The falcon in the Nine of Pentacles

Phoenyx*

I know this card has been beaten into the ground, but I just can't find the thread to ressurect it. This card came up in a reading I had, and when I started describing it, I realised...The woman has a glove on one hand, and none on the other, and its a LONG glove...why would she wear a glove on the same hand as a bird perches...unless she needs to protect that hand...it's a hawk, or a falcon!
Maybe the garden has nothing to do with the card at all, but the falcon does, and the way she looks at it, it seems as if she's looking at it very longingly, as if she envies the freedom it has.

Any ideas?
 

Imagemaker

Yes, and the falcon is hooded, waiting for her to release him. Her control of this trained bird says something about her power in that garden of abundance.
 

HudsonGray

The glove is necessary even with a raptor as tiny as a kestral. Their nails are made to puncture animals, so sitting on a hand means you either do it without a glove & get sliced open, or use a long glove (for when the bird shifts up onto the wrist or higher as it fidgits) and save your skin. It's mandatory for every falconer.

The fact it's hooded on the card means that she's not ready to release it after prey, so it can mean that she's just enjoying being with the bird, likes the upscale intent of carrying the bird (nobles & rich people were the few who could own a falcon legally in the Middle Ages) or is going hunting later. The hood keeps it quiet.
 

cartarum

the falcon

its true, the glove in her hand just enhances the fact that she is safely controlling her bird, that symbol of something that is very free and lively. i always said that i dont trust birds as they are volatile random things. i think that this kind of thing imitates the circumstances that we endure, avolatile thing indeed.
 

Phoenyx*

HudsonGray said:
The glove is necessary even with a raptor as tiny as a kestral. Their nails are made to puncture animals, so sitting on a hand means you either do it without a glove & get sliced open, or use a long glove (for when the bird shifts up onto the wrist or higher as it fidgits) and save your skin. It's mandatory for every falconer.

The fact it's hooded on the card means that she's not ready to release it after prey, so it can mean that she's just enjoying being with the bird, likes the upscale intent of carrying the bird (nobles & rich people were the few who could own a falcon legally in the Middle Ages) or is going hunting later. The hood keeps it quiet.

Yeah, the glove to me was the factor that changed my opinion to some pet bird to a hawk or falcon. :)
 

WalesWoman

I read Rachel Pollack's "Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom" about the 9 Pentacles representing creative discipline and thought that was a good theory, but she said nothing about the glove. I think now I understand what the gaunlet on her arm and the hooded falcon mean now. It takes a lot of disciplined training between the person and the bird, along with trust and love for them to be able to work together. I can also see why some might think of her as being kept, like a pet. But falcons/hawks are not pets, they were basically a weapon for hunting and only priviledged people could do so, the bird a person hunted with and was allowed to own depended on their rank. I'm still figuring out that...could be a red herring.
But it would be using discipline and training to get your goal, the falcon/hawk is hooded because the hunt is over, the goals have been reached successfully, perhaps sometimes the means to gain goals are a bit predatory and need to have some sort of protection from them?
 

Tarotmyst

Why are birds hooded? Is it like covering up pet birds - keeps them quieter?

I also found this on a site

All sorts of people had hawks. They were part of everyday life. They were mainly used to hunt for food, but also for other pleasures. Lords and ladies and even church dignitaries participated in falconry as an outdoor pastime. Large groups would assemble and wagering took place to see whoes falcon could bring down the first prey. Interest in the birds was so great that nobles often attended Mass with hooded falcons on their wrists. The birds were very well cared for.

I guess it is to help show her status and how she cares for everything she has around her?
 

tmgrl2

The woman with the falcon in the 9Pents reminds me of royalty...her robes...with the pentacles not beneath her, but not a primary concern in her life...she looks creative, artistic, in tune with nature...the presence of the falcon, the bird of prey--hooded speaks to me of control and self-discipline...not just woman of leisure...it's the counterpoint to what I think of as the usual falconner...a male or woodsman-type...for me the message is don't let her wealth and status lead me to believe for one minute she is just a lady of leisure...money (pentacles) are not uppermost in her life, but she proudly bears the bird as a sign that she can control the shadow or dark side of life....
 

poivre

Maybe the glove & the hood is telling us what is hidden.

What if she has all that she needs but she's hiding the fact that she wants more! It's not enough. Even if she is humble, she could turn to be greedy.

Something is hidden, where she got all these comforts of life. Did she work for all of this or was it easy for her. Was it handed to her on a silver platter? Is this why she wants more?

Just ideas.
 

tmgrl2

ros said:
Mabee the glove & the hood is telling us what is hidden.

What if she has all that she needs but she's hiding the fact that she wants more! It's not enough. Even if she is humble, she could turn to be greedy.

Something is hidden, mabee where she got all these comforts of life. Did she work for all of this or was it easy for her. Was it handed to her on a silver platter? Is this why she wants more?

Just ideas.

I like your idea as a reversal of the cardl!