Mythic Tarot - King Pentacles

rwcarter

King Midas holds a pentacle up between his raised hands as he sits on his throne, which is adorned with goat’s heads. Behind him can be seen his castle and servants. At his feet is a pile of tiny pentacles. A goat grazes behind him.

Midas
  • as a baby, ants placed wheat grains between his lips as he slept, which soothsayers took as an omen of the great wealth that he would obtain
  • a wise and pious king
  • his kindness to Dionysos’ tutor, the drunken satyr Silenos, earned him the gratitude of Dionysos, who offered to grant Midas one wish; without thinking Midas wished that all he touched would turn into gold, and everything did including his food and drink; he soon begged to be released from his wish and Dionysos granted the wish
  • image of the side of man that aspires towards material comfort and possessions
Overview
  • the active, dynamic dimension of the element of earth
  • image of human ambition
  • the aspiration to status and worldly achievement, the desire for power and recognition in the eyes of others, the need for material security and pride in having worked to earn what one has
  • worldly success is dependent not only on hard work and cleverness but also on recognizing and understanding those aspects of human behavior that are lazy, indolent, drunken and bestial (as contained in Silenos)
  • one must tolerate and contain these aspects within oneself lest one be corrupted because one is unconscious of one’s potential for being corrupted
  • reaching the top because one has the right qualities of leadership, authority, realism and discipline to overcome the obstacles in one’s path
  • one who is unashamedly materialistic
  • having the “Midas touch”
Capricorn
  • desires status and position
  • the need for social acceptance
  • not afraid of hard work and will suffer many hardships in order to reach a goal
  • has talent in the fields of organization and control
  • disciplined and structured
  • upholder of family traditions, society and the correct way to behave within the context of family and society
Random Thoughts
  • be careful what you wish for
  • all that glitters is gold
  • consequences of greed
  • not thinking before making a decision
  • not looking before you leap

The keyword/phrase I entered into my journal on 23Aug91 was "mind, wit and personality in order to excel".

Rodney