By Sarah Taylor
The Knight of Pentacles sits on his horse, both facing right, holding his pentacle out in front of him. Is it an offering? Is it a display? And to whom?
The Knight is in full battle dress, his armour covered with a robe of black and red, his visor up, a look of concentration on his face. His lips seem pursed together; he has an air of quiet determination. While the Knights of Wands and Swords face to the left, in a state of movement, this Knight and the Knight of Cups face in the opposite direction, stationary.
This is echoed in the Knight’s mount. Unlike the horses belonging to the Knights of Wands and Swords, the steeds of the Knights of Pentacles and Cups are at rest, although still holding a sense of activity in their posture: in the case of the Knight of Pentacles, its head is raised, not lowered; it looks like it is standing to attention. Horse and rider are one and the same, inseparable. I interpret them as an extension of each other, the horse emphasising the ‘outward riding’ nature of the Knight.
Both sets of Knights cards seem to indicate two different but complementary principles at work. One interpretation of this is the polarity of masculine/feminine — the principles of active vs. passive. Wands and Swords are phallic, directed, active; Cups and Pentacles are womb and egg, containing, passive (not submissive, not lacklustre). Masculine is left-brain; feminine is right-brain. The Knights reflect this dualism that resides in all of us.
In light of this illustration of opposites, perhaps we can interpret the offering of the Pentacle as an offering to life itself? They are an expression of life that life needs in order to become fully realised. They bring with them a particular quality.
Knights are youthful, not yet the rulers of their suit. They are full of idealism, but they have yet to be tested to the point where they have experienced what it is to step into symbolic adulthood. Youth tends to believe it is invincible; youth tends to believe it knows and understands it all. As youths, we often rush out into the world, keen to change it, whether for others or for ourselves. We are committed to transforming what lies out there: circumstances, income, standing, the people we love, the people we do not love. Until a time comes when we are offered another point of view, and we run slap-bang into failure, limitation, mortality — ourselves, in other words.