The Knight of Pentacles can represent a focus that is too narrow; the need to develop greater breadth of vision; experimenting with imaginative problem-solving techniques; lethargy, lack of discipline; inability to make plans, limited vision; irresponsibility, especially when it comes to carrying out assignments.  Knights symbolize protection, strength, ambition and questing.  Pentacles are associated with the material world, acquisitions of wealth and possessions, our connection to Earth and Nature, sensation, matters pertaining to the physical plane and the element of earth. Pentacles can also be connected with practicality, groundedness and being realistic. 

Something about the Knight of Pentacles has always reminded me of my husband - reliable and solid but with a core of determination and energy.  He also has a temper that is slow to light but once lit rivals any temper tantrum I've ever thrown.  He is a nice, warm, steady fire that keeps the hearth warm and makes things cozy and secure.

Now what does this have to do with me today?  Well aside from the obvious - appreciate my hubby more.  I think it might be am message for me to incorporate more of these traits into myself.  A wise man and Tarot Reader (Mark McElroy) once told me to learn the difference between the gadfly and the scorpion.  My husband has mastered that talent.  I am still a gadfly who has occasional delusions of being a scorpion.  I think I need to be more deliberate in my comments and more targeted in my stinging opinions.  Sometimes I'm so viewed as a loose cannon that people don't take my points as seriously as they would otherwise.  I'm a rabble-rouser and catalyst in some respects but I think I could be more effective if I were less indiscriminate with my approach.

One trait I do share with the Knight of Pentacles - I am a workhorse when it comes to things about which I am passionate.  If I am behind something, I am tireless in working to improve it.  It is the reason I have stayed at this agency as long as I have. It's really not fear or laziness or even being in a rut.  I still believe in this agency and the good it does for children in NYC.  I still think there are children out there who can have the same magical and wondrous experiences in our programs that I had as a child.  Maybe I'm deluding myself but that is the reality for me.  And Ill leave when I stop feeling this passion and commitment about what we do. 

I am sometimes too focused and have limited vision in certain areas, especially as it pertains to work.  And that sometimes causes me unnecessary problems.  If I allowed myself to be more open-minded and less limited in scope (not such a victim of tunnel-vision) then I might actually contribute more to the process and improve my standing with supervisors.  I am one of those people who are slow to adapt to new things but if and when I do adapt, I embrace it whole-heartedly.  So maybe before I ruffle feathers and stir things up being negative about changes and transitions, I should be more cautious and patient and see how things turn out before rendering judgment.  Once I have taken a full assessment of the situation I can decide whether I want to support it or not.  And if I decide to support it I will do so with all my heart and put my energy into making it work.  I think that might be a more Knight of Pentacles approach to things.