Knight of Pentacles tarot card meaning: upright, reversed and symbols

The Knight of Pentacles sits on a heavy black horse that is standing still in a plowed field. He holds a pentacle in his hand and does not seem to be in any hurry.

He is the slowest and steadiest Knight in tarot. This page covers what the Knight of Pentacles means upright and reversed, the symbols in the 1909 card and how to read him as a person or an energy.

Here is the Knight of Pentacles at a glance.

The Golden Dawn’s King of Pentacles is the mounted figure Waite called the Knight. His title is Lord of the Wide and Fertile Land, King of the Spirits of Earth, and he is Fire of Earth on Chokmah, ruling 20° Leo to 20° Virgo. Crowley’s Thoth deck calls him the Knight of Disks, which agrees with Waite’s rank.

The card: what Pamela Colman Smith drew

Waite wrote: “He rides a slow, enduring, heavy horse, to which his own aspect corresponds. He exhibits his symbol, but does not look therein.” All the other Knights move. This one waits.

The still horse. His horse is a heavy working animal standing still. Steady effort, not speed.

The plowed field. The field has been prepared. He is responsible for the slow work of growing things.

Holding the pentacle. He holds his coin steady. He is reliable with what he has been given.

Upright meaning

Upright, the Knight of Pentacles is steady progress. He sits on a heavy black horse that stands still in a plowed field, holding a pentacle and looking at it calmly. He is not in a hurry. The card speaks of hard work, routine, reliability and doing what needs to be done.

Knights carry the energy of their suit into the world, and this one carries patience. He is the slowest Knight, but he always arrives. In readings he can show steady effort, careful planning, or a reliable person.

His horse is still, but the field is plowed. He has done the work.

Reversed meaning

Reversed, the Knight of Pentacles can show stubbornness, boredom or laziness. It can also show being stuck in routine, or perfectionism that slows progress.

Ask whether your routine is helping or holding you back. A reversed Knight often needs a small change.

In a career reading, the reversed Knight may show that reliability has turned into being taken for granted. If you always deliver quietly, people may not notice how much you carry. Say what you do, and ask for what it is worth.

In love, work and spirituality

In love. Upright: A reliable, committed partner. Reversed: Routine or boredom in a relationship.

At work. Upright: Hard work, reliability and steady progress. Reversed: Stagnation, or resistance to change.

With money. Upright: Careful financial planning and saving. Reversed: Being too cautious with money.

In spiritual practice. Upright: A steady daily practice. Reversed: Practice that has become routine.

As feelings. Committed and steady, though not always expressive.

As a person. A reliable, hardworking and patient person.

As advice. Keep going steadily.

Reading the Knight of Pentacles: positions and yes or no

In the past position: Steady work got you here. In the present position: Keep going, steadily.

In the future position: A slow, reliable time is ahead. As advice: Keep your commitments.

In modern yes or no readings, the Knight of Pentacles is a maybe. Progress is slow, so it is a maybe.

The knight in the tarot court, and the history behind the card

Knights are the movement of the court. In Pentacles the movement is slow, steady progress. The Golden Dawn’s Lord of the Wide and Fertile Land suits a figure so close to the land.

Here is how the Knight looks across the four suits:

• Knight of Wands: energy, passion, impulsiveness
• Knight of Cups: romance, charm, idealism
• Knight of Swords: action, ambition, drive
• Knight of Pentacles (this card): hard work, responsibility, routine

Waite called his mount a slow, enduring, heavy horse, and the picture makes that clear: of the four Knights, he is the only one whose horse stands still. The Knight of Wands rears, the Knight of Cups walks gently and the Knight of Swords charges.

Behind this Knight lies a ploughed field, ready for planting. Comparing the four Knights side by side is one of the quickest ways to learn the elements, and this one shows earth at its most patient.

When A. E. Waite published The Pictorial Key to the Tarot in 1910, he listed these divinatory meanings for the Knight of Pentacles: “Utility, serviceableness, interest, responsibility, rectitude, all on the normal and external plane.” Reversed, he gave: “Inertia, idleness, repose of that kind, stagnation; also placidity, discouragement, carelessness.”

Common questions

Is the Knight of Pentacles a yes or no card? It is a maybe. Progress is slow but steady.

Who is the Knight of Pentacles as a person? Often a reliable, hardworking, patient person. It can be any gender.

What does the Knight of Pentacles mean in love? Loyalty and reliability. Reversed, routine.

Try this

Try this small spread for the Knight of Pentacles. Use it for long, slow projects.

Affirmation: I honor my commitments with steady and realistic effort.

Reversed affirmation: I adapt my routines to support useful progress.

If you keep a tarot journal, take one of these questions to it: What needs my steady care? Where am I steady, and where am I stuck? What pace can I keep?

What next

Cards that sit close to this one are Knight of Wands (the fastest Knight, for contrast), The Hermit (the Major Arcana card of patient wisdom) and Seven of Pentacles (patient work).

The Knight of Pentacles is part of the lesson Meet the court in my free Tarot for Beginners course. To see the whole suit on one page, go to the suit of Pentacles.

To keep walking the suit, read the card before it, Page of Pentacles or the card after it, Queen of Pentacles, or go back to all the card meanings.

For more on the court, see Tarot court cards without confusion. For every card with keywords, affirmations and examples, see my book The Novice’s Guide to Tarot. If you would like a printable cheat sheet for all 78 cards, my 45-page Tarot Workbook is on Etsy.

Sources

• A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1910), Part III, sections 1 and 2.
• Pamela Colman Smith and A. E. Waite, the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot (London: Rider, 1909).
• Nicolas Conver, Tarot de Marseille (Marseille, 1760).
• Lauri Mukkala, The Novice’s Guide to Tarot, entry for the Knight of Pentacles.
• Aleister Crowley, 777 (London: Walter Scott, 1909), columns of the decans, the Minor Arcana and the court cards.
• Israel Regardie, ed., The Golden Dawn (Chicago: Aries Press, 1937 to 1940), “Book T”, titles and attributions of the small cards and the court.