Knight of Pentacles
Cavalier of Coins (Deniers, Tarot de Marseille) · Prince of the Chariot of Earth (Golden Dawn) · Prince of Disks (Thoth)
The Knight of Pentacles sits on a heavy, motionless horse, surveying a ploughed field: a card of reliability, patience and steady, methodical work.
Upright reliability · hard work · patience · routine · responsibility · methodical progress · loyalty
Reversed stagnation · boredom · stubbornness · laziness · perfectionism · being stuck in a rut
- Astrology
- 21° Aries – 20° Taurus (Golden Dawn Prince)
- Element
- Air of Earth
- Golden Dawn title
- Prince of the Chariot of Earth
- Yes or no
- Yes
Upright
Upright, the Knight of Pentacles represents dependable effort. Unlike the other knights, who charge, ride or prance, this one waits; his horse stands still and he contemplates the coin in his hand. In the Waite–Smith tradition the card signifies utility, serviceableness, responsibility and rectitude, the virtues of someone who does the job well every day.
In love, the Knight can describe a loyal, steady partner, a slow but serious courtship, or a relationship that grows through routine care. It may not be exciting, but it is faithful.
For work and money the Knight favours careful planning, persistence, saving, slow but sure growth and work that requires reliability. It may describe someone who finishes what they start.
His advice is to keep going steadily: be patient, follow through and trust that consistent effort produces results.
Reversed
Reversed, the Knight of Pentacles is often read as steadiness gone stale. Routine turns into boredom, caution into stubbornness, patience into inertia. Some readers see a person stuck in a rut or unwilling to take any risk; others see the opposite, laziness or carelessness with duties.
Many readers never reverse cards. Where reversals are used, this one typically asks whether caution is still serving its purpose or has become an excuse not to move, and whether a small change of routine might bring fresh energy to familiar work.
The image
Smith's Knight of Pentacles sits in full armour on a dark, heavy horse that stands four-square and motionless. He holds a pentacle before him in his right hand. Sprigs of green leaves decorate his helmet and the horse's head harness. Behind him stretches a ploughed field, its furrows neatly ordered, under a yellow sky. The composition is calm and solid, in marked contrast to the other knights of the Rider–Waite–Smith deck.
History
The Cavalier of Coins in the Tarot de Marseille rides a prancing horse, with a coin floating in the air before him. Smith's still, heavy rider is a deliberate change that suits the earthy suit. Waite's 1910 Pictorial Key describes a slow, enduring, heavy horse, to which the rider's own aspect corresponds, and notes that he shows his symbol without looking into it. He gives the meanings utility, serviceableness, interest, responsibility and rectitude; reversed, inertia, idleness, stagnation, placidity, discouragement and carelessness.
The Golden Dawn court cards (Knight, Queen, Prince, Princess) do not map exactly onto Waite's titles. In the widely used correspondence followed here, Waite's Knight is the Golden Dawn Prince, the "Prince of the Chariot of Earth"; other authors match him instead with the Golden Dawn Knight.
Symbolism
The stationary horse is the clearest symbol: progress in this suit is made by patience and not by speed. The ploughed field shows work already done and harvest to come. The green sprigs suggest growth and the natural world, and the pentacle he holds shows that his attention is on practical matters.
In the scheme used here, the Knight of Pentacles is "Air of Earth": the active intellect applied to material things. As the Golden Dawn Prince he rules from 21° Aries to 20° Taurus, is linked with Tiphareth and the letter Vav, and governs the movement of ideas into practical form. Crowley's Thoth Prince of Disks rides in a chariot drawn by an ox, an animal linked with Taurus.
In a reading
As a person the Knight of Pentacles is often seen as dependable, conscientious and perhaps a little set in their ways. Next to the Eight of Pentacles he emphasises steady work; next to the Four of Pentacles, caution with money; beside the Knight of Wands, a clash between patience and impulse. In an advice position he recommends persistence. For the Golden Dawn system of courts, see the Golden Dawn.
Sources and further reading
- The Pictorial Key to the Tarot — A. E. Waite, 1910
- The Book of Thoth — Aleister Crowley, 1944
- The Golden Dawn — Israel Regardie, 1937
- The Qabalistic Tarot: A Textbook of Mystical Philosophy — Robert Wang, 1983
- The Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. 1 — Stuart R. Kaplan, 1978