Pentacles, Colors and Symbols

crazy raven

The suit of pentacles I believe is about personal power of harnessing the energies of the gods and goddesses and of nature. The pentagram is a figure of the microcosm, man, and represents the soul rising above the animal nature.

“Sometimes the body of man is drawn on a the five-pointed star, the head at the single point at the top, the arms outstretched on the two points at the upper middle, and the legs on the two lower points. Drawn this way, it locates the five mysterious centers of force which have great meaning to the mystics, the study which leads to remarkable understanding. Man is the pentacle.” Shirley Blackwell Lawrence

I recently read the Druids wore pentacles on the sole of their shoes so as to leave a trail of gifts and blessings to all who followed. I also read the ancient pentacle was called the "Wizard's or Druid's foot"? As well the pentacle has been called an endless knot....it can be drawn without ever lifting a pen or pencil up.

I wondered about the Bear in the Act of Pentacles, and why in winter it wasn’t hibernating. I found my answer from the Druid Oracle on the Bear. http://www.druidry.org/obod/theorder/pcg-dao.html There is so much information on this site,,,,I couldn’t copy it all. Here’s a smidgen [quoteIntegrating your primal power with your intuition means uniting your star-power with your animal-power - and both are symbolized by Art, the Bear.]/quote]

The four lower points of the Gold Pentagram represent the elements, earth, air, fire, water and the topmost star, the human spirit. It represents as said above, man with arms and legs outstretched and head erect. It is a square representing the 4 elements with a fifth point…it reminds us that Spirit comes from within us…from within our minds and bodies. We see all these elements colorfully played out in the beginning, the Ace of Pentacles card...Earth, brown/black; Air, yellow; Fire, red; Water, white; and Spirit indigo/purple.

Here is a quick rundown of the many different colors in the suit of pentacles…

Black doesn’t always have to be a negative color. It can be the color of concentration, intent and of a promise or oath to oneself or others.

Brown and the darker shades are related to the power of the Earth, nature, rootedness, stability and love of home and hearth.

Yellow is the color of optimism, good cheer, happiness, luck, confidence, intelligence, adventure and enjoying life’s pleasures.

Red is the color of light and energy, vitality, anger, thirst for action, desire, passion, sexuality. It is a primary color and of the highest vibration.

Red-orange is assertive, competitive, enthusiastic, willful and forceful.

White is a combination of all colors together, it speaks of unity, harmony, purity, and the integration of body, mind, heart, spirit.

Purple is a color of royalty, spirituality, inspiration, the psychic senses, altered states of consciousness and creativity.

Green, the color of learning, youth, growth, fertility is the color in-between earth and water, this is seen in the green growth and ferns. Do ferns grow/stay green in the winter?

Blue is tranquil, peaceful, serene, relaxing. It represents devotion, gentleness and truth. I've read that blue is a color oriented to the past, to history and of past memories. It a color often seen in people looking for answers in books instead of seeking their own guidance within.

Gold is the metal of the Sun, it represents power, radiance, se;f-confidence, creativity, luck and sucesss.

All these colors are represented in the Ace of Pentacles and then separately or together as we progress through the suit.

And what of that brilliant turquoise in the Knight of Pentacles. Turquoise used in healing, acts as sedative, it functions as a tranquilizer, soothing the nervous system and it’s a great color to meditate upon. Turquoise opens the door to inspiration and stimulates self-expression. It helps us express spiritual ideas and knowledge and helps us integrate them into life on earth. It absorbs positive energy and protects us from negative influences.

The Druid Craft tarot helps us to look at the pentagram as a star, associated with the heavenly realm and the five senses. I see this suit as not only the development of a service but of the animating spirit that flows through all of nature.
 

merissa_88

I keep trying to relate the colors in this deck to the classes in Celtic Society or the three levels of druidry. I'm not sure if this really works but it's fun.

Tan/Brown shows up a lot in this suit, but not as much as I thought it would. Whether it represents logic and pragmatism or the serf class - it's only really noticeable for me in the three, four, six, eight, and Prince.

For me,the color that really stands out in this suit is green. This color (along with blue) was supposed to represent the merchant class. All the court cards wear green as well as red (associated with warriors). And the green cloak in the 7 of Pentacles reminds me of the different levels in this tradition.

BTW, did one of the threads mention there is a lot of color symbolism in the book? I forgot to look for it.
 

crazy raven

merissa_88 said:
I keep trying to relate the colors in this deck to the classes in Celtic Society or the three levels of druidry. I'm not sure if this really works but it's fun.

Tan/Brown shows up a lot in this suit, but not as much as I thought it would. Whether it represents logic and pragmatism or the serf class - it's only really noticeable for me in the three, four, six, eight, and Prince.

For me,the color that really stands out in this suit is green. This color (along with blue) was supposed to represent the merchant class. All the court cards wear green as well as red (associated with warriors). And the green cloak in the 7 of Pentacles reminds me of the different levels in this tradition.

BTW, did one of the threads mention there is a lot of color symbolism in the book? I forgot to look for it.

Hi merissa,

It was me that mentioned the words written in the Druidcraft book were related to the colors in the deck. When I was talking colors though, I was talking the universal colors, not the actual druid dress wear.

I did some searching and found these two sites on druid celtic colors. You may be interested in one or both of them.

http://www.summerlands.com/crossroads/library/druidic_clothing _and_dress.htm

http://www.santharia.com/people/druidic_orders.htm

Hope that helps.