Coaching Corner with Cards - Nine of Pentacles

Hello all you magickal beings. Welcome to another venture in blogging and social media-ing: Coaching Corner with Cards. Think of this as your invitation to grab a beverage (hot, cold, spiked, not-spiked... whatever you like), fling off your shoes, and have a moment to sit with me in a big comfy chair. We're just going to reminisce, explore, ponder and just chat in general about the Tarot and it's meaning in our lives.

There are some incredible things I wish to share in this corner. You see... for the past 15-weeks I've been going through an incredible and rigorous course to uplevel my own Tarot Reading Practice through World Divination. My aim is to take my Tarot (and eventually Lenormand, Kipper, and Cartomantic Skills) to the next level, from divination to transformation. The course (through World Divination) is appropriately called "Spiritual Card Coach." And having been a student, coach, and facilitator in transformational spaces, adding the layer of Tarot to my coaching work adds a uniquely me layer I've been searching for a while now. While the 15-weeks have passed on the formalized learning container (I passed too ... so YAY!) the work of transformation really begins in the aftermath; it can continue or stop once the classroom lets out for the final time. So what do I do? I continue the work through exploration, meditation and of course... Tarot.

The ending of my Spiritual Card Coach experience lined up perfectly to a momentous occasion: receiving my first royalty check from RedFeather. When I held that beautiful check in my hand, many emotions passed through me: excitement, anticipation, angst, and once I opened it, a small tinge of disappointment. Now to clarify... I wasn't disappointed in that "I should have been paid more" way; I was disappointed because the number on the check was a direct reflection of the effort I put into selling the book since its publication. As I was working through this let down, I started to shuffle my Tarot deck and the Nine of Pentacles came out. Here in front of me was a beautiful woman in her garden of Pentacles, enjoying everything. And as I sat with this Nine of Pentacles, thoughts slowly started to come to me: this wasn't JUST a check. It was a signal... A signal that approximately 200 copies of my book sold. 200 people wanted to read my words and learn Tarot with me. Some may be learning for the first time; some may be putting my book alongside other amazing authors (if this is your PLEASE share photos with me on Instagram: @queenofglamtarot).

The spirit of the Nine of Pentacles, at its essence, is the spirit of receiving. In the Rider-Waite-Smith image, a figure stands in a lush vineyard, surrounded by ripe grapes ready to be picked and enjoyed in the moment. The nine pentacles are woven into the landscape itself, and the figure gently rests a hand on one of them—almost as if they’re in conversation with what they’ve created. On the other side, a bird perches calmly on a gloved hand, poised for flight.

There’s a quiet tension here between groundedness and release—earth beneath one hand, possibility in the other. Between tending what has already grown and allowing what’s ready to move on.

When you sit with this image, you start to feel that receiving isn’t passive at all—it’s an active relationship with what has been cultivated, held, and now gets to be appreciated.

Take a moment to look at a few different depictions of this card, like the ones in this blog, and notice what stands out to you.

And while that is all fine and good, this is a Coaching Corner where we discuss what's up and what's going on and how this perks up in real life. In the case of my royalty check... It was enough. It was perfect because it was not a small number of people. 200 people could fill a small theater as if I were delivering a one person show or workshop. So just for the moment, pull the Nine of Pentacles out of your favorite deck or find an image of it online. I invite to take in the image, or put yourself mentally in that beautiful garden or vineyard pictured. Breathe in the air, hear all the sounds, see the scene in your mind's eye and say aloud to yourself: this is enough right now. This has all I need right now.

Where can things be enough for right now for you? Where are you placing a higher emphasis on shoulda, coulda, woulda vs. being in the moment? Where can you bring in some appreciation for what you have right now? This lovely Nine is asking for us to enjoy what we've created, worked for, received, been paid for, and otherwise grew from the ground up. But it's a Nine... there is still one more pip card after this. This isn't a permanent stopping place but rather a place to appreciate.

I hope this blog was helpful and enjoyable. I plan on delivering more of my Coaching Corner with Cards as the insights hit me each month. But for now... Go, enjoy, appreciate all you've made happen from the ground up.

Make it a Magickal Day! -Stella B.