MINOR ARCANA

King of Pentacles Tarot Meanings

The King of Pentacles is a fair and level-headed ruler, he is reliable and practical in a way that ensures growth and abundance. The energy of this card feels very much like self-preservation, it’s a card about doing what needs to be done in order to reach your goals and achieve what it is you have wanted to achieve for a while.

The King of Pentacles is the air of earth, the strategy of the material world. When thinking of the dream life you want to live, it’s the King of Pentacles who comes in and gives you the tools you need in order to create the perfect plan and execute it in the most efficient way.

King of Pentacles Upright Meanings

In the upright position, the King of Pentacles embodies traits of stability like reliability, practicality, and principled intellect. Some of the key meanings of the King of Pentacles are:

Reliability
Practicality
Confidence
Value of success
Principled intellect

We can see on the Rider Waite-Smith image that there is a lot of abundances to be had with the King of Pentacles. It’s a card that is very focused on building an external world for yourself that supports you and provides for you long-term.

King of Pentacles Reversed Meanings

In the reversed position, the King of Pentacles takes the card’s earthy traits to the extreme and starts to create an environment that is very restrictive. Some of the main reversed meanings of the King of Pentacles are:

Unsuccessful
Corruption
Greed
Cold
Ruthless

The King of Pentacles reversed takes control very seriously. It’s a card that needs to be in control of every tiny detail, often we see this type of energy in people that micro-manage everything. Often the King of Pentacles can bring with it a lack of success because the king is so unlikely to take risks, push boundaries or want to grow beyond where he is.

Reading King of Pentacles in a Tarot Spread

When the King of Pentacles shows up, it’s worth asking the question about control and where you or the person you’re reading for are holding onto control. The King of Pentacles and his sturdy and reliable energy may be needed in order to manage whatever situation is being dealt with, but it’s also important to make sure that he’s not appearing because there is too much management happening.

The King of Pentacles doesn’t feel like he has a lot of grey area, he’s either needed or he isn’t. Deciding which one applies will depend on the cards that surround him. For example, if you get the King of Pentacles and right next to him you have the Five of Wands, this control and authority he’s bringing to the table could be the cause of conflicts with others. However, if he is next to a card such as the Nine of Pentacles, it might be a sign that you need to adopt more of the Kings traits in order to reach a place of pure abundance and stability.

King of Pentacles as An Invitation

When the King of Pentacles appears as an invitation, it may be that the card is asking you to have a look at how you’re currently embodying the King’s traits and how it could be affecting the situation.

For King of Pentacles, this invitation could be the following:

An invitation to assess the control you have over your external world and whether you need to loosen your grip or take on more authority
An invitation to find ways to boost your confidence
An invitation to review what success means to you and what it looks like for you in your own life
An invitation to make sure you’re not being too materialistic with your goals

King of Pentacles as Sage Advice

If the King of Pentacles shows up to offer some advice, it is usually advice that will help you to think more deeply about the world around you and your place within it.

Some advice King of Pentacles may offer is:

Throughout our lives, we have to create an environment in which we can grow and develop. If we reach a place where we can’t grow, we can become bored and frustrated
Make sure you don’t place all your values in the material world, having a lot of stuff doesn’t make you successful or even happy
Just because something is practical and reliable doesn’t mean it’s the only way forward or even the best way forward

King of Pentacles as a Lesson

If the King of Pentacles shows up to offer some lessons, they will often be life lessons, things that help us think more deeply about what it is we want out of our time on earth.

Some lessons that King of Pentacles may offer you are:

A lesson in what it is you need to live a fulfilled and happy life
A lesson in placing value into the right areas of life to keep the balance
A lesson in using confidence in the right ways and not allowing it to grow into arrogance
A lesson in prideful action and how and when to put pride aside when it is for the greater good

King of Pentacles as a Redirection

When the King of Pentacles appears to redirect you along your path, it can often be a warning to prevent you from taking those traits of the King too far into the world of earth and the material world.

As a redirection, King of Pentacles could symbolise a need to:

Stop placing all your focus in the material world as it will prevent spiritual and emotional growth and connection
Think in a more practical way in order to create strategies that will actually help you move in the right direction
Remind yourself of your principles, values and beliefs so that you can refocus and get back on the right track
Stretch yourself out of your comfort zone and don’t be afraid of losing what you’ve already built for yourself

Pentacles

The Pentacles are the suit that directs us towards our home, work, family, health and finances. They are a suit that refers to everything that makes up our physical external world.

With the Pentacles, we have the chance to focus outside of ourselves. We are analysing the real world more than the internal one and only diving internally when we need to decide what action to take or assess our perspective on a situation.

Truth and reality are two of the most important keywords of the Pentacles. There is no delusion or fantasy in the real of Pentacles, everything is subjective and lacks any kind of bias.

King of Pentacles Meanings Air and Earth

Earth + Air

Although the Pentacles correspond with the element of earth, the Kings correspond with the element of air. This means we have to assess how earth and air interact with each other, to determine what the full energy of the King of Pentacles is.

Overall, earth and air are fairly complimentary. As the air element is only a secondary element for the King of Pentacles, it acts as more of a light breeze than a twirling tornado. It offers some intellectual thinking, truth and idea generation to the earth elements very grounded, stubborn and ‘set in its ways’ energy. The King of Pentacles is an innovator, but dosen’t leap before a full plan has been drawn up and signed off.

Kings

The Kings within the Tarot are the intellectual strategists. They are the ones that draw up the battle plans, sign off on the policies and lead their people. For the King of Pentacles, this kingly energy manifest in the form of a just and fair king.

As Pentacles is a suit all about balance and stability, the King of Pentacles works to keep these things in harmony. This can mean making some brutal decisions and going against the wants of the many in favour of the needs of the few. He is a fair but often unfeeling leader. With very little emotion or compassion, the King of Pentacles can be seen as heartless and ruthless, even if that’s not his intention.