IX, Suit of PentaclesNine of Pentacles tarot card meaning
Upright and reversedNine of Pentacles in shortIn short
The Nine of Pentacles is a woman in her own garden. She stands among heavy grapevines, a falcon on her hand, a manor house behind her, calm and well provided for. Self-reliance, comfort, and pleasure in what you earned.
- Self-reliance
- Luxury
- Reward
Piece oneThe yellow sky
Bright yellow sky, low purple hills, a round green tree. Waite calls her garden a wide domain with plenty in all things. The sky is the colour of gold, so the air shares her wealth.
"It is a wide domain, suggesting plenty in all things."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe sky makes the whole day golden. Her wealth spills out of the coins and the grapes into the air itself. The hills, trees and house behind her are calm and far off, so nothing threatens the garden. She stands in a world that agrees with her.
Piece twoThe vineyard
Vines fill the garden from edge to edge, heavy with purple grapes. Waite calls it a great abundance of vines on a wide domain that suggests plenty in all things. The harvest is ripe.
"...stands amidst a great abundance of grape-vines in the garden of a manorial house."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe vines are the work already done. Grapes take years to come in, so their weight says she has waited and tended. She stands among them at ease, the coins resting in the leaves. The garden is the proof behind her calm.
Piece threeThe lady
A woman with dark curls and a red cap looks down, calm, in no hurry. Waite says the estate may be her own, a sign of material well-being. Her long, rich robe makes it plain: she is done working.
"Possibly it is her own possession and testifies to material well-being."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereShe is the reason the garden is calm. Nobody works here, nobody asks for anything, and the falcon on her glove is hooded and still. Her hand on the top coin shows ownership without grabbing. She earned the vines, and now she gets to enjoy them.
Piece fourThe nine pentacles
Six pentacles stack up on the left of the card and three more on the right, among the vines. She rests her hand on the top one, lightly, the way you touch something that's yours. Waite's meanings: prudence, safety, success, accomplishment, certitude, discernment.
"Prudence, safety, success, accomplishment, certitude, discernment."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe coins are piled low among the vines, easy to reach. She touches the top one lightly, so they're hers, and she doesn't need to grip. The vineyard grew them and the lady keeps them. Nine is close to the end of the count, with one step left.
Colour, and where else it appearsEchoes
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The yellow sky
Golden yellow over plum hills: the suit at its richest, with purple for comfort. The Empress sits in her own green woods with ripe wheat at her feet, another woman at home in plenty. The King of Pentacles sits under the same yellow sky, his robe covered in vines. Here the gold belongs to a woman alone.
Also in -
The vineyard
Olive leaves and dark purple grapes, dark and full under a bright sky. The King of Pentacles wears the same vines and grapes across his robe, as if the garden grew onto him. In the Three of Cups one of the dancing women holds a bunch of grapes. Here the grapes stay on the vine.
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The lady
Cream-gold robe covered in small red signs of Venus, nearly the colour of the sky. The Empress carries the same Venus sign on the heart-shaped shield beside her. In the Nine of Cups a man sits with folded arms before his cups, the other contented nine. He shows off his wealth. She stands among hers.
Also in -
The nine pentacles
Gold coins on dark leaves and brown earth, the same warm gold as the sky. In the Seven of Pentacles the coins still hang on a young vine, and a tired man weighs whether they were worth it. Here the question is settled. The harvest is in, stacked by her side.
Also in
Colour notes are ours, read from the picture; Waite does not explain the colours.
Nine of PentaclesUpright
Comfort earned on your own terms. Waite's meanings: prudence, safety, success, accomplishment, certitude, discernment. Financial independence, a home or garden you made, the pleasure of needing nobody's help.
She stands alone, and the card counts it as strength. Enjoy what you built, look after it wisely, and trust your judgement.
Nine of PentaclesReversed
Waite's words: roguery, deception, voided project, bad faith. The comfort may rest on something dishonest, or a plan you counted on falls through.
Money or appearances may be less solid than they look. Check the ground under your security, and deal honestly.
Yes or noYes.
Yes. Success and accomplishment, and you can stand on your own feet.
Nine of Pentacles in your lifeIn your life
Love
Self-respect in love. You're happy alone, and a partner is a choice.
Work
Success and independence. Good for freelancing, your own business, or enjoying past effort.
Money
Comfortable and secure. Spend on quality and pleasure, and keep the prudence that got you here.
Health
Comfort, rest, good self-care. A card can't diagnose you; if something's wrong, see a doctor.
Spirituality
Gratitude for what you have. An hour in a garden can feel like prayer.
Advice
Enjoy what you earned and trust yourself. You can rest without asking.
As a person
Independent, refined, self-made. Good taste and a calm confidence.
Past, present, future
Past: hard work that paid off. Present: comfort and independence. Future: security you can enjoy.
Written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
Symbols and correspondencesAt a glance
- Suit
- Pentacles
- Element
- Earth
- Astrology
- Venus in Virgo
- Sephira
- Yesod
- Upright
- Prudence
- Reversed
- Roguery
QuestionsCommon questions
Yes. Success, safety, independence: one of the most comfortable cards in the suit.
Self-worth and independence. You love fully, keep yourself, and don't settle.
Yes. Success and accomplishment.
Waite only says she has a bird upon her wrist. Ours is a hooded falcon, a trained hunting bird: discipline, refinement, an estate run well.
Venus in Virgo, an earth sign, in the Golden Dawn system, with the sephira Yesod. Venus brings the pleasure, Virgo the care.
Waite shows a woman with a bird on her wrist in a manor garden thick with vines. He calls it a wide domain with plenty in all things, possibly her own.
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911Card meanings and quotes: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911. Element, decan and sephira: the Golden Dawn's Book T. Colours, life situations, yes or no and questions: written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
All 14 Pentacles