Preach Without Preaching

King of Pentacles

One of the ways I understand the suit of Pentacles is that it shows us doing the work of putting our spiritual principles into practice. We tangibly live out our values here. There’s a saying that’s popularly attributed (though probably wrongly, as so many widely circulated quotations are) to St. Francis of Assisi that goes: “Preach the gospel at all times, use words if necessary.”

To me, this encapsulates the suit of Pentacles. Not that it’s about the Christian gospel, of course, but that’s it about living in a way that reflects your values on such a level that you don’t have to talk about them. You don’t have to say that x, y, or z is important to you because you show it in your everyday actions and choices. And that’s what makes the Pentacles suit so fucking difficult! It’s not ‘invisible’, like so much of our work can be in the Wands, Cups, and Swords. And the work of living out our values butts up against our need for survival, which is of course also a Pentacles' issue, and sometimes these two things can feel at odds. Living with a deep set of principles makes living harder, no doubt.

The King of Pentacles’ relationship with the Hierophant (they both correspond to Taurus) makes all the sense in the world when you look at it this way: as the tangible, everyday embodiment of your values and your faith. When you manage to ‘preach without preaching’, it’s an act of service, and an expression of King energy. We teach others by our example. And of course, Taurus energy is grounded. It wants something it can touch and experience.

This King can feel like an archetype that we can only aspire to but will never fully embody. And that’s just as true when we speak about living our values as it is when we talk about financial abundance. Spiritual principles are easy to ascribe to in theory, and hella hard to do “irl”. And many of the obstacles to living in the way that feels most spiritually aligned to us, those are real obstacles. Structural, systemic issues so often keep our choices limited to evil and less evil. So, we have to give ourselves some grace here, and perhaps concede that King of Pentacles may be something we can only embody collectively, if that makes sense. Especially regarding the relationship with the Hierophant, which represents culture—something we create as a living, collective body. We all share in this energy, and offer something to this King’s full expression, but can we do it on our own? I think that’s a real question, and perhaps applies to all the Kings. Kings are about the kingdom, not a monarch.

So, for a prompt today, let’s look at where we already embody this King, and what expression we’d like to grow into.

What spiritual principle do I embody?

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A spiritual principle I long to live out

What that looks like/requires

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You can read more about the King of Pentacles in these older posts:

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