Six of Pentacles

▲ Upright Meaning

The Six of Pentacles is the card of generosity and exchange - the flow of giving and receiving, charity, and the balance of resources between those who have and those who need. It is the open hand that gives and the open hand that receives, the equitable sharing of wealth, the recognition that abundance is meant to circulate. To draw it is to be in the current of material exchange - giving or receiving help, and reminded to weigh the fairness and the strings of what flows in either direction. In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck a well-dressed merchant holds a balanced scale in one hand while dispensing coins to two kneeling beggars with the other. The scales are the fair measuring of what is given; the coins flowing from the wealthy hand to the needy are generosity and the circulation of abundance; the kneeling recipients are those in a position to receive. The card holds a subtle question, though: who holds the scales, and what does the giver expect in return - for generosity and power are intertwined in the exchange. As a Six, it carries the numerology of harmony restored after the Five's crisis - balance regained, here through the equitable flow of resources from abundance toward need. The Marseille pip, read by number and element, speaks of earth brought back into balanced circulation. Six is the number of reciprocity and equilibrium; in the earthy suit it becomes generosity and fair exchange - the giving and receiving that restores material harmony. The esoteric traditions title it Success - and notably the Moon in Taurus, where the Moon is exalted, her single most fortunate placement. This is the suit's Moon-decan, and a benevolent one: the Moon's nurturing nature in the abundant earth of Taurus brings material success that flows generously and well. Crowley's Thoth Six of Disks shows disks in perfect, balanced harmony. Etteilla and the cartomancers read it as generosity, gifts, charity, and the fair distribution of wealth. The common thread is generosity and balanced exchange - the fortunate flow of giving and receiving. In a reading the Six of Pentacles counsels generosity, the gracious giving and receiving of help, and attention to the fairness of material exchange. It favours charity, the sharing of abundance, balanced giving, and the willingness to both help others and accept help; it often marks a flow of resources or support. Its Moon-in-Taurus exaltation makes it the most benevolently lunar of the earth cards, resonating with the abundant fullness of the full moon - a time of generous flow. It reminds the querent that wealth is meant to circulate, that giving and receiving are both graces - while quietly asking, when help flows, whether it comes freely or with strings, and whether the scales are truly balanced.