KING OF PENTACLES
Rider–Waite–Smith (1909)Key themes
Practical intelligence · Courage · Business ability · Accomplishment
Card meaning
The King of Pentacles concerns practical intelligence applied with courage and competence. Business ability and an aptitude for calculation belong to its traditional meaning, together with the success that can follow from understanding how an undertaking works.
The scene surrounds authority with cultivated abundance. Consider the quality of the decisions sustaining that position, how knowledge is translated into results and whether the ability to manage resources remains accountable to their actual purpose.
Key themes
Weakness · Corruption · Misused authority · Unsound conduct
Card meaning
Reversed, the King of Pentacles concerns weakness, corruption or conduct that makes a position of material authority unreliable. Resources and influence may be present while the judgement governing them falls short.
Treat this as a question about decisions and accountability rather than a description of someone’s appearance or identity. Examine the methods being used, whose interests they serve and whether visible success is being accepted as sufficient evidence of sound conduct.
Image description
A crowned figure in a robe patterned with vines sits on a throne decorated with bull heads. One hand supports a pentacle and the other holds a sceptre topped with a round ornament. Grapevines surround the seat, with a castle beyond.
Symbolism
- Held pentacle
- — Material responsibility brought directly under consideration.
- Sceptre
- — Authority to decide how resources are directed.
- Bull heads
- — An image of strength fixed into the seat of authority.
- Vines and grapes
- — Cultivated abundance surrounding an established position.
- Castle
- — The durable structures associated with material achievement.
Card advice
Assess authority through the quality of its decisions, and make practical success answerable to clear responsibilities.
Based on A. E. Waite’s The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910). Modern English adaptation — At Madame Shirley’s Table. Illustrations: Pamela Colman Smith (1909). Scan restoration: Steve P.