Pearls of Wisdom - 2 of Pentacles

6 Haunted Days

This is one of my very favourite cards in this deck! It's just beautiful and captures balance and trusting in the flow of life perfectly.

We have a female acrobat balancing on a beam supported by 2 pyramids (the earthly plane), holding 2 pentacles up high. There are a green and an orange snakes forming an infinity symbol, but also it looks to me like a ouroboros as well, the way they're coloured. Each pentacle is firmly on one side of night or day.

The night looks like city aspect, perhaps more of our material, earthly, mundane day to day things while the day is a country cottage nestled among pines and a rainbow, to me signifying a connection to nature, our spiritual selves and world. Night/city=doing...Day/Cottage=being....if you will.

The snakes make another appearence on top and bottom of the card. Orange at the top to me meaning spiritual endeavors and green at the bottom, the earthy mundane again.

There is a scale with coins perfectly balanced. This image really speaks to me of the harmony and serenity we are in when we pay attention to both these aspects of ourselves and not neglect one or the other...that we can have both if we use our logic and our wisdom.
 

dadsnook2000

A thought or two . . .

Your card description is very nice. It sounds like a lot of symbolism to fit on one card. In any case, your words of balance as seen in this card brought to mind the Waite-Smith deck which shows two pentacles being juggled, both in motion as the person involved tries to achieve stability-in-motion/change.

I have never viewed the Tarot Two's as stability or harmony -- but, more as a processes of continuing adjustment.

The Astrological Two's can be represented by the oppositional aspect (either the "one" projecting its intent/desires out upon the "other" or in conflict with the "other") or by the conjunction (fusing diverse energies into a singular force or action).

The Numerological Two's are much more like your description of balance and harmony.

These views are due to the nature of each system. I think each tarot deck designer tends to favor one of these systems more than the other. Perhaps this is also why we resonate with some decks and not others -- we pick up on the underlying concepts behind the deck as well as the actual presentation of these concepts through the artwork. I'm not putting any one deck down or promoting another as I think its wonderful that we have such choices offered to us.

I wonder if we adjust our tarot work to reflect the different symbol-systems that overlay the decks we use. Perhaps others could comment on this. Dave
 

dadsnook2000

Not sure

I'm not sure which deck that six haunted days is referring to. I was referring to any deck in general and had the Waite-Smith deck in mind as far as the two of pentacles was concerned.

What I said about "two" in the tarot, astrological, and numerological systems is my opinion of how those systems differ in using/applying numbers, particularly the two. Now, any tarot deck may adopt any system or concept that the deck creator and designer comes up with. I use the Fey Tarot mostly and in that deck the two of pentacles best fits with the numerology approach to twos -- harmony-in-separativeness.

Dave
 

Sulis

Wow, there is so much in this card that it's hard to know where to start.

I usually go for very minimal cards but with this deck I'm finding that one or two elements of each card seem to jump out at me when reading so I'm not getting overwhelmed by the amount of symbolism as I thought I might.

There is lots of duality as well as balance here.
Day and night, city and country living, the balanced scales at the bottom of the card.

6 Haunted Days I love what you've said about balancing the spiritual and more mundane aspects of life; I think this card illustrates that really well.

The snakes say change to me as snakes shed their skins as they grow.

I'm loving this deck :)
 

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Rede Seeker

Kneeling on the balance beam?

To keep the pentacles level, the woman adjusts herself (kneels on the balance beam). She is willing to work at keeping prosperity on an even keel.

The snakes at the top of the card have entwined tails that form the infinity symbol.

Any thoughts on the crystal chalice and golden censor?
 

Sulis

Rede Seeker said:
Any thoughts on the crystal chalice and golden censor?

I was wondering about the significance of those too.
I thought that it could be just a representation of the elements but I can't find anything to represent earth and fire in the border.
Unless the censor represents Air and Fire and the crystal goblet represents water and earth.... What do you think?
 

Rede Seeker

That could be

The golden censor and crystal cup each have a serpent's tail twined around it. This could represent connection with transformation. But their tongues are forked and these serpents aren't joined.

The serpents at the top of the card are twined at their tails in an infinity shaped know. Their heads are near a golden bowl with a pentacle inside. I haven't figured what the 'highlights' around the pentacle and bowls represent. There's seems to be some significance with the serpents above and serpents on the sides of the card, but I can't figure it out. Maybe the balance beam also figures as a 'seprent' - remember the Ten Commandments scene where Charleton Heston gives his staff to Aaron to cast before Pharoh?
 

Sulis

I think they are there to represent duality.
The crystal is made of earth and filled with water - both feminine elements
The incense in the censor is made up of fire and air - both male elements.
 

6 Haunted Days

Sulis said:
I think they are there to represent duality.
The crystal is made of earth and filled with water - both feminine elements
The incense in the censor is made up of fire and air - both male elements.

Great observation! I was trying to link these 2 up and drew a blank..toomuch going on lol.