Six of Pentacles

What the card means

Upright

Giving and taking, with the scales honestly held. A merchant hands coins to two kneeling figures and holds scales in the other hand - and the scales matter more than the alms: the card is about help being measured rather than dispensed as a gesture.

Reversed

Generosity with strings, or a debt that never closes. Given in order to have grounds to ask. Sometimes taken with no intention of returning.

Love and relationships

Upright

A relationship where two people genuinely help each other. Or an imbalance that currently suits them both.

Reversed

Giving and mentioning it. Or one person permanently in the other's debt.

Work and business

Upright

Help from somebody above: a promotion, backing, a mentor. Or you in the giving position.

Reversed

Helped, and loyalty is now expected. Or somebody on the team who only ever takes.

Money

Upright

A debt paid or received. A good time for an honest reckoning and for helping whoever needs it.

Reversed

A debt left hanging. Or help that will be repaid for longer than it was worth.

The card's advice

Look at the scales rather than the gesture. If you are giving, give so that you never have to mention it; if you are taking, establish the price now - there always is one.

As the card of the day

A day of exchange. Good for repaying a debt and for asking for help. Poor for pretending you owe nothing.

What is depicted

A merchant in red hands coins to two kneeling figures, scales in his left hand. The scales are held higher than the coins - measured out rather than given away.

Zodiac sign and correspondences

Moon in Taurus - care with a reckoning in it.

With other cards

• Six of Pentacles + Justice — given and measured; there is nothing to argue about.
• Six of Pentacles + Five of Pentacles — asked, and the help came.
• Six of Pentacles + Four of Pentacles — opened the hand and found it got lighter.