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

The Queen of Pentacles sits on a carved throne in a lush garden, holding a pentacle in her lap and looking at it with care. Roses grow above her, and a small rabbit sits at her feet.

She is the nurturer of the earth suit: practical, generous and grounded. Here is what the Queen of Pentacles means upright and reversed, the symbols Pamela Colman Smith drew and how to read her as a person or an energy.

Here is the Queen of Pentacles at a glance.

Book T calls her the Queen of the Thrones of Earth, Water of Earth, on Binah, ruling 20° Sagittarius to 20° Capricorn. The Golden Dawn and Crowley agree on her title. Water in earth is the image of fertile soil, which fits Smith’s garden queen.

The card: what Pamela Colman Smith drew

Waite said her qualities might be summed up in “the idea of greatness of soul; she has also the serious cast of intelligence; she contemplates her symbol and may see worlds therein.”

The pentacle in her lap. She holds her coin close and looks at it. Practical things are worth her full attention.

The rabbit. A small rabbit sits in the corner. Rabbits are fertility and abundance, and also the small comforts of home.

The garden. Roses and leaves surround her. She is at home in the physical world.

Upright meaning

Upright, the Queen of Pentacles is practical care. She sits on a carved throne in a lush garden, holding a pentacle in her lap and looking at it tenderly. Roses grow above her, and a small rabbit sits at her feet. The card speaks of nurturing, comfort, home and financial security.

She is the person who makes a home warm, feeds people and keeps the household running. She is practical but generous, grounded but loving. In readings she asks you to care for yourself and others in tangible ways.

The rabbit is a symbol of fertility and abundance. She creates an environment where things grow.

Reversed meaning

Reversed, the Queen of Pentacles can show smothering, neglect of self, or financial insecurity. She may give so much that she has nothing left, or focus on material things at the expense of feelings.

Ask whether you are caring for yourself as well as others. A reversed Queen often needs to rest in her own garden.

The reversed Queen can also describe a home that has become a workplace, where caring for others has turned into an endless list of chores. Ask for help with the practical tasks, so that the garden can become a place of rest again.

In love, work and spirituality

In love. Upright: A caring, nurturing and stable partner. Reversed: Smothering, or neglecting your own needs.

At work. Upright: Practical leadership, or a nurturing role. Reversed: Overwork, or work-life imbalance.

With money. Upright: Financial security, and generous but wise spending. Reversed: Financial worry, or overspending on others.

In spiritual practice. Upright: Kitchen witchcraft, gardening and earth magic. Reversed: Neglecting your own spiritual needs.

As feelings. Caring and protective, wanting to look after you.

As a person. A nurturing, practical and generous person.

As advice. Care for yourself and others in practical ways.

Reading the Queen of Pentacles: positions and yes or no

In the past position: A caring, practical person, or your own care, shaped you. In the present position: Look after the practical things.

In the future position: A time of comfort and practical care is ahead. As advice: Make your daily life easier.

In modern yes or no readings, the Queen of Pentacles leans yes. Practical care points to yes.

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

Queens are the inward mastery of their suit. In earth, that mastery is practical care.

Here is how the Queen looks across the four suits:

• Queen of Wands: confidence, independence, warmth
• Queen of Cups: compassion, intuition, emotional security
• Queen of Swords: independence, clarity, intellect
• Queen of Pentacles (this card): practicality, nurturing, financial security

Look for the small rabbit in the lower right corner of the card. It is easy to miss, and many readers take it as a sign of fertility, abundance and a life close to nature.

Roses grow in an arch above her, and her throne is carved with fruit and the head of a goat. Waite wrote that she contemplates her symbol and may see worlds therein. The pentacle in her lap is not a coin to spend but something she holds and looks after.

When A. E. Waite published The Pictorial Key to the Tarot in 1910, he listed these divinatory meanings for the Queen of Pentacles: “Opulence, generosity, magnificence, security, liberty.” Reversed, he gave: “Evil, suspicion, suspense, fear, mistrust.”

Common questions

Is the Queen of Pentacles a yes or no card? Yes. She is warm and practical.

Who is the Queen of Pentacles as a person? Often a warm, practical, generous person. Court cards can describe any gender.

What does the Queen of Pentacles mean in love? Nurturing, practical love. Reversed, smothering.

Try this

Try this small spread for the Queen of Pentacles. Use it when you want to care for your home and body.

Affirmation: I offer practical care while respecting my own needs.

Reversed affirmation: I share responsibility and make room for care I can sustain.

If you keep a tarot journal, take one of these questions to it: What would make my daily life easier? Who cares for the carer? How do I show love practically?

What next

Cards that sit close to this one are The Empress (the Major Arcana card of nurture and nature), King of Pentacles (her partner on the earth throne) and Nine of Pentacles (comfort and abundance).

The Queen 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, Knight of Pentacles or the card after it, King 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 Queen 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.