Page of Pentacles

  • Arcana Minor
  • Suit Pentacles
  • Figure on this site The young smith
Historical evidence

In the earliest decks

The lowest court card of each suit goes by several names: Page, Knave, Jack, and in the Marseille tradition the valet. In the suit of Coins (French deniers, Italian denari) it is the Page of Coins, called Pentacles in the English occult tradition.

In the Tarot of Marseilles pattern, each suit has four court cards: valet, cavalier, queen and king. The earliest surviving cards of that pattern date from 1639, made by Philippe Vachier of Marseilles.

The Sola Busca deck, engraved in the late fifteenth century and probably hand-painted in Venice around 1491, is the earliest tarot with every suit card illustrated. Each suit has Knaves, Knights, Queens and Kings, but only the Knights, Queens and Kings carry names; the Knaves are left unnamed. In the Coins suit the named figures are Sarafino, Elena and R. Filipo.

Historical evidence

The Rider-Waite-Smith card

Pamela Colman Smith drew the Rider-Waite-Smith Page of Pentacles in 1909, for A. E. Waite. Like the rest of the minor arcana, it shows a scene instead of a plain arrangement of coins. Some scholars think Smith drew on the Sola Busca deck, because the British Museum acquired photographs of it in 1907 and Waite and Smith probably saw them there. The Wikipedia article names a few cards that look alike, but not this one.

Myth and literature · Quotation

Waite’s description

A youthful figure, looking intently at the pentacle which hovers over his raised hands.

Modern interpretation

As read on this site

This is the meaning used for readings here. Using the tarot to divine is a modern practice, and the Norse figure shown for each card is this site’s own association; the tarot began as an Italian card game. A short history is on the Tarot page.

Upright

Keywords: eager learning, early craft, mistakes as part of growth, beginner's hands

The young smith's hands are still learning the craft, and the mistakes included in that learning are not a problem to be solved but a normal part of becoming skilled. This card honors the beginning of mastery, eager and imperfect, trusting that the fumbling now is how the steadiness later gets built.

In general: You're early in learning something real, and the mistakes are part of the actual process, not a detour from it.

In love: Learning how to be good at a particular relationship, clumsily at first, with genuine effort behind the fumbling.

In work: Developing a new practical skill through hands-on attempts, including the ones that don't go well yet.

Reversed

Keywords: impatience with mastery, skipping the learning, premature confidence, rushed skill

Impatience with the slow part of mastering something pushes past the actual learning in favor of an outcome that hasn't been earned yet. The young smith who skips the early failures doesn't actually skip ahead; they just produce work that looks finished but isn't structurally sound. The slow part is the part that works.

In general: There's an urge to skip past the unglamorous learning phase. It can't actually be skipped; only postponed.

In love: Wanting to be effortlessly good at a relationship skill without going through the awkward early practice of it.

In work: Trying to perform at a level of mastery that hasn't actually been earned yet through the necessary practice.

Unsure whether this card represents a person or an approach? Read our guide to tarot court cards.

Draw a card for a reading · How to read cards together · Reversed cards

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