The Artist's Concept
Although card was chosen for me I discovered as I worked on it that there is more to this card than I had previously credited it. I decided I wanted to explore the cards inner sanctum and seek its secrets for myself. This card is about ‘where do we go now that we’ve reached our earthly, material or mundane goals?’ On the surface we have everything we need to survive but there has to be more. In the past I’ve read the Nine of Pentacles to be mundane satisfaction with life, having safety, good health, shelter, food, clothing and all other survival needs provided for. In the Rider Waite Deck, the falcon on the woman’s hand indicates the taming of our animal nature.
Now I perceive the card as indicating a need to seek for the lowest survival need but highest psychological need of all that separates us from other beings-spirituality and self-actualization. Life would lack meaning once we have managed our survival needs if there wasn’t something more to pursue. Seeking spirituality and self-actualization helps answer the more abstract questions of life like "Where does our spirit go when we die?" "How were we created?" "Who am I?" "What is my life’s calling?" On the surface, life can appear complete and fine to others even if we are in the midst of inner turmoil trying to answer personal existential questions, questions have led to much world change for positive and negative. Our external realities change because of the inner journeys that we take.
Card Meaning
In my interpretation, I depict a woman reaching out for a triangle where the top tip is glowing. The tip represents "self-actualization" in Maslow’s "Hierarchy of Needs", but it also represents spirituality. The other triangle tips: the right corner represents physical needs and the left psychological needs. The woman is well dressed and wears nice gold jewelry, symbols of her material gain. The triangle is also gold but has more meaning to her than the gold jewelry. She is seeking to become more than she appears on the surface. She has come to the realization she is not merely a body and a mind - but a spirit, too. The background is currency from different countries representing the universality of her quest. She has released the nine pentacles that were holding her back from finding her truest self. Those pentacles are falling back to the earth from which they came.
Card Media
Colored pencils, colored drawing pens (for the gold of the tip and pentacles), origami paper (for the triangle), drawing paper (for the woman cutout) and scrapbook paper decorated w/ currency. It was then scanned expecting the images would blend and not appear to be collages.
Go back to the project index, read the traditional card meaning, or get a free automated reading.
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