Tarot of Prague Cafe Club - King of Pentacles

lunakasha

Having just posted on the Queen of Pentacles, I find this card to be an interesting contrast. Whereas the Queen is very warm and represents the simple pleasures of home, the King of Pentacles is much more showy, materialistic and business-minded.

This King is robed in pure gold...literally, he looks very stiff and rigid underneath the weight of it all. His facial expression also looks very stiff and cold to me....again, quite a contrast with the Queen. He holds a golden book in his hands, with a pentacle inside, and he seems to be holding it up to show that he has his finances and business under control. The two golden bulls that pull his chariot are also very serious and focused on the task at hand. The bull reminds me of one who is "stubborn", and I do get that feeling from the King as well. And yet, it is quite possible that there is more to him than meets the eye....a warmth that is not immediately visible when we look at this flat, metallic surface.

:) Luna
 

annik

Yes, looking at both card, you can see the difference. The Queen of Pentacles is warm and welcoming. The King of Pentacles is more formal and bussiness minded.

And behind this King, we can see buildings (seems to me to be a castle and a church) and a town. So, as the Queen is more close to home, the King of Pentacles seems to be a more urban person. To me, he overview all the economical aspect of his town pretty closely because of the book in his hand.
 

Alta

I read somewhere that the King of Pentacles represents the 'merchant king' and not a 'noble birth' king. That he appears to me made out of gold seems to colour my reaction to this image.
The bulls could be more than stubborness though, thought they are that! A link to the earth, someone wealthy who remembers where he came from. Also the book, the link to study and learning in the Pentacles courts.
 

Bean Feasa

When I saw this card, I immediately thought of Midas, and I see from the book that Karen and Alex intended to allude to that myth.
He looks pretty uncomfortable doesn't he - as if that gold robe is just too tight and constricting for him.
The position of the bulls make me think of the horses in the Chariot - but I don't think this king is going anywhere. He looks very rooted, very firmly fixed in position. A bit rigid perhaps, inclined to 'go by the book' - that big golden book he's holding open. He looks rather forbidding but also a bit vulnerable - he seems kind of stuck there, open to attack from all comers. A good sort, I would guess - diligent, doing his best. Very au fait with the city, its bureaucracy and ramifications. A very worldly king, which I guess is just how the King of Pentacles should be.