Queen of Coins/Pentacles: Outdoor Homes
Queen of Pentacles from the Waite-Smith Tarot. Such a lush scene of Nature.
The Queen of Coins combines the nurturing and receptive energy of the Queen with the earthiness of the coins. We find the Queen of Coins in Nature when we return to the same spot again and again, allowing her to reveal her secrets. Some people refer to these special outdoor spaces as a ‘sit spot’, and they might spend hours there in stillness, getting to know Nature’s local changes here throughout the year, enjoying the little creatures who come closer when offered time and trust.
When I introduce a similar concept to my ecotherapy groups and clients, I invite them to find an ‘outdoor home’, somewhere to sit that they would like to return to, somewhere where they feel at ease. It can be on a city bench by a tree, in a park, near the beach: any place that can easily be visited with some kind of frequency. It is only then that we can experience the motherly familiarity that the Queen of Coins offers as Nature herself.
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To reach The Mother Tree, I pass an ancient stone bridge that crosses the river down in the glen. The river is small here, perhaps ten metres wide, but its sound is enlivening. The water thrashes (or trickles, depending on the time of year) over three wee waterfall steps beneath the bridge. When I reach the other side, a mere five or six footsteps later, there she is, the beautiful giant cypress tree, just to the left. Her elegant branches dangle to create a sheltered nest for me to huddle into.
She’s not the tallest tree in the glen, but her mighty height combined with her gentle protectiveness gives her a parental vibe that inspired my personal name for her. When I crouch into her dark canopy and settle on the soft ground made up of discarded needles, I find myself in the company of a younger tree, about my height, who I call the Daughter Tree. The Mother Tree is a real mother, too, you see. No doubt about it.
Above: The edge of the Mother Tree, overlooking the South Esk river in Temple, Midlothian, Scotland.
When I first started sitting here in stillness, I was called by the obvious attractions: the scent of sweet conifer trees, filling my lungs and calming my body. The sound of the little waterfalls, dropping and crashing onto rock and washing away my preoccupations. Her soft bark against my back as I leaned into her, absorbing my stress like cardboard drinking water. The lush greens of oaks and beeches and ferns all crammed along the riverbank.
But after I started to come to this spot more often, I started to notice more detail; the little blue tits who pass by in groups and gossip in the shrubs; the buzzards who fly low in the treetops, looking for prey; the tiny holly saplings that grow all along The Mother Tree’s periphery. On a sunny day, they reflect the light of the Sun on their waxy leaves.
If we are blessed with a good mother in the human world – and I acknowledge that not everyone is – she can be like this Mother Tree. As we grow and get to know her, she reveals more. She stops being a mere safety blanket for us to rest into and to take from; as we grow with her, a whole other world of quirks and interests and personalities emanate from her. If we are lucky, she even becomes a friend. That is what the Queen of Coins/Pentacles shows us in a regular sit spot, or an outdoor home. It doesn’t matter if we find the Queen of Coins on a park bench or from a window view, but we need to sit there regularly and pay attention. We soon notice the diversity and change (although in the most concrete of areas we might need to tempt Nature to visit us with some bird seed or plants)! We must come out of ourselves and dive into our senses when we revisit our special place. This is where we can experience the entire richness of the Queen of Coins – or, in other terminology, the Mother of Earth.
That’s all for now, friends. Thank you for being here – and please check out my Therapeutic Tarot Sessions and my courses embracing Tarot and Nature if you’d like us to work together. You can also sign up for the Tarot Blog newsletter (different to my main newsletter) below to receive occasional email updates (roughly monthly) with the latest posts.
Smiles from Scotland,
Stephen
