Page of Pentacles
Valet of Coins (Deniers, Tarot de Marseille) · Princess of the Echoing Hills, Rose of the Palace of Earth (Golden Dawn) · Princess of Disks (Thoth)
The Page of Pentacles, a youth gazing at a coin held up in a green meadow, is read as practical curiosity: the student, the beginner with a plan, the first step toward something real.
Upright study · ambition · diligence · new opportunity · practical learning · manifestation · good news about money
Reversed procrastination · lack of focus · unrealistic plans · missed chances · laziness · poor follow-through
- Astrology
- No zodiacal span; rules the quarter of the heavens around Taurus
- Element
- Earth of Earth
- Golden Dawn title
- Princess of the Echoing Hills, Rose of the Palace of Earth
- Yes or no
- Yes
Upright
Upright, the Page of Pentacles describes the beginning of practical learning. A young person, or a new venture, approaches the material world with interest and seriousness. In the Waite–Smith tradition the Page signifies application, study, scholarship and reflection, and also news and messages; readers often take him as good news about work, money or education.
In love, the Page may describe a sincere, steady approach: a slow-building relationship, an honest offer, or a person who shows affection through practical gestures.
For work and money it favours study, training, internships, new jobs, savings plans and small enterprises. The Page suggests that patience and attention will make a modest beginning grow.
The advice is to treat your goals seriously: learn the basics, make a plan and take the first concrete step.
Reversed
Reversed, the Page of Pentacles is often read as an opportunity not followed through: procrastination, distraction, or plans that remain dreams. Some readers see a lack of practical sense, poor study habits or unwelcome news about money. Others see a young person who is struggling to find their direction.
Reversals are optional; plenty of readers read every card upright. Those who reverse this Page commonly take it as a call to return to small, concrete steps: one lesson, one savings entry, one finished task at a time, until the habit of follow-through is restored.
The image
The Page of Pentacles stands in a green meadow dotted with flowers, holding a pentacle up before him in both hands and gazing at it intently. He wears a green tunic and a red head-dress with a long trailing scarf. Behind him lies a freshly ploughed field, with a small grove of trees to one side and a blue mountain in the distance. The mood is calm and contemplative.
History
Court cards were always illustrated, even when the numbered cards were not. The Tarot de Marseille has a Valet of Coins, a young man standing with a large coin in one hand and another at his feet. Smith's page in a landscape is a new interpretation of that figure. Waite's 1910 Pictorial Key describes a youthful figure looking intently at the pentacle which hovers over his raised hands, moving slowly and unaware of his surroundings, and lists application, study, scholarship, reflection, news, messages and the bringer of them, rule and management; reversed, prodigality, dissipation, luxury and unfavourable news. The Golden Dawn used Princesses instead of Pages, and Crowley's Thoth deck has a Princess of Disks.
Symbolism
The ploughed field and the fresh meadow show the beginning of cultivation: ground prepared but not yet planted. The Page's absorption in the pentacle has been read as study, wonder or the first glimpse of what wealth or skill might make possible. The mountain in the distance suggests the long-term goal. Green, the dominant colour of the card, is the colour of growth.
In the Golden Dawn scheme, pages correspond to princesses, the earthy component of each suit, so the Page of Pentacles is "Earth of Earth", the most material figure in the deck. Princesses rule no span of the zodiac; the Princess of Disks governs the quarter of the heavens around Taurus. Her title is "Princess of the Echoing Hills, Rose of the Palace of Earth". She is linked with Malkuth and the final He of the divine name.
In a reading
As a person the Page of Pentacles is often read as a student, a beginner or anyone who approaches life carefully and practically. With the Eight of Pentacles the card emphasises training; with the Ace of Pentacles, a promising offer; with the Hermit, study. In an advice position it recommends patience and practical preparation. For court cards in general, see the minor arcana.
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