Elemental Tarot General Reading – Part 5

To read Part 1, click HERE. 

To read Part 2, click HERE. 

To read Part 3, click HERE. 

To read Part 4, click HERE. 

In Part 1 of this General Reading, we covered “Overall Focus.” Part 2 was about “Drive, career, or work (Wands).” Part 3 focused on “Communication and understanding (Swords).” Part 4 looked at “Relationships (Cups).”

The last part, Part 5, is about “Physical world, manifestation (Pentacles).” The cards are:

Physical world, manifestation (Pentacles): 9 of Pentacles

energy helping/opposing: The Hermit

advice: 4 of Swords

potential outcome if advice is followed: The Magician

By design, the top card was chosen from the suit of Pentacles, the suit associated with the element Earth, growth, and potential, particularly on the physical plane. This is potential energy that is always moving toward manifestation. The NINE OF PENTACLES came forward to represent the suit for me.

All of the Pentacles cards are given titles that include the word “seed.” The Nine of Pentacles is called “Contemplating a seed.” On the card, a cow grazes in the foreground as Earth elementals cavort on a ridge in the background. The LWB states that even the simplest things can baffle many – yet the earth and her creatures don’t worry about it. So perhaps the message for me here is “Go ahead and contemplate, but don’t worry.” Easier said than done, especially when we consider that the Nine of Pentacles is linked with the sign Virgo by the Golden Dawn. My rising sign is Virgo, and I can tell you that telling Virgo “Don’t worry” doesn’t have much of an effect.

Energy helping/opposing: THE HERMIT

As with all Major Arcana cards, The Hermit suggests the involvement of a “higher,” very powerful energy. In this deck, the card is titled “Guidance” and we are told in the LWB that the Universe will always guide us, if we ask. Like the Nine of Pentacles, The Hermit is typically seen as an Earth card, specifically related to the zodiac sign Virgo (Golden Dawn system). But I can see The Hermit as pointing to a “higher vibration” of Virgo (for lack of a better expression), where one rises above the often miniscule or petty concerns that frequently plague Virgo by seeking a connection with and guidance from the Universe. The Hermit can also represent withdrawal or solitary contemplation, and this can either help or oppose the fulfillment of the potential for manifestation represented by the Nine of Pentacles. The number Nine gets a double hit here as well, since The Hermit is trump Nine. My keywords for the Number Nine are “basis for completion, endings, preparation (for new cycle), growth through experience, perfection, integration, and fruition.”

Advice: FOUR OF SWORDS

Looking at this card next to The Hermit, it’s as if the figure on Trump 9 has turned around and is walking towards me. The suit of Swords is associated with the element Air, communication, understanding, and truth. It is the suit of the Mind. It is also considered to be an “active” suit. In the Elemental Tarot, the Four of Swords is titled “Everyday guidance.” In the LWB, we are told that the Universe leaves signs and symbols to guide us along the way. This complements the message of The Hermit on that subject. However, whereas The Hermit is outside in the wilderness, the person on the Four of Swords is inside a massive, secure, safe structure (reflecting a common meaning for the number Four). I think the advice to me in this reading is that it is safe to “come out” to face forward and venture forth, following the everyday guidance the Universe provides (perhaps represented by the fairy-type creatures, the cat, and the raven on the Four of Swords card).

Potential outcome if advice is followed: THE MAGICIAN

Notice the progression? We start with The Hermit, facing away from us, wandering in a wilderness. We move to a figure striding purposefully towards us within a protective structure, and then we come to a lively woman who seems to be dancing out in the open, in the midst of the four suit symbols (Sword, Pentacle, Cup, and Wand). The Elemental Tarot subtitles The Magician “Doing something well.” The LWB offers this description: “The energy of the Universe surrounds you, skills dwell within you. Be bold and use what is available.”

The Golden Dawn links The Magician with the planet Mercury, which rules the zodiac signs Gemini (an Air sign) and Virgo (remember Virgo?) I had to smile at that.

This collection of cards overall seems to suggest using the energy of Air and Earth together – the mind and communication manifesting itself in the physical world. Ideas become physical realities. However, they can only do so if I bring those ideas forward, if I “come forward” and express myself outwardly in my creations, if I translate that which is “above” (or inside?) to the world “below” (outside?)