Morgan Greer 6 of Pents

[Cascade]

This card is really different than the RWS. The first thing I saw was, if he drops that coin the whole scene is off balance. The pentacles are even on both sides. The scales are exactly balanced. He looks rather smug as he holds that coin over the two begging hands. One light hand, one dark hand. The balance of good and evil? Like the devil and the angel sitting on your shoulder.
The RWS shows by that scale (I measured both), that there's enough for all concerned. Not a lot, but something is left over. I think the Morgan Greer has a harsher message. Something along the lines of WHY we choose to give.

 

[Willa]

Greeting Cascade,
The hands clutch and reach but do not grasp the pentacles.
the rich man is willing enough to give but does not pay attention to where he is giving. He lets resources fall by the wayside, and does not attend to needs directly in front of him. He is squandering his gifts while deluding himself that he is charitable

 

[autumn star]

Greeting Cascade,
The hands clutch and reach but do not grasp the pentacles.
the rich man is willing enough to give but does not pay attention to where he is giving. He lets resources fall by the wayside, and does not attend to needs directly in front of him. He is squandering his gifts while deluding himself that he is charitable

Welcome to the forum & to the Morgan Greer study group, Willa

I like your interpretation ... I had never thought about the card that way, so you have added to my understanding of it ...

I have always thought that the man on this card has such a knowing look on his face .... like he knows something that you don't know ... as though he has some kind of secret knowledge.

 

[Rede Seeker]

Going through the motions?

The man holding he scales seems to be in a trance. What is he giving away and why? Who is receiving? Are those people deserving of the wealth being given so thoughtlessly?

The man is heavily robed. Is he insulated from the world around him - physically and metaphysically? His throat is covered - does he hold his words, have unspoken thoughts? There is a round, red broach near his heart - his intent is to be generous. The red pillar behind him seems almost like a post - is he about to be burned at the stake or crucified - or is that how he feels when he donates to whoever is receiving his money?

I get so many bad vibes from this image. The man had noble intentions, and he has wealth to share, but he is giving it away without acknowledging where it is going. It feels almost like extortion. His expression seems to be his way of not seeing what he is supporting - plausible deniability? Does the balance he holds represent his determination to keep from rocking the boat?

Our man is mature, but clean-shaven. Is that a concession to society - does he want to fit-in?

 

[uruz]

The hands are where I focus first. They are disembodied hands, held awkwardly as they clutch for the golden coin. They seem somehow inhuman or dehumanized in their position, as though no real persons could hold their hands just so if they were really sitting and begging in relation to the one with the scales. They are simply hands, not the hands of persons with hopes and dreams and fears and passions. Just hands.

The man. The one with the scales. The one with the gold. The one who knows best. The finery of a successful merchant. He doesn't look at the hands. Why would he? They are only hands. Not people. No hopes, no fears, no dreams. Just hands. But he knows best. He metes out his coin in the way he knows is fair. He's a successful merchant. He knows which hand deserves the coin. Not that the hands are really any different. They are just hands. But he knows best.

He doesn't look at the hands. Why would he? He looks at you. He is you. You know best. You know who deserves the coin. You know what is right and just. You know everything. The grubby hands with no hopes and fears and dreams are only hands, nothing more. And you know what the hands need, and you are the one who decides who gets the coin.

You know best.

Or do you?

I think this card is a card of blind charity. To give alms to those in need is one thing, but alms without respect are worthless. The merchant in all his finery has alms to give, but he gives without seeing those he is giving to. They aren't even human to him. But no matter how far someone has fallen, they are still worthy of dignity. I think this card is a reminder that no matter your station in life, humans are all the same. I think it is a warning against forgetting that simple fact. Justice is fine, but when it is you on the scales do you want justice or do you want mercy? When he above sees he below as beneath him, it is justice (if not something far worse). When he above recognizes himself in he below, it is mercy. Blind objectivity or dispassionate charity are not worthy uses of ones gifts and accomplishments. Rather, it is best to open ones heart instead of (or better, in addition to) ones purse. Let yourself connect with those "beneath" you. Don't blind yourself to the basic humanity of everyone.