PAGE OF PENTACLES
Rider–Waite–Smith (1909)Key themes
Application · Study · Reflection · Practical news
Card meaning
The Page of Pentacles concerns attentive study and the willingness to apply oneself to a subject. Scholarship, reflection and practical management belong to its traditional meaning, together with news or messages that call for considered attention.
The figure studies a single pentacle with unusual concentration. Consider what needs to be understood before action begins, and whether a careful first examination would be more useful than an immediate claim to expertise.
Key themes
Extravagance · Dissipation · Luxury · Unwelcome news
Card meaning
Reversed, the Page of Pentacles turns towards extravagance, dissipation or resources spent on luxury without sufficient regard for their use. Unfavourable news is another historical association, particularly where a practical matter needs attention.
The card invites a review of conduct rather than a judgement about age or character. Notice where attention and resources are being scattered, and separate a disappointing report from the choices still available in responding to it.
Image description
A youthful figure in a green tunic and red hat holds a pentacle up in both hands and looks closely at it. Flowers grow in the meadow. Trees stand to one side, with a worked field and distant mountains beyond.
Symbolism
- Raised pentacle
- — A tangible subject brought into concentrated attention.
- Upward gaze
- — Curiosity and the wish to understand what is being considered.
- Two supporting hands
- — Care given to a subject before it is put to use.
- Worked field
- — A practical setting in which study may eventually become application.
- Distant mountains
- — Further learning beyond the immediate object of interest.
Card advice
Give one practical subject your full attention, and understand its requirements before committing more resources.
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.