nine of pentacles

ljosberinn

hi i'm pretty new here, i've just been watching this forum for the past few days since i'm doing an essay on tarot. i was wondering what you thought on the nine of pentacles, especially the bird (falcon?) she's holding. the flowers on her dress look alot like the venus symbol (♀) and the two trees in the background, i'm not sure how to interpret them. are they representing some kind of a duality or balance? the grapes behind her, i'd probably interpret them as well growth and harvest maybe and her wealth. i saw some discussion about the small snail and i have to say, it can't be just to be a snail in the garden, i think it must mean something. i thought at first that it might just be the poorer/smaller than her? maybe i'm far out with all of this but anyway, just wondered if you could come with some more opinions on it :)
 

Brock Johnson

Iceland, WOW!

Anyway, I don't know what they mean. Perhaps nothing. I know that there are a lot of symbols in RWS but usually most of them are in the Major Arcana. I'm presuming that it is just for the art for the most part. It is a nature card so the artist probably wanted to show the diversity of it all. That's my take on it anyway.

Brock
 

Shaymus

Yes, a lot of symbolism that can directly be related to the trumps. The 2 trees in the background are reminders of the 2 pillars of the High Priestess, also on the Hierophant, Justice and other places such as the 2 people shown in the Lovers.

The falcon is a symbol of determination and discipline. I quite like your descriptions of the pattern on the dress in the 9 of pentacles, quite good and makes sense.

There's so much symbolism to Tarot, I'd bet everything has a meaning, rather than just a feeling.

Shaymus
 

tink27

The snail

Welcome ljosberinn to AT!

A snail's shell is always seen in a spiral shape, a design of the labyrinth and of the goddess energy. This card is bathed in female energy.

The hawk or falcon represents the intellect and wisdom, which has been hooded to keep out enivironmental distractions.

Trees are the lungs of the earth and since a distance away could indicate this person is in a kind of delta state, where all bodily systems are slow but rhythmic.

The grapes can be symbolic of spiritual ideals, fruitfulness and perhaps cultivation.

Great observations!

tink
 

ljosberinn

Brock Johnson said:
Anyway, I don't know what they mean. Perhaps nothing. I know that there are a lot of symbols in RWS but usually most of them are in the Major Arcana. I'm presuming that it is just for the art for the most part.

yeah but still, it's so prominent in the picture once you notice it, it almost doesn't fit and if i were to criticize the drawing as a drawing i'd say cut the snail because it just doesn't fit, just like the cat in the queen of wands. that's why i think it must've been put there for some symbolic reason and maybe it's just the patience you need to show when working on something and then afterwards, you can reape the benefits.
i think there're just as important symbols in the minor arcana as in the major arcana. maybe they're smaller or less noticeable, of course the major arcana is magnificent in its rich rich symbolism but there are such a lot of small symbols in the minor arcana too which can help you see what the card means.
thank you all for the feedback, so this card is obviously very much related to the high priestess and even the empress with the venus signs and all the feminity?
i guessed the trees were connected to the two pillars on the major arcana cards, but tink27 has a very interesting view on it too.
i've always really liked this card, not sure why but there's something so attractive about it. and by the way, since i've already made the thread, i was wondering how many of you have studied symbolism, that is in university or something. i'm extremely interested and i have one year of college left and i'd love to study symbolism. so uh.. yeah, just, how is it, and any schools you recommend? (preferably where teaching is in english ;P)
 

caridwen

Hello and welcome to AT:) An essay on Tarot sounds very cool.

Regarding the snail - It has been said that it refers to the Golden ratio - Gold =Alchemy - consciousness - PHI ratio.

The Golden spiral is the template for growth and the mathematical formula for evolution. A physical representation of the Golden Mean ratio, is a continuum that approaches the Infinite, but never reaches it: It approaches perfect balance, the Ideal, but can never capture it. The dynamic essence of any structure using this proportion, is endless motion towards perfection.

Hope that helps:)
 

lark

Also the spiral represents the "wise womans way."
The way of using, understanding, and utilizing nature to keep you healthy, wealthy and wise.
 

Sulis

When I see the Hawk or the Falcon in the 9 of Pentacles I think of a couple of thngs:

The falcon is a bird of prey but it's been tamed and trained to hunt. It takes a great deal of discipline and skill to teach a wild bird like that one to hunt for you, a little like the amount of skill and discipline it's taken the lady to get to where she is in this card.
She's enjoying the fruits of her labours (the grapes), she's got to this position of wealth and comfort because of her own efforts and discipline.

The falcon also makes me think of freedom - it's a wild animal yet it isn't free.
The lady in the card is also tied to her belongings and standard of living.
She has everything she needs yet she's alone, in her garden.
Maybe those things she's worked for for all these years now restrict her and stop her from being completely free (a little like that falcon).
 

Tarotwytch

To me the nine of Pentacles is about independence, self-reliance and self-sufficiency amongst other things and this could be what the snail is symbolic of. The snail carries his house/shelter/protection around with him on his back. Snails are also hermaphrodites (have male and female sex organs) so although it still takes two of them to reproduce - they don't have to be male and female.
Of course, I could be barking up the wrong tree completely........
 

HarleyQuinnX

Tarotwytch said:
To me the nine of Pentacles is about independence, self-reliance and self-sufficiency amongst other things and this could be what the snail is symbolic of. The snail carries his house/shelter/protection around with him on his back. Snails are also hermaphrodites (have male and female sex organs) so although it still takes two of them to reproduce - they don't have to be male and female.
Of course, I could be barking up the wrong tree completely........

This is true, but one frightening thing about snail (and slug) reproduction...

When they reproduce, they have to decide who's going to use their male sex organs on the other. So basically, they make a slime bubble, both of them get inside, and they both try to bite the other's male organ off. :( Whoever loses has to settle for being the female for the night. There's all sorts of creepy pictures if you really wanted to look it up on the web...


Anyways, back to the card. Yes, this card can speak very much about independence and self-sufficiency. People are kind of like the grapes behind the figure, they may grow together, and some may wind up being sweeter, larger, or purple-er ( :D ). Each grape has the ability to stand out on it's own.