Queen, Suit of PentaclesQueen of Pentacles tarot card meaning
Upright and reversedQueen of Pentacles in shortIn short
The Queen of Pentacles rules the garden. She sits on a carved throne under an arch of roses, a gold pentacle in her lap, looking down at it with care. Nurture, practical sense, a home that feels safe.
- Nurture
- Practicality
- Comfort
Piece oneThe roses
Red roses and leaves arch across the top, and red flowers grow all around her throne. Waite's text leaves them out; in our picture she sits inside a garden she keeps alive.
Why it is hereThe roses make her garden. They arch over her and grow round her throne, so she sits inside something alive that she keeps. Her red dress takes the colour of the flowers. The pentacle in her lap and the roses above are two sides of the same care.
Piece twoThe carved throne
Her throne is grey-violet stone carved with leaves, an animal head on the armrest and a rabbit on the panel below. Waite skips the carvings; his meanings for her are opulence, generosity, magnificence, security, liberty. The throne is rich in a settled, earthy way.
"Opulence, generosity, magnificence, security, liberty."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe throne is carved with animals, so even her stone seat holds living things. A rabbit sits on the panel below her. It's heavy and earthy, built to stay in one place. She sits there with her pentacle, settled, and the roses grow up around the carvings.
Piece threeThe queen
She wears a gold crown topped with red flowers over a long green veil, eyes lowered. Waite describes a dark woman whose qualities add up to greatness of soul, with a serious, intelligent look. Ours is fair, with the same quiet, serious face.
"The face suggests that of a dark woman, whose qualities might be summed up in the idea of greatness of soul..."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereHer lowered eyes set the tone. She looks after something in her hands. The crown of red flowers ties her to the roses overhead. Her face is serious and calm, and the coin in her lap gets all of it.
Piece fourThe pentacle in her lap
She holds a large gold pentacle in her lap with both hands, as if it were alive. Waite says she contemplates her symbol and may see worlds in it. Money and earth are hers to look after.
"...she contemplates her symbol and may see worlds therein."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe coin in her lap is the centre of the card. She holds it with both hands, the way you hold something alive. The throne holds her and she holds the coin. The roses above make a frame around it.
Colour, and where else it appearsEchoes
-
The roses
Deep red roses on dark green, and her dress shares the red. In the Ace of Pentacles an arch of roses opens onto a path out of the garden. The Magician stands among roses and lilies, a pentacle on his table. The Queen stays inside the arch and tends it.
Also in -
The carved throne
Dusty violet stone over warm earth, the one cool colour near her, which makes her red and gold glow. The Queen of Cups sits on a throne carved with small cherubs at the sea's edge. The Queen of Wands has lion heads on hers. This queen's throne has a rabbit.
Also in -
The queen
A gold crown and a green veil: the suit's colour and the colour of growing things. The Empress also sits among living things, crowned with stars, wheat at her feet, the Venus sign on the shield beside her. She rules nature. The Queen of Pentacles looks after one corner of it.
Also in -
The pentacle in her lap
Gold on deep red, in the middle of the warmest colour on the card. The King of Pentacles rests his hand on his coin and looks past it. The Knight of Pentacles holds his out at arm's length. Only the Queen holds it close and looks into it.
Colour notes are ours, read from the picture; Waite does not explain the colours.
Queen of PentaclesUpright
Practical care. Waite's meanings: opulence, generosity, magnificence, security, liberty. A warm home, money well managed, people looked after in solid, everyday ways.
She's rich and she shares. Look after your body, your home and the people close to you, and trust your common sense.
Queen of PentaclesReversed
Waite's words: evil, suspicion, suspense, fear, mistrust. The secure, generous queen turns anxious and closed.
Money worries, smothering care, broken trust. Waite's older meanings add illness for the reversed Queen. Calm the fear and open your hand again.
Yes or noYes.
Yes. Security and generosity. The outcome is comfortable.
Queen of Pentacles in your lifeIn your life
Love
Warm, caring, loyal love built on comfort and trust. Good for family life and a shared home.
Work
Practical skill, good management. Caring work, or a business run with a steady hand.
Money
Security and comfort. Money well managed and shared.
Health
Good food, rest, time outside. A card can't diagnose you; if something's wrong, see a doctor.
Spirituality
Spirit in everyday things: cooking, gardening, caring for others, nature.
Advice
Look after what's yours, and share it. Be practical and kind at once.
As a person
Warm, generous, practical. People feel safe and at home with her.
Past, present, future
Past: care that gave you a solid base. Present: comfort, home, good sense. Future: security and plenty to share.
Written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
Symbols and correspondencesAt a glance
- Suit
- Pentacles
- Element
- Earth
- Golden Dawn
- Water of Earth
- Court
- Queen
- Upright
- Opulence
- Reversed
- Evil
QuestionsCommon questions
Yes. One of the warmest cards in the deck: security, generosity, care.
Loyal, nurturing love and a comfortable home. A partner who looks after you in practical ways.
Yes, and a comfortable one.
Waite says she contemplates her symbol and may see worlds in it. She tends the earth and its riches, and studies them.
A warm, practical, generous woman, often a mother figure, who runs a home well. Waite gives her greatness of soul and a serious intelligence; his older meanings call her a dark woman.
Waite sees greatness of soul in her face, and a serious intelligence. She studies her pentacle and may see worlds in it.
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