Tarot - Six of Pentacles

^z 23rd January 2023 at 5:45pm

Six of Pentacles

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. Divinatory Meanings: Presents, gifts, gratification another account says attention, vigilance now is the accepted time, present prosperity, etc.

A. E. Waite, Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911)

Life's generosity arises from within the individual himself or herself. It is harvest and celebration of one's good luck and fortune. Give without conditions, life doesn't judge like society. It is giving and taking and enjoying the sensual pleasure of life, abundance, fertility and health. Also small earnings, balance between debit and credit, money or substance to be shared, restoration through the generosity or charity of others, renewal of faith and success.

6 of Rainbows: Compromise

In the courts of ancient Japan, the male attendants were often selected from the ranks of petty criminals who were castrated. Because of their intimate familiarity with the activities of the court, they were often at the center of the political and social intrigues and exercised a great deal of power behind the scenes.

The two figures on this card remind us of the sleazy and conspiratorial situations we can get into when we compromise our own truth. It is one thing to meet another halfway, to understand a point of view different from our own and work towards a harmony of the opposing forces. It is quite another to "cave in" and betray our own truth. If we look deeply into it, we usually find that we are trying to gain something–whether it is power or the approval of others. If you are tempted, beware: the rewards of this kind of compromise always leave a bitter taste in the mouth.

The epiphany of Ebeneezer Scrooge, maybe the most profound and sudden change of heart in literature, carries a feeling of generosity very similar to that of the Six of Pentacles. The Six is the dawning of the light after the dark night of the Five, and the realization that material wealth and spiritual wealth are so different after all. The lesson of the Ace has been learned. Just like the scales often pictured on this card, generosity has two sides. This card shows when you are the person expressing generosity, or when you are the recipient of someone else's good favor.

The Six of Pentacles often represents the first of these two situations, when it is your generosity that is being (or should be) expressed. Now that you have lived through the darkness long enough to see the inner light, it is time to help others who are not so fortunate. The generosity of the Six does not limit itself to money and material things, though the focus is on those because it is a Pentacle card. Giving of your time or your wisdom is often just as spiritually fulfilling as giving away money or gifts, and the intangible gift of your presence is received just as well, if not better.

There are limits on helping, however. It is pointless to give so much that you ruin yourself, and it is equally pointless to give a person so much that they become totally dependent on you. That is the purpose of the scales, which offer the qualities of discrimination and fair judgement as they relate to generosity. To paraphrase Marx, give according to your abilities, and according to the needs of others. And if too many people start asking for your help it is not forbidden to draw the line! Do not make the mistake of half-heartedly helping everyone when you can do a better job helping a few.

Sometimes you must call on the kindness of others to help you through dark times, especially those periods of spiritual darkness depicted on the Five. The appearance of the Six of Pentacles can thus indicate that someone in your life is willing to help you, either by giving you money or by offering you advice that will set you on the right track. When it seems that the Six of Pentacles is telling you that you have to be generous, think about who in your life needs help and how they need it. The law of cause and effect is in force here - expect rewards of your generosity. A new friend could easily be made through a good deed and a kind word.