The Wild Unknown Tarot - II Pentacles

Sulis

A huge butterfly dominates this card, it just sits there with wings outstretched as if it's sitting on a flower sunning itself. It has no colour, it's wings and body are black and white. On each of it's lower wings is a small pentacle and they are linked by a lemniscate, a figure 8 on it's side that is the only thing on the whole card that's coloured. Like many things in this deck the lemniscate is coloured in rainbow colours that give the impression of movement around the lemniscate (well to me they do ;)).;

Whenever I see a butterfly on a tarot card I think of transformation, change and fragility that is often much less fragile than it appears and is in fact quite strong. In many decks that are based on the Rider-Waite-Smith deck butterflies are used to decorate the Swords / Air court cards and so to symbolise the element of air which is light, quick to change and is also deceptively strong.

This card makes me think of the 2 Coins in TdM decks and also of the Crowley Thoth 2 of Disks. It says change to me - physical things coming together (coins) to cause change..
W

I've been getting this card a lot lately and I think it's telling me that I'm in a time of physical changes and transformation...

I'd love to hear what anyone else thinks of this card.
 

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Starshower

Yes! I love your take on this card, Sulis.

I immediately saw the lightness, delicacy & quick movements of the butterfly as contrasting with the suite of Pentacles (so earthy, 'heavy', materialistic - being about money, bodies, practicalities etc.) Also, I'm very used to seeing butterflies representing Air & the Swords suite, so it pulled me up short.
Then I realised that it is that very contrast between physicality and light, airy flutteringness that makes the butterfly 'work' & BE itself. The sense of dynamic movement shown by the colour-changing lemniscate is working around the 2 pentacles and bringing something about - flight, change, even its own initial transformation into a butterfly.

Also, the fast-moving, airy, coloured lightness of the leminscate captures beautifully the idea of thought moving quickly in the decision-making process that this caerd traditionally represents.
 

Sulis

Thanks for this Starshower :).
I hadn't actually thought of the light fragility of a butterfly contrasting with the heavy, suit of Earth but you're right, it's there.. There is a contrast or polarity in the 2s - Yin / Yang, light / dark, good / bad, night / day etc...

I like your thoughts about the lemniscate bringing something about, creating something too - great insights...
 

kellyshay

First thing I noticed on this card...is that I ''feel'' that this butterfly is very symmetrical...but when you look at it more closely, its actually not....To me this card means a balance on both side..even though the two sides are made out of different shapes...but it is ''balanced''.....
Like a scale, if one side is heavier than the other side, then things will be out of balance..
But if both sides are the same, then things are in balance :)

This is my first time commenting in a study group :) I hope I'm doing ok :)
 

Sulis

Thanks for that Kellyshay, I thought that the butterfly was symmetrical so it's interesting that it's not.. I'll have to go and have a look :).
 

Maan

at first i thought about the butterfly too as a creature of air. But it does starts its life as a very hungry catterpiller ;-) How earthly can one get? It eats and eats and eats and then goes for a really long nap. In a way this animal is the perfect balance between air and earth. Its starts its life as a very earthly creature and finishes its life as creature of the air.

For me this shows a part of the meaning the two of pentacles sometimes has.Change...and ofcours that you need to have a good fundament to be able to fly and leap. First have your finances sorted , your home, food etc. Then you can thing about the other stuff. The
maslow pyramid.
 

Pixna

Excellent point about the caterpillar to butterfly, Maan!

This is such a huge butterfly -- not at all delicate, as I normally think of butterflies. It would require a strong butterfly to carry the weight of the beautiful but hefty lemniscate that's on its back. It could only do so if the lemniscate were equal to the weight the butterfly could lift and also equally balanced on both sides (else the butterfly would fall).

To me this card speaks of strength and that we can handle much more than we might think we can. It also speaks to me of balance, management, and preparedness in terms of the material realm. We are only given what we can handle -- and that's often much more than we believe we're capable of.

The background lines form an upward-pointing arrow, indicating upward movement, upward mobility. In fact, it seems as though the butterfly is flying straight up -- an almost impossible feat, especially with such a weight on its back.

I have great confidence in this butterfly. I have no doubt it's going to achieve what it is setting out to do or will reach whatever destiny it's flying toward.