What Cards in the Tarot Represent Money?
Rolling in the dough! Today’s post explores themes of wealth, abundance, and money in the cards. To that end, let’s consider cards that tarot readers love to see turn up when asking about money.
Money in the Cards
For the topic of Money, the Nine of Pentacles and Ten of Pentacles represent having all you need and want. But the Six of Pentacles, the King of Pentacles, and the Queen of Pentacles also address varying degrees of financial success. Let’s look at each card to understand its meaning when it turns up in a tarot spread about finances.
Ten of Pentacles
The Golden Dawn title for the Ten of Pentacles is “Lord of Wealth.” When this card comes up in a spread, you know you have the money or will get the money, without a doubt. The image shown here, painted by Pamela Colman Smith, shows three generations: an old man, a couple, and a child. They appear to be well-to-do, living in a luxurious estate. Many of the meanings of this card derive from this image. The card represents family or extended family, the family home or purchasing a house, and inheriting money from family.
When this card came up, I told one client she would receive an inheritance from her mother within the next year. A year later she told me, “Everything you said worked out exactly like you described, except the inheritance. Not only was no money handed down, but my mother became ill and moved in with me. I wasn’t expecting that!” “Well,” I said, “the inheritance is your mother herself. The Ten of Pentacles illustrates extended family and multiple generations living together.” The cards are right even if we don’t interpret them correctly! To decipher the difference, keep the question in mind. If the question is about money, the card will be strictly about finances. If the question is more general, some of the other meanings may apply.
The Spiritual Meaning of the Ten of Pentacles
The peculiar arrangement of the ten pentacles in the card has a special significance. The shape they outline is the qabalistic Tree of Life. This might strike you as an oddly spiritual emblem to place on a robustly material card. The Ten of Pentacles, according to the philosophy of the Four Worlds, is “Malkuth in Assiah.” In layman’s terms, this means that the card represents the lowest sphere of the Tree in the lowest of the Four Worlds: the most material step of the most material level. As the most material card in the deck, the Ten of Pentacles symbolizes complete manifestation. It is the finished product of any creation process. This layers on the meanings of completion, realizing a goal, or producing something tangible and solid.
Nine of Pentacles
The Nine of Pentacles, like the Ten of Pentacles, includes the concepts of luxury, prosperity, comfort, and security. The title of the card is “Lord of Material Gain” and as such suggests the increase or growth of wealth.
Astrologically, the card is ruled by Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. The flowers on the woman’s gown are shaped in the form of the planetary glyph for Venus. This card invites us to appreciate the pleasures of success. The Nine of Pentacles gives the nod to splurging, advising us to remodel or redecorate the home, cultivate the grounds, upgrade our wardrobe, enjoy a fancy dinner, or buy something nice for ourselves.
One of the main differences between the Nine of Pentacles and the Ten of Pentacles is that in the Nine there is only one person shown. Rather than the multi-generational family, this card shows a woman alone. When this card shows up in a reading, it can recommend that we focus on the self, our own needs, and on enjoying alone time.
Six of Pentacles
The Six of Pentacles is titled “Lord of Material Success.” Although not as abundant as the Nine and Ten of Pentacles, this card represents financial success and achievement. This card represents getting a little bit more. The promotion brings a raise, you’re in the black, you can afford a little bit extra.
The card image shows a wealthy merchant holding a set of scales in one hand, pouring coins from the other into the outstretched hand of a beggar who kneels on the ground, dressed in rags. The image brings to mind ideas such as generosity, maintaining the balance of giving and receiving, and charitable giving.
The positioning of the suit icons, the six coins above the merchant’s head, almost looks like the set of balances used to measure the day’s take. In fact, although the scales he holds are pretty close to even, the coins at the top of the card hang lower over the head of the tramp who receives the largesse. The scales tip towards one, not the other. This suggests to some readers that the charity is not equal. One vagabond gets a handout, the other goes without.
Are You the Merchant or the Beggar?
This implied inequality suggests an alternate but relevant meaning for the card. Although the primary meaning is generosity, sometimes we have to evaluate our capacity to give. Are we keeping the scales balanced? Sometimes we give and give and give and nothing is coming back our way. This card can advise us that when we have extra, it’s appropriate to give extra. But when we’re lagging behind, it’s time to receive. This meaning more often comes up in relationship questions than straightforward money questions. But even when evaluating a new job offer, keep in mind the toll the job takes as well as the benefits it offers.
The King and Queen of Pentacles
Another indicator of money in the cards are the Suit of Pentacles court cards. Although all the Coins face cards reference money and other earthy topics, in particular the King and Queen of Pentacles embody wealth and abundance. The tarot kings are stately and successful. Therefore the tarot King of Pentacles has amassed great wealth. He has accomplished his goals. The tarot queens are hardworking and commanding. So the Queen of Pentacles climbs the corporate ladder. She’s actively growing her fortune. The King may have amassed more, but he Queen says the game’s not over yet.
When Do You See Money in the Cards?
What cards do you love to see in your tarot spreads about money? Let me know in the comments!
Need more money? See my post, “A Myriad of Magical, Mystical, Marvelous Methods for Manifesting Money.”
Also, the Ten of Pentacles correlates to Mercury in the last third of Virgo. Mercury is moving through that sign now through September 14, 2019. Check out my Mercury in Virgo Tarot Spread based on the Ten of Pentacles.
