Seven of Pentacles
The Seven of Pentacles appears when you’re at a crossroads.
This is the moment when you know what you’ve got but aren’t sure it’s enough. You’ve worked hard to establish a career. You’ve invested in a relationship. A project is successful. Is this enough? Are you happy? The Seven of Pentacles is a moment of reckoning with where you’ve been and where you go next.
I don’t believe in solid bliss; I believe we accept life’s hardships and find our happiness where and when we can. Oftentimes, happiness is a matter of perspective (that’s not always the case, but with the Seven of Pentacles it is!).
The Seven of Pentacles asks you to dig into the psychology of your standstill to see where the lack is. Is a new job or career necessary? Could a soul-inspired project outside of work be the spark that keeps you moving? Is it time to let the relationship go? Or are you expecting a person or situation to be the silver bullet that fixes your life? The lack you feel could be real, but it could also be your outlook that needs adjusting.
The Seven of Pentacles tells you that to figure out your next move, you have to understand your motivations and your underlying neurosis. Maybe you desire more because you can’t let yourself be happy. Or maybe you’re truly down in the dumps and need to work toward thriving instead of surviving. Perhaps it’s not about more, but less.
What is driving you (or not)? And why? The answer about what’s next comes from reflecting on this question.
The Seven of Pentacles invites assessment in the practical sense. Now may be a time to analyze your skills and gains, and take stock of your losses. What gives you stability? Where is the room to grow? As you think about what’s next for your career, personal life, or spirit, it’s helpful to consider the resources you have at your disposal.
The Seven of Pentacles can be about apathy and indecision. You might be bored. You might have lost motivation. You, or someone else (if you’re peeping), might be disenchanted, undecided, or at a standstill. You (or they) are present, but absent. Perhaps exhaustion compounds the confusion.
This card can warn that something will not move forward, or that delays should be expected. Look to surrounding cards to see whether they show deadlock or just a bit of sluggishness.
When this card is reversed, a period of indecision comes to a close, or it’s high time to get moving. You already know what to do but won’t.
It’s also possible the paralysis has settled into a statuesque kind of complacency. Things are ridiculously frozen in time and space. All you have to do is make a move; the rest will fall into place.
The Seven of Pentacles is the pause that demands reflection and direction.
Sources
Greer, Mary. Archetypal Tarot. San Francisco, CA: Weiser Books, 2011.
Greer, Mary. Tarot Reversals. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2002.
Pollack, Rachel. Tarot Wisdom. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2008.
Snow, Cassandra. Queering the Tarot. Newburyport, MA: Weiser Books, 2019.
Tea, Michelle. Modern Tarot. New York, NY: Harper Collins: 2017.
Wen, Benebell. Holistic Tarot: An Integrative Approach to Using Tarot for Personal Growth. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2015.
Video
Tarot Spread
If you are drawn to the Seven of Pentacles and want to dig deeper, get them outta your deck, make them your mascot, and draw some cards from the rest of the deck with this tarot spread I created!
