Morgan Greer/9 Pentacles

This was my RWS daily card so I looked at the MG. Instead of a falcon there is a fat partridge on her hand. That's no hunting bird.

But then I started looking at this card. That 'bird' has a hooked beak. Strong talons grip the glove,easily noticed clawpoints. The tufts on the headwear are somewhat the same.
The book mentions her ring as continuity and the pine tree as immortality. How are these applied to the common concept of abundance and fertility? It does say the cones are a symbol of fertility, but why don't they grow to the ends of the branch? Both cones and needles cover the pine tips I'm looking at. I think both green and purple grapes could be about diversity of abundance in our lives.

Can anyone tell me the about the other jewelry? one blue pendant on the front of her turban, and one pearlescent earring in sharp contrast to the rest of card.

Doesn't she have a beautifully contented face? All is right and good in her world.

This is an interesting card ...

she does seem to be wearing alot fo jewelry - to me it represents wealth ... she can have the things that she wants ... she is also wearing a beautifully decorated glove ... so she is refined ... the jewelry could also represent her refinement. Her bird does look quite plump ... showing the abundance that she shares with her bird ... she is relaxed. One thing that I have always thought about the card ... is that she appears to be standing back slightly ... her arms and the pentacles .. and the grapes also seem to be in the forefront of the card, while she stands back.

The pine cones are behind her ... it was interesting to note that they represent immortality ... the pines appear to be quite exotic ... just in the way that they were drawn ... to me, the whole card has an exotic feeling to it.

I absolutely adore this card! It's one of my very favorite cards out of all my decks, if not "the" favorite.

I know peacocks aren't birds of prey and that they're too big to sit on a woman's shoulder or hand, but that's what the bird reminds me of. It would be a beautiful contrast to her and her surroundings, too, if it were a peacock, don't you think?

My impression is that she's got a minimum of jewelry on. Just the pin on the front of her turban, the earrings and a ring. The pentacles look more like they're an embroidery on her gown to me rather than a necklace.

Reviving thread in the interest of IDS

One really big thing I notice about this card is the color purple; as in, this card is almost completely made up of various shades of purple, while there is comparatively little purple elsewhere in the deck. Other cards in the deck with purple in them are:

XXI World--drapery
II High Priestess--drapery
XI Justice--drapery

XIII Death--inside of cloak
X Wheel--lady's dress
II Cups--lady's dress
X Pents--lady's turban
VII Rods--clothing
Page/Swords--clothing

XVIII Moon--lobster/crab thing

III Cups--grapes
King/Pents--grapes
IV Rods--grapes

But in all of these cards, purple is minimal; in the IX Pents, it's dominant. Hmmn.

Exotic flavor?

The lady's outfit looks heavy, like she's dressed for a cold climate, something consistent with the pine trees behind her. But the grapes in the bowl need a different climate, don't they - are vinyards and pine forests mutually exclusive?

Actually, I don't think so Rede Seeker . . . e.g. the "Pines of Rome"--certainly there are grapes in Italy But yes, I know what you mean; we tend to think of grape-growing climates as warm & sunny, whereas the tree does bear a decidedly cool or mountainous "look" . . .

The turban, on the other hand, suggests Asia or the Middle East to me--or even Russia.

I just realized that the pin on the turban is positioned at the third eye chakra. While it is not purple (rather more blue--i.e. periwinkle) the entire rest of the card is. When I was dwelling on purple the other day, the obvious eluded me--purple or violet as the color associated with this particular chakra, which might suggest some work with second sight or clairvoyance.

As a parrot owner my immediate reaction to the sight of this bird is to assume that it talks; it could represent a spirit guide, or power animal or familiar; possibly assisting the work done with second sight (it is after all the same blue color as the jewel). Actually, come to think of it, the color I associate with the throat chakra, or center of speech, is blue. So, perhaps the bird's color does indicate that it talks, and perhaps the color of the jewel indicates that it is through intuitive means that this woman is able to hear.

As a nine, or penultimate card, focus on the third eye chakra actually makes sense, because just as nine is the last number before ten, the third eye chakra is the last before the crown. As an aspect of the Hermit, focus on worlds within also makes sense.

Paradoxically, the suit is pentacles; the grapes, pentacles themselves, rich clothing, etc. all suggest outward/material wealth. It is as though this woman has finally achieved outward success sufficient to allow for inner exploration. --As though the leisure she now enjoys has finally made spiritual work possible.

Pine and Grapes

I think pine trees and vineyards need different environments to thrive. Conditions that encourage the broad leaves of the grape-vines would be different from the conditions that require pines to grow needle-like leaves. This would mean that the grapes would need to be imported, another sign of wealth.

Any thoughts concerning the pattern on her glove? It's a more evolved spiral pattern that we've seen on the Two of Wands.