Six of Pentacles (Rider Waite Tarot)
First Impressions
I see this card as a somewhat natural progression from the Five of Pentacles. In the Five, a poor and ragged couple trudge wearily through a snowstorm. Whether they are actually looking for comfort, relief or help is another topic for debate, but if they are they are not finding it. Now we are at the Six of Pentacles, and a poor and ragged couple (not the same people, but what can you do) is receiving alms from a richly dressed man who seems to weigh coins in his golden scales before dropping them into the outstretched hands of one beggar.
The wealthy man reminds me of the fat and smug man in the Nine of Cups. He’s not as beefy, as hale and hearty as the guy in the Nine of Cups, but he’s dressed very similarly - the striped nightshirt, the funny draped hat. He smiles slightly as he drops four coins into the outstretched hands of the beggar kneeling to the left. The one on the right - the more ragged of the two - patiently waits his turn. The rich man also carries a Libra-like scale in his free hand, and holds two coins in reserve in the other.
A curious part of this card, which we only see again in the Ten of Pentacles in the Rider Waite deck, is that the appropriate number of pentacles are superimposed over the scene. They fill up the space around the people, rather than being integrated into the picture. We see this in the Nigel Jackson Tarot and others, but it’s not common at all in this deck. So I’m guessing now that this is there for a reason.
The way you take this card would depend on which side of it you consider: the rich guy - in which you’d see it as helping out those less fortunate, as giving - or the paupers - whereby you’d see it in light of receiving, of getting help or handouts. Personally my eye is drawn to the tall man distributing the coins, so what does that say about me?
Creator’s Notes
In
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot Waite says:
Waite said:
A person in the guise of a merchant weighs money in a pair of scales and distributes it to the needy and distressed. It is a testimony to his own success in life, as well as to his goodness of heart.
Clearly Waite’s focus is on the wealthy man who distributes his coins to the poor. But who am I to judge? So is mine
It’s interesting too that Waite says he’s in the
guise of a merchant. Other posters here on ATF have commented on it, and Rachel Pollack makes much of it in
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom. I’ll get to that more later.
Others’ Interpretations
Waite defines the card as:
Waite said:
Divinatory Meanings: Presents, gifts, gratification another account says attention, vigilance now is the accepted time, present prosperity, etc. Reversed: Desire, cupidity, envy, jealousy, illusion.
Symbols and Attributes
The Six of Pentacles is represented astrologically by Taurus. Specifically, the third decan, or the Moon in Taurus. Taurus the Bull also rules the Hierophant, a card that is all about social order, societal norms. And in this card I see that aspect so carefully delineated. The higher end of the pecking order in the wealthy merchant, and the lowest in the beggars. And like the Hierophant, this card shows one higher-up individual lording it over two lesser beings.
But on its own, without reference to the Hierophant, how does this card relate to Taurus? According to
Pictures From the Heart: A Tarot Dictionary, Taurus is an Earth sign of fertility and growth that is ruled by Saturn and Venus. So it is torn between Saturn’s careful structure and Venus’ love for comfort and luxury. It relates to acquisition of money, and to enjoying it, but also in using it for good. Add the Moon’s Watery influence into the mix, and the money is used not just with practicality but also compassion. And that is what the rich man is doing here. I think.
From an elemental and numerological standpoint the Six of Pentacles embraces the Sixness of the card - harmony, restoration of balance after the upsetting Five - with the Earthiness of the suit - practical and material matters, concerned with the here and now rather than such abstractions as intellectual or spiritual things. The cold and ragged wretches of the Five of Pentacles have received alms, and warmer coverings; the wealthy have redistributed their own riches (a little) to do some small part to restore the balance between those who have it all and those who have nothing.
As I mentioned previously, my attention seems to go more to the rich man as the central figure, the main point of the card’s focus. So I will start there.
Waite says that he is in the “guise of a merchant”. Why a guise? Why is he not simply a merchant? Rachel Pollack suggests that he is something more abstract than a real person, merchant or no:
Pollack said:
Yet who is this person in his merchant ‘guise’? Is he simply a teacher, or a religious or psychological doctrine? The scales suggest something more - Justice, which stands for truth, not just as ‘correct information’ but as a living force holding together and balancing the universe.
More on the scales later. As for the religious or psychological doctrine, I have trouble addressing that in the very general abstract that Pollack presents. However, I also do not see him as a teacher. Rather, he represents the
idea of a merchant. One who is materially comfortable, well off if not actually wealthy. And yet, who doesn’t actually earn his money by the sweat of his brow. No hard physical labour or discomfort for this guy, so he may appear to the toiling masses as one who doesn’t actually work for his money. Hence an extra emphasis on him as being comfortable, if not as soft as the beefy man on the Nine of Cups. It’s easy to make the comparison between the two, in terms of clothing alone.
When I was back on the Nine of Cups in this study, I saw the lengthy white robe with blue stripes as a nightshirt, further emphasis of his love of comfort. But now I wonder. It reminds me a little of pictures of the Jewish
Tallit or prayer shawl, which I understand is white with some stripes, sometimes blue. But I found a great reference to the stripes on a blog called
Kundalini Surge after about an hour of trawling through anything that cited the symbolism of stripes that didn’t specifically refer to the U.S. flag. According to the blog post‘s author Fabio:
Kundalini Surge said:
[…]the upright blue stripes representing the link from heaven to earth
In other words, the stripes being vertical connects that which is in the heavens to that which is here on earth. Another variation on the “as above, so below” theme? I like it. And the blue references the spiritual aspect of it. And the icing on the cake? His tall boots are yellowy-green in some printings, emphasizing the groundedness.
He also wears deep red on his rich and elaborate hat and cloak. It represents determination and vigor, both of which have gotten him this far in life. In fact it is very close to the shade of the miser’s robe in the Four of Pentacles, at least in my printing. When studying that card a couple of weeks ago I had seen it as representing “the extent of his will, but only as far as it protects his own comfort, his own position.” But now it’s only an outer layer and hat, not his innermost clothing. Not a vital part of him, but something he can easily put on and off at will. He can be generous, but he can look out for number 1 if it suits him. You have to wonder a little if he’d be so benevolently doling out charity if he didn’t have so much himself.
In one hand he holds a set of golden scales like those held by Lady Justice. It points to balance and equality, fairness. Notice that he holds them up, as if emphasizing fairness in particular. Whereas on the Justice card she holds them fairly low down but raises an upright sword; this suggests that in the Major Arcana card “justice” is harsher than the generosity shown here. Other possible interpretations of these scales, which seem out of place when considered solely from an Airy and intellectual Libran perspective, are that they represent the merchant’s authority, his wealth or status, or his need to balance his outer and inner worlds. It also suggests prudence to me; he didn’t get to his position in society by tossing out alms willy-nilly, but rather by carefully weighing out and balancing what he has to give. He manages his resources shrewdly. Stingily, some might say.
His other hand, the one with which he distributes the coins, is interesting. He drops four coins, holding two more still in his hand. The last two fingers on his hand are bent down to hold the withheld coins in place, and the first two and thumb are extended. In fact, it’s the same gesture as that of his fellow Taurus card the Hierophant. Just extended downward instead of held upright. I wonder if the upright Hierophant and downward merchant gestures are deliberately mirrored to show once again the “As above, so below” theme.
The two beggars before him represent the lowest end of the social pecking order, just as he is up toward the top. Unlike the poorly clad pair in the Five of Pentacles, ill-dressed against the cold, these two are bundled inside heavy layers of cloaks or blankets. Only their faces and hands are exposed. Whereas nudity in the Tarot usually means openness, having nothing to hide, I wonder here what is concealed beneath the heavy wrappings.
The one in yellow, to whom the merchant is giving the first coins, represents consciousness, intellect, awareness, outer self-expression. So it would seem that giving to this beggar first is a conscious, deliberate choice and not just happenstance. But why? Because it seems that this guy is marginally better off than the one in blue. His head is covered, his cloak or blanket a little less ragged. He even seems less haggard, less emaciated and hungry. So why is the merchant not giving first to the more miserable of the two?
So we look at the blue-cloaked beggar now. The blue stands for emotion, so I gather that the merchant in making his conscious decision to give to the one in yellow first is not letting emotion affect his decision. He doesn’t give first to the one for whom he feels sorry. Or does he even feel sympathy for their plight? And is the blue beggar even as deserving of pity as we think? Look at his cloak; on the side facing us, the blue beggar’s cloak has something that looks like two overlapping patches, one of which is red. But someone on the forum once proposed that it was a pocket, with a red
yod protruding from it. Now, I don’t see that; the red bit isn’t enough to get that, at least for me. But if it was, then it would hint at great potential, at great power, that the blue beggar is concealing from the merchant. See my comment earlier about what’s hidden below the heavy cloaks. Maybe that’s why he’s not giving to this guy first? Does he sense that the one in blue is able to look after himself in the long run? Or is it more premeditated and cynical than that - does he think that the better-dressed yellow beggar will be that much sooner to get back on his feet, and therefore the merchant will sooner see a return for his “investment”?
How we choose to see it, I guess, depends on whether we see the merchant’s actions in an altruistic light or not. Because there
are some aspects that might make us think there’s more to it than meets the eye. The imbalance of power between the rich merchant and the two paupers. The way the merchant doesn’t hand the coins to the yellow beggar, but drops them as if hoping he’ll have to scrabble after them on his hands and knees. The possibility that the blue beggar is concealing his power or the wherewithal to look after himself - a modern equivalent might be one who deliberately doesn’t declare or actively hides assets or income in order to get benefits or handouts.
Even the pentacles themselves are out of balance. Three on the left-hand side of the card frame, above the yellow beggar; one above the merchant’s head; two above the scales and the blue beggar. What does this mean? Well, the yellow beggar is receiving coins now, so that is why he has the most. And the blue beggar, that is not (yet) receiving his alms, he has only two. It seems to suggest that the distribution of coins, of power and status, is still in progress. Matters are still recovering from the paucity of the Five of Pentacles. The merchant in his generosity, however it is motivated, is helping to raise their own positions. But it’s still a work in progress. The harmony of the Sixes is not restored fully, but they’re working on it.
This is a stage card; note how the main activity happens on a plain, flat surface that is separated from the distant city and sky in the background by a clear horizontal line. If we assume that this is the same city as that seen in the background of the Four of Pentacles, we notice that it’s further away, and somewhat to the side (note how we see trees in the Six that weren’t showing in the Four). So it indicates that there has been progress. From hoarding his wealth and keeping it all for himself (“Mine!”), he now shares with those less fortunate, whatever his motives. But it’s still a stage card, a kind of backdrop or scenic depiction. So is it real? Or is it what the merchant wants us to think, or even believes himself? “See, I’m not such a bad guy, I’m not the stingy old coot I once was, I can share with these poor slobs …”
Overall, there’s more to this card than meets the eye. A lot depends on whether you’re inclined to be charitable (ha) when viewing the figures - who is the main focus and what is their motivation.
My Interpretations
I used to view this card quite favorably. Now I’m not so sure. I’m finding that a lot in this study!
When this card appears and you find yourself identifying with the two beggars, I would see it as generosity, as charity, as receiving assistance or help - most likely taking a tangible form rather than emotional. But there’s a note of caution as well: remember the adage and look a gift horse in the mouth. If you’re the recipient, make sure that the assistance doesn’t come with strings attached!
If looking at the merchant as the focal point, it may indicate how far you’ve progressed, from thinking only of yourself to thinking of others. It refers to groundedness, and advises to seek opportunities to share your good fortune with those less fortunate. But it also carries a warning to examine your own motives before you pat yourself too hard on the back. Are you really as altruistic as you think?
In the abstract, it refers to a balance of power, of the scales tipping and a redistribution of assets and power. This may carry to work aspects, or finances or the social order of things. Things may not be at their current level indefinitely; the order may be shifting. But that will be a temporary thing, as the Six is about achieving harmony. Things will soon reach an equilibrium.
