Page of Pentacles

Identity

Symbols

• The Pentacle Above His Raised HandsKnowledge held up and not yet spent — understood, not yet used.+

  Waite's word is "hovers": the pentacle floats "over his raised hands," and the drawing keeps the palms open beneath it, fingers never closing. Set against bare yellow sky at his eye level, it is the one thing he looks at.

• Freshly Ploughed FieldThe ground of work already laid, not yet sown — the chance lies a few steps from where he stands.+

  The furrows at the lower right are the only ground in the picture that shows a plough's work. The field lies on the side he faces, below the disc he holds up, though his eyes stay on the disc and never come down to it.

• The Distant MountainThe long arc the student does not see yet — the craft will take him that far.+

  A single blue peak rises on the right horizon, beyond the field, on the same side as the disc. Smith sets the disc far above the summit line, so the nearest object in the picture rides higher than the farthest.

• Feet Set Flat on the GroundHis whole weight rests on open ground, not a floor — no classroom here, and the ploughed field is in plain sight.+

  Waite has him in motion: "He moves slowly, insensible of that which is about him." The drawing slows the walk almost to a stand, soft boots among the flowers, and his eyes never drop to where his feet go.

• The Red HeaddressA red headdress wound high on his head, its long end falling over his shoulder to his waist.+

  Its shape recalls the chaperon of fifteenth-century Europe, a hood worn rolled on the head with its long end left hanging. In a figure otherwise dressed in green and buff, set against yellow sky, the red is the warmest note.

• The Grove at the LeftA dark clump of round-topped trees low on the left horizon, behind him.+

  The grove and the ploughed field sit at opposite ends of one horizon, trees at the left, furrows at the right. He stands between them with his back half-turned to the trees, his body angled toward the worked ground.

Story

The horizon runs low, below his knees, so almost the whole card is open yellow sky with a single tall figure set against it. His body turns to the right, chin lifted, both hands raised to eye level, and the eye follows his gaze up to the disc just above his fingers. Below, the land is a thin band: trees dark at the left, a ploughed strip and one blue peak far off at the right, flowers scattered in the grass at his feet. No cloud, no wind in the cloth, no second person; the whole wide sky is left to one youthful figure and the thing he is looking at.

Correspondences

Elemental Dignity

Shadow

Related Cards

Page of Cups

Eight of Pentacles

The Hermit