Nine of Earth (9 of Pentacles)

I have identified with the 9 of Pentacles for many years as "my" card.  I think a lot of women who have worked hard to reach a place of accomplishment and comfort identify with this card.  We're at the peak of our creative powers, we have money in the bank, we're tied to family & community and yet have time to be alone for our creative work and spiritual practice.  A time of peace and plenty, which is internal as well as external.  (And yes, of course, it is a self-portrait!)

A woman stands in the midst of a lavender field in full bloom on a sacred island where she has put down roots and made her home.  She’s reached a time in her life when she is fulfilled, content and at peace with her home and her creative work.  Even when she spends time in sacred solitude, she is inextricably part of a community that includes the people, plants and animals who call this Place home.  Sister Heron flies overhead, a sign to her of the presence of the Divine in her life. 

Comments

[Elaine]

Oh Joanna,

So, beautiful!!!

[Lunaea]

What a lovely affirmation of all your blessings! It's a visual prayer of gratefulness!

[Julia]

Oh my...that's just stunning! The lavender field is so beautiful & the self portrait...perfectly gorgeous!!:)

[Jani]

Wonderful - a beautiful picture of a beautiful woman. I can smell the lavender...

[Julie in Virginia]

What a perfect addition to the deck. I am so glad that you are at a place in your life where you can say "Here I am" and share yourself in such a loving and lovely way.

I'm not there yet Sister Joanna Mermaid - but I am following the cairns that you leave behind.

[Nora]

a perfect affirmation of a perfect day in glorious life...it's just divine. So nice to see YOU in the Gaian Tarot.

[Ellen-Mary]

Wow, Joanna! You are the perfect subject for the nine of Earth. Lovely as always.

[Gina aka SleepyEyes]

Exquisite! And very fitting. I love this card ; )

[Carolyn]

Greetings, Joanna!

How lovely to see you in the deck! Both of the cards where you appear are wonderful; the 9 of Water took my breath away.

Be well,
Carolyn

[Rue]

Joanna--it is truly a beautiful card, reflecting your beautiful soul.
Love, Rue

[JulieZS]

Radiant Loveliness! I'm so thrilled to see this self portrait Joanna, really really great work.

[Shell]

I'm so glad you put yourself in your deck. Lovely picture. Nine of Pentacles is one of my favorite cards.

[Goddess Leonie]

joanna, this is absolutely exquisite...
it takes my breath away...
i just wanted to say THANK YOU...
it is absolutely a gift to see your images.
and i am so looking forward to purchasing your completed deck! (what's the ETF for them? i'm so excited!)

[Hecate, Runnymead Conspirator]

Oh, wow! Nine of Pents was "my card" for many many years. I love this. It avoids the sort of sad, closed off from the world sense that you get from the rider waite. I love that it's your self-portrait. A victory!

[Melissa]

So beautiful, Joanna! It really must have felt like an affirmation of your precious life and loving self-acceptance to so carefully reflect upon and give yourself this gift (not to mention us!). I, like so many others, can hardley wait for the full deck to be ready!

[Francine]

Bravo Joanna! How wonderful, how perfect, how absolutely divine! You have set your personal stamp so indelibly on this deck, and now you have made it even more gloriously manifest! Fait accompli!!!

[Beth Owl's Daughter]

I have tears in my eyes.. This is just radiant. Thank you for the deep, beautiful ways you have shared yourself with this, dear one.

[joanna]

Thanks, all of you! I'm so grateful that you love this card. It's special to me (obviously). The photo was taken about 3 years ago in the lavender field at the farm up the hill from my island house. As Nora says, it was a beautiful day (she was there). My sweetie took the photo I used as a reference, so I've got that "ah, that's my honey" look on my face too. :-)

Julie in Virginia -- I love the idea of you "following the cairns."

Lunaea - a "visual prayer of gratefulness" - awesome! Had not thought of it that way.

Leonie - I expect to finish the final 8 cards within the next two months. But I'll be submitting my proposal to publishers this month. More on that in the next newsletter (are you a subscriber?)

Shell & Hecate - two more 9 of Pents women! I'm not surprised. Yes I consciously chose not to put a garden wall in there. Wanted it more expansive.

Melissa, Beth, Francine, Julie, Rue, Carolyn, Gina, Ellen-Mary, Jani, Julia, Elaine -- some of you my friends in the flesh, some of you my virtual friends -- thank you all!

[Debbie the Tarot Broad]

Oh my goodness Joanna, this card is just amazingly beautiful!! It is now officially my favorite 9 of Pentacles. And I love how the description combines both the solitude the woman needs and her connection to the larger community.

[joanna]

Debbie! I love the new name of your blog. It's so . . . *you*! And I'm so glad this is your new offical fave 9 of Pents. Thanks.

[heartfeltdruid]

Wow Joanna this is a beautiful card and I feel so connected to it because of the great blue heron (GBH) flying above. The GBH has always been around me guiding me no matter where I go. Whenever I see it in the sky or reflecting and watching the water in a pond I feel blessed and comforted. When I recently moved from New York to Massachusetts a GBH flew down and circled, the moving van I was driving, slowly 3 times as I began my journey and I felt so grateful that the scary new life I was heading into was blessed in this way.

[heartfeltdruid]

Forgot to mention, in my last post, that the meaning of the card, for me, because of the heron in flight in the upper corner, includes this hint that the place where the woman currently stands on her journey, though fulfilling and wonderful, is not the end point of the journey... that there will be more beyond this point.

[Laura]

Oh, lovely! Seeing this image made me clap my hands with joy. I love that you are one of the images in your deck, and I love that it's a card that feels like you.

As I said before, your Seven of Earth card is me, even if I'm not the model, and even though I haven't actually planted a red cedar sapling (yet). That's based almost entirely on the image on the card, but as I'm currently waiting to hear if I get into grad school or not, the meaning of card seems appropriate too.

[Pilar]

Oh, lovely!!! I am so glad you've included a self portrait in the deck. So wonderful!

[Colleen]

This breathtaking. Actually the first word that came to mind for me was radiant and I can see others thought the same. In a way, I can still see it as a walled garden, but it's Mama Gaia's garden and a wall of her making - the Cascades on one side, the Olympics on the other and a lovely necklace of the San Juans closer around you. For me, that puts the ideas of achievement and solitude on a completely different scale.