The 3d orbital ground state of transition-metal ions that are incorporated in a molecular matrix determines the total spin of the transition-metal ion as well as the spin anisotropy and thus the essential magnetic properties of the corresponding molecule. However, there is little known to date on the exact 3d ground state of many molecular systems, including quite complex molecular magnets as well as relatively simple systems Such as, for instance, cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc). For the latter, there are contradictory theoretical predictions with respect to the occupation of the various Co 3d electronic levels. We demonstrate that polarization-dependent X-ray absorption spectroscopy in combination with a simulation of the spectra is able to shed a brighter light oil the spin and orbital ground state of the transition-metal ion in CoPc. Our results reveal a temperature-dependent ground state and emphasize the importance of taking 3d correlation effects properly into account.