plot your course carefully for a slow & steady pace
Knights take action + Pentacles relate to the ways in which we as souls navigate the material world
While the other knights are charging forth, the Knight of Pentacles is patiently plotting his course. Not one to rush into anything, this knight exercises caution to protect his interests on his soul’s quest, committed to the journey and knowing that slow and steady wins the race. Like his sturdy draft horse (bred for strength and endurance, not speed), he represents duty and work on his path.
As protectors, knights can be multifaceted, and in his role of protector, the Knight of Pents is protecting his resources through careful planning and preparation, so that his efforts yield growth (like the greenery in the helmet of the Smith-Waite card). Conservative, practical, reliable, disciplined, and responsible, he works hard for safety and security in home, health, and finances, and can offer that help to friends in need.
In resistance, that cautious attitude slows him from taking any action at all. He may be stuck on his path or in his standard of principles, stubbornly holding on to conservative or outdated values, intolerant of others, and overly guarded of his resources or body. The heavy energy inherent in this card feels like the weight of the world on his shoulders as he plods on, bored and unsure of what he has committed to.
In excess, he is the planner on steroids. This is the traveler who has every moment of the trip planned out in his agenda. As the protector, he takes the interest of security a little too earnestly, perhaps feeling the need to arm himself (he could be the militia ammosexual protecting his property or his privilege against the Knight of Swords’ activist); or is so focused on the physical that he becomes the bodybuilder in a showy display of strength. What does he need to prove?
Questions we may be prompted to ask when this card comes up include
- Are you so cautious that you take no risks at all? Is there something you should be acting on?
- Is it time to re-plot your goals, or divide them up into achievable action steps?
- Are you overly focused on your body and how it measures up to body ideals?
- Do you take on the role of the protector? Who or what do you need to protect? Does this involve proving your worthiness through physical strength?
- Do you need to protect yourself in some way?
- How flexible are you in terms of your values? Where are you inflexible?
- Is there someone to whom you can turn in times of need who can provide shelter, food, or money? Are you that person for another?
What else? This card is complex, with different aspects of planning and protecting interwoven. How do you see it? Who do you know that fits these roles? What parts of you do you recognize, here?
ARCANIS TAROT 