Six of Pentacles

Quick answer

The core meaning of Six of Pentacles is Harmony in the realm of Material. Upright, it usually points to Presents, gifts, gratification; another account says attention, vigilance; now i; reversed, it may suggest Desire, cupidity, envy, jealousy, illusion.

Card imagery

A person in the guise of a merchant weighs money in a pair of scales and distributes it to the needy and distressed. It is a testimony to his own success in life, as well as his goodness of heart.

Upright meaning

Upright keywords: Material: Harmony. Waite gives the upright divinatory meaning as: Presents, gifts, gratification; another account says attention, vigilance; now is the accepted time, present prosperity, etc.

Reversed meaning

Reversed keywords: Material: Harmony (blocked). Waite gives the reversed divinatory meaning as: Desire, cupidity, envy, jealousy, illusion.

Love, Career, Money and Growth

Love

In love, Six of Pentacles tends to show up as reliability, everyday care, and how a shared life is arranged. Upright it usually means mutual aid, generosity, and a reasonably fair exchange; reversed it tends to suggest giving with strings attached, a sense of debt, or an unequal relationship.

Career

In your career, Six of Pentacles tends to show up as skill, process, steady income, and results that accumulate. Test "mutual aid, generosity, and a reasonably fair exchange" against the real state of your project, your responsibilities and what has actually been said.

Money

On money, Six of Pentacles is a reminder about budgeting, saving, return on what you put in, and a sense of security. It stands for mutual aid, generosity, and a reasonably fair exchange, but it is no substitute for a budget, a contract and a risk assessment.

Personal growth

For self-enquiry, Six of Pentacles points at turning an idea into a habit you can repeat and resources that actually exist. Be specific about the help you need and what you can carry yourself.

Yes or No

Upright

Yes

Reversed

No

This is our own quick read, based on which way the card’s meaning leans. Traditions disagree about individual cards, and an "Undecided" needs to be weighed against the position in the spread and your actual situation rather than taken as a one-word answer.

Waite’s Original Text (1911)

Additional Meaning

The present must not be relied on. Reversed: A check on the Querent's ambition.

Quoted from A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith. The text is in the public domain.