The star on pentacles: materialism is always holistic

[xhollysue]

I was doing an exercise today that put me in a position of "spiritualizing" the Ace of Pentacles. I'm kinda anti-materialism ... not into consumerism or "keeping up with the Joneses" so it was baking my noodle when I was doing a spirituality-based draw and got the Ace of Pentacles. How the hell do I find spirituality in the promise of forthcoming material/bodily gain?

But as I worked my way through it, I had a thought...

The five-pointed star is a holistic, or all-in-one, symbol: it represents earth, air, fire, water and ether; it represents the five suits of the tarot; and five is a number indicating challenge (at least in my book it does). So since the pentacles are stamped with a five-pointed star, I felt like it was a reassurance that materialism, material things, are always stamped with holistic growth.

Coin = materialism
Five-pointed star = all-in-one challenge/growth.

Make sense?

So with this, I kinda get this feeling that even the most vain pursuits of this world, can never be totally vain, because they're always stamped with the symbol of completeness, the purpose of growth, with five-pointed progress.

It kinda deflates a lot of my personal judgment of materialism. (Makes me feel like my personal internal Judgement card has been reversed all this time ... and I just found a way to flip it back right-side up!)

Thoughts?

[Minotauro]

for me pentacles represent the earthly plane as a whole , not just material gain , body and spirit and mind are all part of what makes us whole. you couldnt have one without the other ,perhaps it is telling you to look around you ,enjoy the grass under your feet , the wind in your hair , the touch of your loved ones , those are all material experiences.

not just cell phones and money and jewelry. everything material has spirit too. for me they are mirrors , thats why we use statues and rosaries and ceremonial garments and special places. to give a material form to the spiritual. they mirror each other.

I am a material person , I am an earth sign , it gives me security even my tarot cards are material possesions, I dont need all that many decks , but I like to have them. the material is reliable. it is certain. it is always what it is. BUT I still dont like it when people think pentacles = money.

there is a reason why it is now pentacles or spheres instead of the suit of coins.

[MountainGirl]

Originally Posted by Minotauro

for me pentacles represent the earthly plane as a whole , not just material gain , body and spirit and mind are all part of what makes us whole.

Yes, I fully agree. To me, pentacles represent good health, feeling grounded, security, earthly pleasures/enjoying your senses just as much if not more than material gains.

Blessings,
MountainGirl

[AJ]

Originally Posted by Minotauro

there is a reason why the suit of coins name was changed to pentacles or spheres.

If I remember correctly it started with Waite and his RWS deck, and maybe he called them pantacles. Prior to that they were discs or coins.

Now it seems deck artists use the symbol with no thought at all the point of their deck.
One of my larger pet peeves. Maybe my only tarot peeve.

[Elendil]

Cilla Conway calls this card 'One of Discs' in her Intuitive Tarot deck. In the accompanying book, she has this to say:

'The One of Discs is traditionally thought to be about the senses, grounding,firm foundations, wealth and material comfort. Underlying all is the balance between the material senses and the spiritual. (...) Only when the power behind consciousness generates enough energy does manifestation into the physical occur. The One of DIscs can therefore be a profoundly spiritual card, offering a connection to the Divine Source through the senses and the profound level of physical existence'

I don't know whether or not this may be of help to the OP.

[MaineGirl117]

I think there is a lot of spirituality in the suit of pentacles..

You've already made one important connection by noting the 5-pointed star or pentagram. I would continue this thought by searching out information on it's significance. Here's a few that I noted while studying the Ludy Lescot Devil card in the study group forum:

Interestingly enough, if we trace the planet Venus in the sky over an eight year cycle, it forms a five-pointed star - the pentagram (but also the human body). It is also associated to nature, as seen when we cut an apple or pomegranate in half horizontally and see a five-pointed star in each half (ties back to Adam and Eve and Persephone quite nicely, eh?) Also to note, roses and other flowers have five petals in their blossoms. It is so suggested in this text then, “that the pentagram unites Heaven and Earth, with the human body as a link or a bridge.”

The text I was referencing was Rachel Pollacks Tarot Wisdom: Spritual Teachings and Deeper Meanings

Also, there are four Arch Angels that preside over the four elements. Archangel Uriel is associated to the element of earth because he is the guardian of the Laws of Nature (which I find more powerful than the laws of man ) and all the creatures therein land/sea/air etc...

Also important to note (see signature below ) there's evidence of magick or 'miracles' everywhere around us in the mundane world, if we just care to look.

Hope this helps!

[PAMUYA]

In tarot(in playing cards clubs) I have always consider pentalces as meaning earth(the body), earthly desires, and material wealth. Material wealth can get you into trouble if you let it be your sorce of happiness, wealth comes and goes. If you keep material wealth in balance with the body, than you can achieve spirituality, knowing that true happiness is found within yourself, it cannot be bought. Materialism at the extreme (the need to obtain and keep things) is the darker side of the pentacle as show in the 4 of Pentacles, you have obtained wealth with no spiritual growth.


"The pentacle is also representative of the five points on the human body. The circle is considered feminine and is indicative of the womb and the points represent the male member. In many other pagan religions, the pentacle was the symbol of the earth or the earth-womb and is often used to signify the earth. It is also used to represent the God and Goddess at each point. The top three points represent the aspects of the goddess: Maiden, Mother and Crone. The bottom two are the aspects of the god: Oak King – light, and the Holly King – dark. It also represents the 5 stages of life: birth, Maiden, Mother, Crone, death. "

[MaineGirl117]

Where did you get that reference from Pamuya? I think I might have to include this bit of info into my other discussion I mentioned above. Good to know!

[xhollysue]

Holy moly ... thanks guys! So much to think about.... <conspiratorial finger tap a la Mr. Burns>

@Minotauro - I think you phrased it better than I did when you said "everything material has spirit" ... that's basically what I was trying to say, but I was saying it less clearly and economically. Thanks for that precision.

For @Minotauro, @AJ and @MountainGirl ... I might also argue, that despite the name change of the suit and the various applications of the Earth suit, many of the pictures on the decks still show a coin in the drawing. So the coin itself is still a symbol to consider, and what it represents to me/us in the world we currently live in, because in many cases the is symbol still on the cards - though I do wonder like you, AJ, if it isn't often included as a matter of tradition as opposed to intentional symbology. Either way though, if the symbol's there, the energy can still speak, right?

Also @Elendil - I love that LWB description ... "Underlying all this is the balance between the material senses and the spiritual..." It helps to know I'm on to a thought that others have come across as well.

@MaineGirl117 and Pamuya - Awesome new thoughts/references to the five-pointed star. My sister was just pointing out to me that a pentagram in a circle also looks like an A in an O, or the idea of the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning through the end (ignoring of course that the Greek omega isn't actually a closed circle... he he).

I love symbols. Yum. "There is magick in the mundane..."

[SunChariot]

Originally Posted by xhollysue

Coin = materialism
Five-pointed star = all-in-one challenge/growth.

Make sense?

So with this, I kinda get this feeling that even the most vain pursuits of this world, can never be totally vain, because they're always stamped with the symbol of completeness, the purpose of growth, with five-pointed progress.

Although, for me, Pents of Coins are not related to either money or materialism at all (for me they are about our goals we set and the work we need to out in if we want to complete those goals)....all the same I really loved what you had to say and it makes sense to me, especially the part above.

Babs