Only when the last tree has died, and the last river been poisoned, and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.
attributed to several different Native American tribes
This week, many of us are preparing to celebrate the ancient holiday of Samhain. But, if you haven’t already noticed, we are also in the midst of a Mercury retrograde, creating delays and possible interference. So, it is quite instructive to have another visit from this calm, deliberate Court Card. Especially following last week’s Queen of Pentacles. Welcome back to the Knight of Pentacles.
Since he was just here several weeks ago, I am going to focus a little less on him particularly, and a little more on the astrology. Because there is a LOT. And our Knight is in tune with all of it.
A Quick Review
The Knights of the Tarot are the dynamic risk-takers. They are champions and energetic, often forceful questers of the Court (which are the cards most likely to represent actual people known to you, or you yourself).
The Pentacles correspond to the element of Earth, which concerns our physical reality: work, money, health, and home.
So, with this Knight, we have a sturdy, well-grounded fellow who is not in a big hurry. In fact, he is the only Knight in the R-W-S deck that is not in motion. “Slow and steady,” is his credo.
He holds his Pentacle before him, as if it is a divination tool or a compass with which he will navigate his way. Is the Pentacle simply the same yellow as the sky?
Or is it transparent, in contrast to the corrupt, unethical flow of wealth currently flowing around the billionaire elite classes?
Unlike the other suits’ adventurers, this Knight is cautious, measured in his approach, and determined in the pursuit of his goals. A hard worker, he has tremendous stamina and dedication.
Once he commits, every job is always completed down to the last detail. He never multitasks or leaves anything unfinished. He’s careful and prudent, never wasteful.
Compared to the other dashing Knights, he tends to be a bit stodgy and dull. He’s not known for his playful sense of humor or brilliant repartee. He finds emotional drama puzzling and mostly unpleasant, preferring down-to-earth plain talk.
His challenge is to know when to overcome his natural conservatism and take a leap of faith, inviting some excitement and risk into his life.
Want more details examining the many aspects of this card? Here’s my previous article from last month.
The Full Moon’s Gateway to Samhain
I will write a more in-depth essay later in the week about Saturday’s most holy day of Samhain (which our secular commercial culture has morphed into Halloween).
For now, though, I think it is apt to note that Monday’s Full Moon opens the gate to this most liminal time. Samhain is the final harvest and marks the Celtic year’s end. It’s when our Beloved Dead draw near and the veil that separates the living and the Otherworlds grows thin, permitting passage between each.
Because the Sun is currently in Scorpio, the Full Moon is in the opposite sign of the zodiac—Taurus. Taurus is an Earth sign, which, as mentioned before, is the element that rules this Knight.
Our news and astrology expert, Elisabeth Grace, tells us:
The opposition between the Taurus Moon and the Scorpio Sun suggests a conflict between the need to preserve the status quo for the sake of material comfort and the ability to achieve greater depth and substance in our values and joint ventures, including relationships. Dare to go there, despite the discomfort—so that old patterns can be released. With Sun and Moon squaring Pluto on the Descendant, resistance is futile in matters of power plays, purges, break downs and transformation.
One of the challenges for this Knight is that his need to preserve the status quo can make him inflexible. His challenge is learning how to be more adaptable and even let go if needed. Yet, at his best, that protective spirit is not hidebound but understands and defends the natural cycles of change. He tends the Earth’s patterns of growth, maturity, death, and regeneration.
Thus, it is clear this visit’s timing is especially consistent with this Full Moon because, as Elisabeth tells us, the Sabian Symbol for Taurus at 3º is:
… “steps [leading] up to a lawn blooming with clover.” In his most excellent book, The Oracle of Love, astrologer Bill Herbst notes:
We sense the impact of humanity, for a lawn is usually the result of human effort, but once again, no people are present in the vision itself. Instead, it is a natural hierarchy, a series of graded steps leading to a plateau of flowering grasses. So the symbol refers to organic stages of growth that can culminate in peace and tranquility.
Could anything be more compatible with this Knight? Because even though he is not galloping into it, like all the Knights, he is on a mission. His priorities revolve around the material matters of physical well-being: health, right livelihood, wealth, and security. All precisely because his goal is peace and tranquility.
I strongly recommend Elisabeth’s further explanation of the Full Moon chart and the rest of the coming week. She has lots more to say about this Sabian Symbol, too.
Spiritual Beings Having a Human Experience
In addition, my friend, astrologer, and Witch Diotima Mantineia has also written an article that is essential reading. Its resonance with this visit from the Knight of Pentacles is unmistakable.
Diotima tells us that this Full Moon will continue to affect us long after the usual lunation window that would conclude at New Moon. She explains:
… So let’s take a closer look at Pluto in Aquarius, since it is playing a major role in this Full Moon chart and can help us see what we need to look out for, and what needs to change.
Building the Future
Societies—civilization in general—require at least some structure. Buildings, agricultural production, trade routes, traditions, laws, and the ideas that spawn them are just some of the structures we depend on in our lives…
Strong, creative communities require strong, creative individuals whose contributions are valued and rewarded by their community. And we all have something to contribute…
Can’t you just see the Knight stepping up to answer this call? I sure can. Buildings, farming, trade, and so on are his superpowers. Then, she continues:
Looking at this Taurus/Scorpio Full Moon, consider that Taurus rules what we value, what we want to possess. It seeks pleasure and peace. It is solidly rooted in the physical world and the living environment.
Scorpio rules what we are passionate about and what we are willing to fight for. It seeks to experience and fulfill the deepest desires of the soul. It is at home in the Otherworlds, and fearlessly looks death in the face.
Because, as she and countless other experts from every vantage point of history, astrology, economics, and the sciences have been warning, our current trajectory is unsustainable. Something will have to give. This Knight, who is a faithful steward and Earth protector, is more than aware of this challenge.
She then adds:
Teilhard de Chardin observed that “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
The Taurus/Scorpio opposition reminds us that we are both. We cannot fix our eyes on the spiritual realm in the hopes of escaping the often painful human experience, which is, after all, why we’re here. We must grapple with changing life in the physical realm in order to create the dreams of our spirit…
The question we need to answer is whether we transform by evolving into a global civilization that honors the web of life on this planet, honors the human creative spirit, and promotes peace, or devolve into more pain and unnecessary destruction.
So we have a crossroads choice that each one of us can affect this week, especially as we head towards Election Day.
For instance, how do you think this Knight would respond to clearcutting 250,000 trees illegally in Finland for Google’s data center? Or the role the U.S. has taken as the only major economy where planet-warming pollution increased dramatically last year? What might he have to say about the Convicted Felon’s ongoing defiance of court orders to stop cutting trees for his golf courses, his ballroom, and his other environmental rampages?
The Knight of Pentacles’ ultimate goal is our evolution, honoring what is best and finest in us as we build a more sustainable, respectful culture.
His priority is always an understanding of and cooperation with the interconnectedness of All. And like him, in the days and months ahead, we would be wise to do the same.