Nine of Pentacles (Rider Waite Tarot)
First Impressions
More even than the most independent “don’t **** with me” Queen in the most empowering of decks, the Rider Waite style of the Nine of Pentacles has always struck me as the most pro-feminist card in the deck. And I mean that in a good way, not the man-hating, ball-busting, “how dare you hold that door for me, you sexist misogynist pig” style of extreme feminism. But in the best possible way. That of a woman who is independent and happy and whole in and of herself. She doesn’t need a man or babies to make her complete. If she wants them, she can have them, sure. But what she has now, she has accomplished on her own.
Most versions of the Nine of Pentacles that are based on the Rider Waite Tarot show a woman alone in a garden full of grapevines. She’s richly dressed and wears a quietly content look on her face. On one hand perches a hooded falcon, and she is looking at it.
Now, personally my favourite version of this card is that from the Morgan Greer Tarot, I love the expression on the face of the woman there. But that’s not the deck I’m looking at. So let’s look more at this one here, at Pamela Colman Smith‘s artwork.
The woman is richly dressed, she wears a long and loose gown decorated with stylized flowers, like those a child would draw, and trimmed in yellow and red. She also wears a close-fitting headdress and a heavy leather glove on the hand holding the falcon. The falcon wears a red hood. Her other hand, which is bare, rests on the topmost pentacle at her side. There is a stack of six pentacles on that side of her, and a smaller pile of three on her other side, large golden pentacles nestled amid the foliage like vertical stepping stones. Grapevines and bunches of grapes grow among them. In the background is a castle or big house and two tall and slender trees like the ones we saw on the Empress. Far beyond that are brown mountains. But what I notice is that it is as if she’s stuck in an overgrown jungle of a garden; I don’t see a path to the castle, it is as if she’s hemmed in by the greenery. Perhaps the path is just outside the frame of this card. I don’t know. The sky is yellow; overall it’s a very yellow card.
And, by the way, there’s a small snail crawling across the bare ground before the lady. On first glance I don’t know why, but as there are no extraneous wildlife (much less bugs) in the other cards, it must be there for a reason.
Creator’s Notes
Waite says of this card:
Waite said:
A woman, with a bird upon her wrist, stands amidst a great abundance of grapevines in the garden of a manorial house. It is a wide domain, suggesting plenty in all things. Possibly it is her own possession and testifies to material well-being.
I don’t know if I get the impression of a “wide domain” here, as she seems almost hemmed in by the encroaching growth, but I get what he is saying; that it’s a big estate. If the garden is part of the manor or castle, it must be a lot of land as the structure is far off. It’s interesting that Waite only speculates that it may be “possibly” hers, that he’s leaving that open to other possible interpretation.
Others’ Interpretations
According to Waite:
Waite said:
Divinatory Meanings: Prudence, safety, success, accomplishment, certitude, discernment. Reversed: Roguery, deception, voided project, bad faith.
Joan Bunning said:
Bunning said:
[…]On one hand, the Nine of Pentacles represents all that is most gracious, high-minded and civilized. Art, music and other forms of beauty are very much part of our physical world (Pentacles). Coins are present in this scene, but they are toward the ground. The business of life is important, but we don't have to focus on practical matters all the time. We can also enjoy the finer things of life. In readings, the Nine of Pentacles can imply an interest in these areas. It is also a sign that you may need to reject the coarse or offensive and seek the highest.
The Nine of Pentacles can also be a sign of discipline and self-control. This woman enjoys her cultured life because she has mastered her baser instincts. Her impulses work for her because they do not rule her. The falcon symbolizes all that is dark and unruly in human nature. Our shadow side can serve us well, but only when it is directed. Sometimes the Nine of Pentacles suggests that you must show restraint and self-control if you are to achieve your best efforts. You may have to "sacrifice" for the moment, but the results will be worth it.
This card is also a sign of self-reliance. Sometimes you must trust our own ability to handle a situation. Resist the temptation to let others do for you. You need to take matters into your own hands. Our elegant lady has done just that. She trusted in her own grit and determination, and now she enjoys all the best life has to offer.
Symbols and Attributes
Astrologically the Nine of Pentacles is ruled by Venus in Virgo. Both strike me as very appropriate. Venus is an Earth-based influence from an elemental standpoint, and being closest to our planet is the brightest star in our sky. It is associated with love and femininity and comfort, and relates to the Empress in the Major Arcana. Virgo, the Virgin, is also ruled by the element of Earth and is associated with the Hermit. This ties in to its position as the ninth card of its suit (the Hermit is the ninth of the Major Arcana), and the obviously solitary status of the woman shown here. Virgo’s influence is very Earthy: methodical, focused on details. So if we combine the two, Venus in Virgo’s effect is of the purity of focus and attention to detail that leads to the comforts she now enjoys. When this astrological influence meets the completion and fulfillment of the Nines and the material comfort and practicality of the Pentacles, we end up with a picture of the methodical and analytical attention to detail that leads to the current scene, to the contentment and material success and comfort the figure enjoys. No wonder this card was titled the Lord of Material Gain by the Golden Dawn.
The woman in the card is alone, underlining the connection to the Hermit, and to the sense of being complete and fulfilled in herself. She is clearly a gentlewoman, from her rich clothing. Notice the train on her gown; unlike the more practical tunics and hose on other cards in this suit, she is not dressed for work. She’s not here to prune or harvest, she’s here for her own enjoyment, out in the garden. The gown is decorated with simplified flowers that bear more than a passing resemblance to the sigil for the planet Venus, underlining the astrological influence and the connections to the Empress - contented woman in long gown, alone and comfortable in a pastoral setting. The gown is edged in the red of energy and willpower and the golden yellow of wealth and mental energy. How else do you think she came into all of this? Through the dedication and work and willpower and concentration to achieve all of this. She caresses the stack of pentacles at her side with one bare hand; she enjoys the tactile pleasure of her garden’s bounty. On the other hand she wears a heavy leather glove, to protect her wrist from the talons of the falcon perched there.
Clearly this falcon is a further emphasis on her status as a gentlewoman, a lady of leisure; falcons were status symbols and were the sport of falconry was exclusive to the noble and wealthy. According to the 1486
Boke of St Albans, the hierarchy of who could own one, and even the type of bird they could own, was very strict according to their respective place in society. For ladies, the appropriate breed was the “Marlyon” or merlin. But that’s neither here nor there.
The falcon is a wild creature and predator whose animal instincts are hooded and subjugated to the whims of its handler. Its every instinct, every aspect of its nature, urges it to fly free and bring down prey for its own sustenance. But instead it obeys the commands of its mistress and brings the prey home to her. The pairing of the woman and her falcon or merlin suggests the discipline, the subjugation of one’s animalistic instincts required to achieve what she has achieved in her life. Is she blind to this wilder side of her nature, the unstructured and natural side? Yes, but it’s a deliberate blinding. Like the merlin can sense the air and the prey around him outside the hood, so she can sense it. But in her case she deliberately chooses not to see it, in favour of her domestic comforts.
The stacks of pentacles at her side are unevenly distributed. And as in the Six of Pentacles and similar cards, this seems to be a deliberate choice. Six on one side, three on another. Her hand rests on the topmost pentacle of the stack of six. Six is a number that speaks of balance, harmony. So she feels that her little corner of the world, comfortable spot that it is, is a harmonious and lovely little spot. And yet, it isn’t complete. Is it? There are three more remaining, off to one side. And the three of the Trinity is a truly harmonious number, and again the number of the Empress. Is she missing the true harmony, then? Does she feel incomplete? Is there still more she can achieve, accomplish, gain, know? Or is this something she has deliberately ignored, feeling her life complete as it is? It’s enough to make us wonder even a little whether her life is as complete as she seems to think, whether she is lonely or unfulfilled.
Something about the garden in which she stands kind of underlines this to me. It’s a lovely garden, and perhaps a vast one if it begins at the back door of the large house in the middle distance. But I think it’s a little overgrown. There’s no clear path, no vista, no rolling lawns. It’s very busy and I don’t see a path back to the house. So she’s isolated. Whether this is deliberate - far from the maddening crowd, perhaps - or not - that she has lost the way or can’t find a way back - I guess would depend on the interpretation at the time. The busy and cluttered aspect of the garden also makes me think of someone who has let the growth run riot. Too much of a good thing? An emphasis on the material? I wonder if she feels overwhelmed or hemmed in by the things which she has amassed.
The bulk of the garden seems to be dominated by grapevines, which are lush with ripe purple bunches of grapes. It serves to underline her prosperity and abundance, and also the hard work it took to get to this point. Because running a vineyard and keeping it healthy and prosperous is no easy task. In the background, seeming to frame the scene and the woman, stand two lone trees, tall and erect and distinct, so deliberately singled out as significant. They look like the tree behind the Empress in her card; when looking at the symbolism for that card I had learned that this is a cypress tree, which is sacred to the goddess Venus. So this is another example of the ties to not only the influence of Venus, but also to the bounty and physical contentment of the Empress. But why are there two of them, and why so neatly arranged on either side of the woman here? I have seen them compared to the pillars that flank the High Priestess. Another strong female archetype, one that is solitary and secretive.
On the ground before her, approaching the shoe that peeps underneath the hem of her gown, creeps a snail. Why a snail? Much has been made of it, because its presence is so jarringly unaccounted for; it’s been thought to refer to the Golden Mean, the number
phi or 1.618033963 which is the relative scale of each respective whorl of the snail’s shell and can be found in so many other proportions in the natural world. It’s also been considered an eternal or lunar symbol due to its spiraling whorl of its shell. But I subscribe here to the K.I.S.S. theory. Keep It Simple, Stupid. What does a snail do? It carries its home on its back. Wherever it goes, whatever its position, it still has everything it needs. It can be on a parking lot or in the middle of a nice juicy lettuce patch. It still has what it needs and can be content. And this is an important lesson for the woman to learn as well. She is self-sufficient and content. But look at all that she has. Can she carry that all with her? No. So perhaps it carries a message to simplify. I like a quote that I found in the Rider Waite subforum from Silence Dogood:
Silence Dogood said:
The snail carries it's home on it's back; in some interpretations, the woman in the card is not the homeowner, but mistress to the homeowner so that she does not own anything if she is asked to leave. The snail will take it with him, she cannot.
So that’s something to consider. Don’t become overly dependent on possessions. Simplify. Yes, she has a lot. But does she need it all? Perhaps not. And this also makes sense in light of what Waite had to say about this card. Remember that he said
possibly it is her own possession. Possibly. If it’s not actually hers, what does she have?
Jeez, that kind of brings a downer on to my interpretation! Moving on to the rest of her surroundings … the sky is golden yellow to indicate the same mental energy it took to get her to this point. The manor house or castle is at some remove from where she is in the garden. Not only does this hint at the vastness of her estate (let’s go back to the assumption that it is her estate, because I like that better), but it indicates that she is at some remove from the security of its strong walls. She has stepped out of its protection, is at some remove from her comfort zone and her sense of security. And it‘s paid off, from the look of things. Even further off in the distance, mountains. We’ve seen similar mountains in other cards to represent spiritual quests. Look how far away they are; look how far she has come. Perhaps from humble beginnings, a few scraggly vines or an uncultivated patch of land. And look at her now. The mountains give a hint that she’s come a long way.
My Interpretations
The Nine of Pentacles is the “payoff card”. It represents someone who has worked hard and expended a lot of time and discipline and energy and effort, and now is the time to reap the rewards, to enjoy what it has brought. In a sense, it’s the natural next step from the hard work of the Seven of Pentacles, and the practice and refinement of skill of the Eight of Pentacles. All that effort has now paid off and she’s enjoying what it has brought. Comfort and security, affluence and self-sufficiency. She’s content and complete.
If applicable it might also carry a note of caution in a reading. Because this card is very hung up on material comfort and possessions. Be careful of depending too much on “things”. The woman might be self-sufficient in that she doesn’t seem to need other people to accomplish what she has accomplished and enjoy the proceeds, but beware of substituting things for people, for transferring that dependence to her possessions.
