Use this resource as a guide to interpreting the Son of Pentacles tarot card as drawn by Kim Krans in The Wild Unknown tarot deck.
Visual Description
A buck faces off against a foe that is out of the frame of this card. Their head is tilted downward as if ready to charge, and you can almost sense that they are scuffing their feet in the dirt to gain traction. There is a look of determination in the buck's eye and their nostrils are flared: a fighting look.
The floor of the card is white, almost feathery like grass. It transitions int a deep black, like a dramatic curtain has fallen for this staged fight to take place.
At the top of the card is a waning crescent moon. Within the moon is a pentacle.
Numerology + Suits
Court Cards are not tied to a number, and thus numerology is not relevant for this card in particular. But each Court Card (Daughter, Son, Mother, Father) comes with their own set of symbolism and energy. The Son within the Court Cards represents dynamic action, energy in motion, and perhaps even aggression. It is aligned to the element of Fire.
Court Cards can represent either a person in your life, a certain characteristic or personality, or a side of your own personality for you to examine. They are notoriously hard to interpret within a spread! So do your best and see how this card connects to the larger story.
Pentacles correspond with the element of earth and represent the material world. This means anything related to career, work, monetary resources, the skills we use to gain those resources, and the tangible goods we can buy with those resources.
Within the Suit of Pentacles, all the Court Cards are represented by a Deer. Deers symbolically represent our natural instincts, intuition, and devotion. They may also be a symbol of speed, agility, compassion, gentleness, and survival.
Upright Interpretation
This card tends to come up for me and my clients when there is something worth fighting for in our lives. That doesn't mean we are in a fight or battling some kind of foe. But it does mean we will need to summon our courage, our skills, and our energy to make something happen. This is a very Capricornian card. It has all the hallmarks of the Sea Goat: Ambition, Determination, and Focused Effort.
The Son of Pentacles represents the survival instinct of the deer. He is willing to get his hands dirty for what he believes in. He is willing to step into the fray to get shit done. With the waning moon (a symbol of reflection and surrender), this starts out of a feeling of necessity, not needless aggression. He may come off as a bit tactless and rude to those not used to his direct and assertive ways. But there is the potential for explosiveness here if the Son's energy is not directed in a healthy way.
When this card comes up, you may need to embody this energy in your own life, you may want a person like this on your side, or you may be encountering them in some aspect of your life.
Reversed Interpretation
Reversed, you may be focusing more on the fight itself as opposed to your desired outcome. This was always meant to be about the work, or the project, or the team...but perhaps you've turned it into something personal? Take some time to journal out all your feelings about the situation. How can you get back to the heart of what the situation was originally about? That may help you redirect your own energy onto a more positive path. You can fight for what you believe in without burning bridges in the process.
You may also be resisting the fight altogether. You're feeling wishy-washy about if this situation is worth fighting for. Is it worth your time and energy? Is it worth the risk that you might lose? Examine where this doubt comes from. Is it out of pragmatism? Is it coming from you, or doubt that others are putting onto you through their unsolicited advice and opinions? Is it out of fear of either failure or success? There are many things that can make us doubt ourselves. Getting clear on the source of doubt in this circumstance may help you make a more objective call to accept the call to arms or walk away.