6 of Pentacles - Have, Have-Not & Reciprocity
Six pentacles form an uneven frame around three people arranged in a triangle. One person is standing looking down to his right, and two are crouched looking up toward him, palms open. The man standing is well dressed and wears a red hat, cloak, belt and pants with blue and white striped tunic. He holds a set of gold scales in his left hand and his right hand gestures toward one of the crouching figures below, releasing coins into their hands. The two crouching figures appear to be destitute beggars cloaked in worn out yellow and blue blankets. In the distance are stone buildings and trees. The ground and sky are grey.
6 of Pentacles from the Rider Waite Smith Tarot
Traditional meanings of the 6 of Pentacles often circle around themes of giving and receiving along with positive notions of generosity, benevolence, charity, and then more uncomfortably, submission and dominance.
An initial inquiry asks:
Which of the figures do you identify with? … the standing giver or the crouching receivers?
EXPERIMENT: Take turns with physically standing or crouching, holding the postures and gestures of each figure to embody their presence and energy What thoughts, images, memories, sensations or emotions arise with each?
You've probably experienced moments of both in your life, but you might find that you're more familiar with one position over the other.
I almost always identify with the giver in the image - while not abundantly wealthy, I’m conscious of my current privilege and position and aware of the have-nots very close to me and within my community. Being self sufficient and beneficent feels good and correct and neediness feels uncomfortable. However, spending time with the card over the last day prompted an almost forgotten (buried) memory to arise.
Many years ago, when I was about 19 or 20 years old, with a small baby, and in a dangerous relationship with baby’s father, my living and financial situation was extremely dire. As close to the poverty line one can get without being completely homeless. My husband at the time thought I’d be more convincing going to the Salvos and asking for help/money with babe in arms. To me this was deceptive, akin to begging and the act filled me with shame. I recall barely being able to get the words out to share my sob story (coached into exaggerating it by husband). As the charitable benefactor lectured me on poor choices, money management, and mothering, they handed over a $25 supermarket voucher and a small box of food essentials. In the mix of humiliation, I was relieved for the small respite, but also enraged. At the judgement, at me, at how I’d fallen, put my child at risk, worried my family, through naivety and poor choices. I didn’t want to be in that position again.
This memory also tied into oft-repeated ancestral stories about abject poverty, and the unequal distribution of wealth and power in an almost feudal post-WW2 Eastern Europe. Far worse than my personal experience. Regressing even part-way down this road was out of the question.
Although there was an awakening at that moment, it took several more years before I climbed out of that hole. I now see how the value of work, stoicism, duty and the sort of legacy I wished to leave featured subconsciously as guiding principles to help transform my situation. Receiving was also equated with shameful begging and not to be risked.
What are the personal, ancestral and cultural stories you hold about money, wealth and prosperity? and how it should be shared?
How might these inform your core beliefs, emotions, attitudes or actions related to health, work, family, or prosperity?
The triangular arrangement and attitude of each player speaks to broad, stable social structures that maintain some people/organisations/ institutions to hold onto particular prosperity-power dynamics. Paradoxically, perpetual one-sided giving or receiving is not sustainable. Either reciprocity becomes the norm, and / or …out come the scales.
So far I’ve only discussed material resources of money, but really you can replace ‘money’ with anything of value including the distribution of knowledge, skills, talent, or time.
So … Who decides how much and what goes where and to whom? What measure is being used to weigh out each share? Are those coins or crumbs being offered? or is that one-in-the same?
A few token coins / $25 voucher won’t change anybody’s situation in a real way but perhaps there can be a grace in both the offering and the taking in. Therefore, exploring new ways of giving and receiving that aren't based on guessing, superficiality, or desperation can help.
What do you really need? How can I help? This is what I can do, if that works.
I could really use this particular help. I need support with this. I value and appreciate what you’re offering.
My capacity for receptivity has shifted dramatically to its reactive rejection of my old story. But today I experienced it at a subtle but new level. When embodying the ‘beggars’ in the suggested exercise above my experience was of a lovely softening and ease. Dare I say …. I felt something akin to deep love, and divinity. Receiving from something greater felt good.
How could adopting a different position in the triad help reframe your attitude towards the reciprocal nature of giving and taking?
One last little cheeky bit; I couldn’t work out where to put this in the narrative, but there’s something about the beggar in blue that intrigues me. Are they waiting? or have they missed out? And importantly, what’s that red thing in their pocket? Benebel Wen says its a ‘ticket’ and so I’ll be exploring this with some playfulness …. a ticket for what!? What do you think?
Much love,
Mendy
REFERENCES
Benebell Wen. Holistic Tarot. An Integrative Approach to Using the Tarot for Personal Growth*