Tarot 101: The Suit of Pentacles
I felt inspired to write a post on the suit of Pentacles because I had four jumpers during my shuffle this morning and every card was from the suit of Pentacles (Ace, Page, X, and V), all from different shuffles. So I thought a deep dive into the world of Pentacles might be fun.
The General Meaning
The suit of Pentacles represents the physical and material world around us. This includes things like our finances, homes, possessions, careers, health, behaviors, and physical bodies. It is associated with the element of earth which is seen in the grounded and practical nature of the suit. Of all the suits in Tarot, the Pentacles is the only suit that is not associated with the Divine, as the physical realm is the realm of mankind and is a byproduct of human effort. This is why the suit of Pentacles is also associated with ego, self-image, and material gain.
This grounding energy of the suit of Pentacles is also considered feminine energy (yin) and is connected to The Empress in the Major Arcana, the archetype of the Mother figure, who provides emotional grounding, comfort, and nurturing care and often represents reproduction/multiplication and practicality.
Seasonally, the suit of Pentacles represents autumn, a time of harvest and abundance, and aligns with the months of September — November.
The suit of Pentacles is also equivalent to the suit of Diamonds in traditional playing cards. (Some people read Tarot using plain ol’ playing cards!)
Zodiac References
The suit of Pentacles is associated with the zodiac signs of Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn.
Taurus (April 20 — May 20) is associated with material abundance, pleasure, and sensuality, which are themes that align with the Pentacles suit.
Virgo (August 23 — September 22) is associated with practicality, attention to detail, and hard work, which are also key themes of the Pentacles suit.
Capricorn (December 22 — January 19) is associated with structure, discipline, and long-term success, which are often associated with the attainment of material wealth and security, again, falling into the realm of Pentacles.
But what IS a Pentacle?
A pentacle is a five-pointed star enclosed by a circle that is often used as a symbol in various spiritual and esoteric traditions. The word “pentacle” comes from the Greek word “penta,” meaning five.
Sometimes the pentacle is confused with the pentagram, which is also a five-pointed star but without the circle around it. The pentacle is often seen as a more complete and protective symbol, as the circle around the star is believed to provide additional spiritual protection and containment.
The shape of the Pentacle, an upright star, also has additional meanings. It is seen as a representation of the human body (head, two arms, two legs), and references the physical nature of the Pentacle and its affiliation with the material and physical form of the human body, but as a reflection of spirit over body. This is also depicted in The Devil card (representing addiction and vice), where we see an inverted Pentacle, representing the corruption of that energy and putting material desires over the spiritual.
The five-pointed star also represents the Platonic (or Pythagorean) Solids which represent the building blocks of reality, but are essentially the elements + spirit. Working clockwise, we’d start with Spirit at the head, and move to Water -> Fire-> Earth -> Air. We, as physical creatures, are made of all these elements and energies.
The Brief History of the Pentacle in Tarot
The suit of Pentacles didn’t start off as Pentacles. Initially, the original tarocchi decks of the 1400s and up through the 1800s used Coins in place of Pentacles, as this was a literal interpretation of material wealth and financial prosperity.
Coins were swapped with Pentacles over time as the practice of divination increased and the materialistic nature of the Coins which was limited to money matters was expanded to include a broader range of material meanings including things like home, health, and career. The pentacle shape itself is also often associated with completion and wholeness, making it a fitting symbol for the suit.
When Arthur Waite created the Tarot deck most of us are common with today (the Rider-Waite-Smith deck), he chose to continue the use of Pentacles. Aleister Crowley, a rival of Waite’s, opted to use Discs in place of Pentacles in his Thoth deck, and Discs can be seen used in various modern decks still today.
Pentacles continue to be the most widely used representation of the material realm in modern Tarot decks, but we also see customized representations or alterations based on the theme of the deck. I’ve seen the use of elements (ex. IV of Earth), Trees, Branches, Nests, Minutes, Stones, and Crystals, and that’s just what I’ve seen in my short time working with Tarot.
