Nine of Pentacles. Art by Phan Ba Long, from The Southeast Asian Myths & Stories Tarot.
There is a temple known as Po Nagar which is located at Nha Trang.
It is an architectural work of art by the Cham ethnic group and it was built during the 8th-13th Century. It was dedicated to Lady Po Ngar / Yan Po Nagar. (杨婆那加)
Legend has it that Yan Po Nagar was sent by the heavenly father and reborn as a daughter to a farmer in the mountains of Khanh Hoa Province. From young, Yan Po Nagar was able to communicate with all sorts of natural spirits. From the natural spirits; she learned many herbal knowledge and different magics.
One day she was taking a ferry ride, a bolt of lightning from heavens struck the boat and it capsized. Yan Po Nagar was thrown overboard. A guardian spirit who was protecting her, transformed into a piece of magical Sandalwood and carried her safely to the shores of China.
On the Beach, a handsome prince was riding by and was besotted by the beauty of Yan Po Nagar and rescued her. She fell in love with the prince and they were wed.
Two children were born out of the love and the blissful marriage. However, the prince became more involved in the ruling of the nation and spent less time with her and her children.
She longed for Champa and her parents. In addition, she wanted her kids to see their grand parents. She wrote many letters to the prince requesting for permission to return to Champa.
However, the prince was unrelenting and Yan Po Nagar became sad. The guardian spirit who was watching the development of his ward from a distance, decided to appear in front of Lady Po Nagar and told her that he could bring her and her children back to Champa.
She agreed and the spirit transformed into a magical boat and ferried the mother and children home.
The prince was furious when he discovered that his wife has left without his permission.
He led a fleet of vessels and journeyed towards Champa. The guardian spirit told Lady Po Nagar about her magical past life and taught her magic to combat the prince.
With her magic, Po Nagar flew in the air when the fleet came close to the bay of Cham pa and she spoke with a loud voice and warned the prince to return to China.
The prince refused and urged his ship forward. Summoning whirlpools and powers of heaven,
Lady Po Nagar turned the men in the prince’s fleet to stone and destroyed the fleet.
Returning back to Champa, Po Nagar taught her two sons well and used her knowledge of plats and agriculture to aid the Cham people and culture. When her time on earth was up, the guardian spirit led Po Nagar to heaven.
Her children built the Po Nagar temple to commemorate her to be situated on Cu Lao hill oversee the entire kingdom of Champa.
The temple of Po Nagar temple and the lady Po Nagar is the great mother of Vietnam and the Cham culture. She is a bringer of prosperity as well as wealth. Hence she is represented here as the nine of pentacles.
