SIX OF PENTACLES

HAVING/NOT HAVING:
• RESOURCES
• KNOWLEDGE
• POWER

ACTIONS

having/not having resources

giving/receiving
taking care of/being taken care of
sponsoring/being sponsored
supporting/being supported
offering/receiving a gift or reward
acquiring/not acquiring what you need

having/not having knowledge

teaching/learning
imparting/receiving information
becoming/finding a mentor
offering/taking advice
showing/being shown the ropes
knowing/not knowing a secret

having/not having power

leading/following
dominating/submitting
acting with authority/deference
asserting/denying your wishes
coercing/being coerced
doing all the talking/listening

OPPOSING CARDS and REINFORCING CARDS: Some Possibilities

Opposing and reinforcing cards do not work in the usual way with the Six of Pentacles because this card can mean either (or both) sides of the same issue - having or not having. The other cards in a reading can help you figure out which side applies for the moment in your case. The following cards also deal with this issue:

• Empress - abundance, physical comfort
• World - affluence, material fulfillment
• Ten Wands - struggling to make ends meet, hard times
• Five Pentacles - lack, not having
• Seven Pentacles - material reward, having
• Ten Pentacles - affluence, having

DESCRIPTION

The Six of Pentacles is a difficult card to describe because it falls in the shadowy area between the lack of the Five of Pentacles and the affluence of the Ten of Pentacles. These two cards represent the extremes of not having and having. The Six of Pentacles covers the huge middle ground where it is not clear exactly who has what.

On this card, a well-to-do gentleman is tossing a few coins to a beggar while another supplicant waits to the side. The giver holds the scales of justice as if claiming the right to decide who deserves blessings and who does not. In this picture we see both sides: what it means to give and to receive, to dominate and to submit, to be on top and to be on the bottom. It seems clear who has and who hasn't, but is it? Life is not that simple, and how quickly fortunes change.

In readings, the Six of Pentacles asks you to look very deeply into the whole issue of what having really means both materially (resources) and immaterially (knowledge, power, love). You may see yourself on one side or the other, but this card asks you to reconsider. Think of the successful businessman who suddenly declares bankruptcy. The tyrannical invalid who dominates through weakness. The teacher who learns from her students. The parent who controls by giving money.

The keywords for the Six of Pentacles include both the have and have not sides of each meaning. Sometimes this card is a clear sign one way or the other. You will get the gift you want. You will have to defer to another. In all cases, though, you should question the obvious and go deeper. Why are you in the situation you're in, and where is it leading? Who is really in charge? What's really going on?

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