The Page of Pentacles

Several weeks ago, I created a diagram linking the sixteen court cards to the sixteen personalities of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. It's time to now compare what I know about the court cards to the Myers-Briggs types that I've assigned to them.

I'll begin, in this post, with my favorite court card, the Page of Pentacles.

Traditionally, the Pages are considered messengers, bringing news associated with their suit. So, for example, the Page of Cups might indicate a love letter, while the Page of Pentacles might suggest correspondence from your stock broker.

I view the pages as being like children or adolescents. Their lack of life experience may be expressed with optimism and openness or as immaturity and foolishness. The world is new to them and they are eager to explore it. The Pages are students or apprentices, who do not yet understand other people or themselves. They are learning how the world works because they are excited about the possibilities before them. (An older person who receives this card, may have begun trying to understand himself or herself.)

In the Robin Wood deck, the young page is standing under a tree in a verdant, hilly countryside; some areas have been cultivated, but most are wild. The Page's black hair is plaited into three, long braids. She wears a brown and green tunic, trimmed in many colors, and a wide belt. From the belt hangs a small, ornate book. She is dappled with shade and sunshine. She gently holds a glowing pentacle before herself and gazes at it with a smile.

The Page of Pentacles is gentle and kind hearted. She sees the wonder of the material world and treats it as a gift from the divine. She is in love with life. She may represent someone who counts her blessings and makes her blessings count. As a student, the Page of Pentacles is capable of concentrating for long periods of time. As a student of life, she is a quiet extrovert, who tries to truly get to know other people. The Page of Pentacles watches hoping to learn how the world works, she pays attention (in Hebrew, היא שמה לב, "she places her heart" on what she studies) and she reflects on her experiences. She is thoughtful-- meaning both that she is a thinker and that she is considerate of other people. If she is allowed to trust her instincts and insights, she will grown into a wise, spiritual person who creates a good life for herself and one that is of service or benefit to those around her.

There is a danger that the Page of Pentacles may forget the spiritual core of life, the pentacle in the coin, and become focused on physical objects and pleasures without awareness of the miracle of creation and its deeper meaning. If this happens, she may also become distant from other people, unwilling to connect and interact in meaningful ways.

This card occasionally appears for people who have low self-esteem and have not learned to value themselves. These are people who, from an early age, were bullied and squashed by caregivers and prevented from embracing life. People may take advantage of their diligence and reliability. To increase their self esteem and to learn to look out for themselves, these people should try to view the world around them as if seeing it for the first time, to connect to it through appreciation, and then begin to care for themselves with the same gentleness and awareness with which they've begun to approach the outer world.

The creator of the Robin Wood Tarot used colors and symbols in this card that she thought reflected the earth, the feminine divine, and the archetypes of Maiden-Mother-Crone. She writes that the Page of Pentacles "has learned to delay her gratification; to work to get the things she wants or knows she needs."

The Page of Pentacles is earthy. Because both pages and pentacles are associated with earth in occult thought, a name for this card is "Secret Place of Growth." I've never been certain what that phrase means, but it seems a suitable title for the Gaian Tarot's version of the Page of Pentacles.

The Gaian's Child of Earth, is a little spooky. The card shows a child not yet grown into normal human proportions, standing in the mist near a cultivated orchard and a wild forest, while examining with strange intensity an apple in his hands. Next to him is an unusually large rabbit (from Wonderland, perhaps) who gazes at us with a very human expression of openness and curiosity.

The deck's creator, Joanna Powell Colbert, shares this affirmation for the card:

I find my center when I connect to 

my body and the natural world. 

Despite the magical scene, Joanna describes the card's significance in pragmatic terms. "The Child of Earth is fascinated by the natural world... Perhaps he's decided to grow his own food. He may be concerned with health issues and is starting a new way of eating or a new exercise program. Or he may be learning how to take care of his... resources responsibly."

In my chart of MBTI-Court correspondences, the Page of Pentacles is aligned with ESTP. Wikipedia describes this type as "outgoing, realistic, action oriented, curious, versatile, spontaneous" and asserts that they are "pragmatic problem solvers and skillful negotiators."

That's a description of an adult, but I think the Page of Pentacles has the seeds of those traits and could develop them. So, with some surprise, I will call the first of these sixteen correspondences successful!