise interest rates when he thinks it’s for the best.
Internally, The King of Pentacles wants me to look at my own personality in relationship to money and my personal luxuries. If the King is my goal, to find financial stability in the present and when I retire, where am I placing my priorities? I know it’s difficult in the world today to do ANYTHING to get ahead. I mean, fuck, the price of eggs alone is enough to make me question having breakfast in the morning.
How do you balance your needs versus your wants? Do you budget? Are you taking advantage of cost-saving measures (coupons, sales, buying generic versus brand name)? Are you investing appropriately in your future through opportunities (ANYTHING) with compound interest?
Another perspective, are you falling victim to “keeping up with the Joneseses?” Do you feel the need to follow what everyone else is doing around you even when it is cost prohibitive? What is your relationship to debt? Why I am asking so many questions?
Financial stress is the absolute fucking worse. When you don’t have enough, it feels like there are no real options that do not require you to make shady deals or sign into something with strings attached. It’s even worse when there are health-related issues that are driving up your costs and your intake does not mirror the need. I feel like The King of Pentacles definitely has a relationship with The Devil (the card, not the King of Hell). When we don’t have enough financially, we often end up comforting ourselves through our vices (gambling, drinking, recreational drugs, shopping, eating) — all of which cost money (money that we don’t really have). If The Devil is in the details, then it’s time to cut that shit away and focus on your financial health. Cut out the extraneous shopping; eat at home; reduce your alcohol intake. It’s hard but necessary if you want to pull yourself out from being money’s bitch.
Decks shown above:
