MINOR ARCANA
Nine of Pentacles Tarot Meanings
The Nine of Pentacles is the mature wisdom of the Pentacles, it is the stage where we feel like we’ve achieved what we set out to achieve and we’re now able to just sit in this space and enjoy all the things that come with it. There’s a lot to be learned throughout the course of the Pentacles suit and once we reach the Nine we are able to see how much we’ve grown and how the student has become the teacher.
We feel safe and secure in what we’ve managed to build for ourselves and we’re not afraid to show it. We’re humble, but not self-deprecating, we are independent but are wise enough to seek support when we need it most.
Nine of Pentacles Upright Meanings
In the upright position, the Nine of Pentacles shows an energy that is firm, confident, and can recognise its privilege. Some of the key meanings of the Nine of Pentacles are:
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Self-reliance
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Resourcefulness
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Self-discipline
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Independence
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Abundance
Sometimes when the Nine of Pentacles comes up I visualise a sturdy tree, although its branches and leaves mover and bend to its surroundings, it still has that solid trunk keeping it grounded. That’s how I imagine the energy of the Nine of Pentacles to be, safe and secure, but not inflexible to the ups and downs of life.
Nine of Pentacles Reversed Meanings
In the reversed position, the Nine of Pentacles takes on a slightly more arrogant air to it than its upright counterparts, it’s not quite as humble or as independent as it likes to think it is. Some of the main reversed meanings of the Nine of Pentacles are:
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Dependency
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Deceit
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Superficial
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Overworking
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Status chasing
With the Nine of Pentacles in reverse, the energy turns into something a lot more shallow, it’s progress for the sake of progress and striving to look like it has everything, but under the surface, the foundations are crumbling away.
Reading Nine of Pentacles in a Tarot Spread
When the Nine of Pentacles appears in your spread, think about the theme of independence and what that means to you or ask the person you are reading for what they deem as being independent. This simple question sparked by the Nine of Pentacles can tell you a lot about the person being read for.
For example, if someone sees independence as self-reliance, doing everything for themselves and always having to be the one taking the lead, there may be a lack of trust that is underlying these things that needs addressing. How we perceive things like abundance and success tells us a lot about our beliefs about life and often when the Nine of Pentacles shows up, it can be a gateway to exploring those topics and concepts we have deep in our internal world.
Nine of Pentacles as An Invitation
Like we talked about above, the Nine of Pentacles is a great invitation to explore your material and external world and what it means to you. As well as exploring your ideas around the perfect life and living a life of material success and abundance.
For Nine of Pentacles, this invitation could be the following:
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An invitation to assess whether your self-reliance is one of strength or one grounded in a lack of trust
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An invitation to practise more self-discipline in order to reach your goals
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An invitation to be mindful of how much work you’re putting in and whether you need to take a short break to recharge
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An invitation to address the reasons for your desires and goals, what are the motivators behind them?
Nine of Pentacles as Sage Advice
As advice, the Nine of Pentacles can give us guidance around really seeing the bigger picture. With this card, we are encouraged to really review how we see our own world and make connections between the external and internal.
Some advice Nine of Pentacles may offer is:
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Explore your independence more, now that you have the skills and knowledge to support yourself along your journey. Think about what you could achieve and what experiences you could have
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Always take time to enjoy the abundance you have created or manifested for yourself. If you can’t, then constantly striving for more will never bring joy
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Move forward with pure motivations and always make sure you have strong foundations on which to explore and grow
Nine of Pentacles as a Lesson
If the Nine of Pentacles shows up to offer you a few lessons, it may be that there are some things you still need to learn about what it means to be resourceful and secure but not inflexible.
Some lessons that Nine of Pentacles may offer you are:
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A lesson in standing firm but also being able to find compromise when needed
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A lesson in gratitude and being able to recognise and enjoy your own abundance
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A lesson in dependency and identifying the right time and place for it
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A lesson in superficial motivations and how to identify them
Nine of Pentacles as a Redirection
When the Nine of Pentacles appears as a redirection, you may need to take a little break instead of pushing on to the next big thing.
As a redirection, Nine of Pentacles could symbolise a need to:
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Allow yourself time to simply stop and smell the roses. Your next goal will still be there once you’re done, there is no rush
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Recognise when rest can be an asset to progress
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Be more resourceful instead of trying the same things over and over again and expecting different results
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Be more open and vulnerable so you can ask for help, instead of trying to push forward alone and stressed
Pentacles
The Pentacles turn our attention to areas of our life such as our material world, money, career, home, physical well-being and relationships.
The Pentacles bring you into the present and ask you to look at the bones of a situation. It is an energy that wants us to be very honest, realistic and see things as they are and not as we or others want them to be. This is why we often see the Pentacles as being very hard work or a slow burn.
Earth
All four of the Tarot suits correspond with one of the four elements – air, fire, water and earth. The Pentacles are the suit of earth, this means that all of the Pentacles cards adopt the core properties of the element of earth.
These properties then form the foundations of the Pentacles cards, giving them a very grounded, stable and inflexible energy. We can use those feelings of earth to help us fully understand what a Pentacles card is about and what it’s trying to tell us.
Nines
The number nine in numerology represents abundance in both its positive and negative forms. It is the final hurdle before we cross the finish line within the tens.
The Nine of Pentacles is a card that often tells us about abundance within the material world. This could be an abundance of money, good or bad health, family time or even reaching the top of your current career ladder. It’s important to remember that the nines are not the end, so there’s usually one last little thing stopping you from crossing that finish line.
