The Six of Pentacles has been one of the most challenging tarot cards for me to understand, especially when it appears in the Significator or Soul position.
For most readers, the Significator is the card that represents the Querent. When I read, I go one step further. I look not just at the external, earthly aspects of the person being read but also the soul’s essence. For me, the Significator speaks to the energies that shape the spiritual path the person takes at birth.
The Six of Pentacles confused me for a long time because I initially could not see anything positive in the card. The card features a rather pompous-looking nobleman dressed in a red robe giving alms to a kneeling beggar while another beggar looks up beseechingly with his hands out. The nobleman holds a scale in his left hand, signifying that he is weighing out what the beggar deserves.
Many readers see this card as representing financial stability and compassion in giving, but I do not feel that energy in the picture. The noble stands above the beggars, and the scale makes me think that his giving does not come from his heart. The nobleman lords above the beggars, who must demean themselves to receive.
The first time this card showed up as a Significator, I was in a quandary. At first, I could not find a way to connect this card with my Querent’s soul journey. I said I needed to be quiet and listen. It took some time, but I heard the voice. “Think about a hug.” And I understood.
When we engage in a hug, there is no hugger or huggee. There is only the hug. It is a complete circle, equal in every way. Giving and receiving create a similar circle, except that there is a third aspect: asking.
Most people, especially people in the healing professions, are excellent at giving. For most of us, receiving is more challenging, and asking is harder still. It doesn’t help that we have been taught that giving is better than receiving. This is an awkward teaching because it puts the receiver in a lower position, but a giver can’t be a giver without a receiver. Asking is the heart connection that allows the giver to open his or her heart. The vulnerability of the receiver creates the completed circle.
In this way, I understood that the essence of this card is that we are all on a journey to remember that we are connected. The asker and receiver allow the giver to feel their vulnerability and the gratitude and overflowing of the abundance in their own life. Asking requires vulnerability. The answer may be “no,” but trust in the Universe cannot be practiced and learned without the risk of asking. Receiving requires the ability to trust in one’s own worth. Giving represents the overflowing of abundance in one’s life.
These spiritual lessons open us to the abundance of the Universe, the generosity of the human heart, and our connection with All that Is.
May you rejoice in the full circle of Asking, Giving, and Receiving.