FURTHER EXPLORATION OF THE SEVEN OF PENTACLES

In the time since my earlier post(s) here about the Seven of Pentacles (7P) I've collected more thoughts about and meanings for it. But first I want to share some more unusual versions of the 7P.

First is the 7P in The Karma Tarot, a rather trippy deck all told, and this card may be one of its more surreal ones:

The Karma Tarot's little white book (LWB) does not say this about the 7P but I see its image as cautioning or maybe just asking "What is growing in your life out of your thoughts?"

This second 7P version below is from The Tarot of the Trance:

What's growing here must be more important than the thinker/planter who's nowhere to be seen. Though that tree has a vaguely human aspect to it. Hm...

And third below is the 7P from the 1987 deck The New York Tarot (link is to a review on Tarot Passages, with publisher info):

I'm originally from New York City, where all of its photos were taken, so this deck always puts me in a nostalgic mood. Way back in the day I knew some of the Pagan community folk pictured in it (and others not photographed), though not the lady on the above card.

And for COMPARISON, here's The Seven of Pentacles in the well-known Rider/Waite/Smith deck:

THE SEVEN OF PENTACLES: The 7P is a card I get in readings for myself fairly often. (BTW, I only read for myself these days, by choice.) Although I know from long (going on 40 years) experience with its wide variety of meanings I still have a sort of atavistic "uh oh" feeling when it shows up. For the 7P can carry a meaning of failure. And usually when I come to the Tarot for a reading something in my life is in, at the least, a delicate or unclear state that's causing me concern. This makes reading this card rather a challenge at times. I often look right away to surrounding cards (or if I've drawn it as a one card reading, I'll pull an additional card) to point me toward what it's saying. Of course, when I use decks as different in design as the above Karma Tarot 7P, this is usually not necessary. The unique art work on those sorts of decks give me that clarification without the aid of other cards. And not to end this paragraph on that confusing point, I'll simply note that I see the character (as on the RWS 7P version above) as having done a lot of the work that leads to the lush, successful garden of the lady with her hawk on the RWS Nine of Pentacles. And this hard working 7P character is now taking a well-deserved rest. Hm, that could be a mini-reading for me at this point in my year. I've done a tremendous variety of work -- and am still doing much of it -- over the past two years. And what I have begun interpreting as a possible failure starting in one area may more correctly be understood as an earned vacation.

MEANINGS/INSIGHTS/READINGS FOR THE SEVEN OF PENTACLES, SOME LESS COMMON OR EVEN QUIRKY -- Please note: The below is not intended to be an exhaustive exploration of this card; a quick Google will produce a wider variety of takes should you not be familiar with it. (Given my heavy reliance on projection of my feelings and experiences onto the cards, I recognize that I may very well reveal more about myself here than I do about any particular card. However, this is exactly my point: I use the cards as a path to self-discovery and healing. I hope what I post here that comes out of that process will be useful in some way to other seekers.):

-- What's going on under the surface needs to be recognized and responded to or this harvest may go bust.

-- A casual perusal of this situation will not necessarily reveal a need for intense caution, but you do need check it all out very carefully. Especially any intuitive ("underground") reactions to it before making any commitment, much less taking any action or making any changes. There's a hidden negative aspect or cost to it all.

-- Watch the tendency to put the cart before the horse.

-- Just as it's pleasant and even heart-warming to believe in this project, like believing in unicorns it's not practical or ultimately workable. So weigh a time of enjoyable belief against this probable failure of outcome. Sometimes a period of lively fantasy can be worth the rude wake up, but sometimes not.

-- Slow down and be sure of not only when to move, but just what move to make.

-- What can be seen is deceptive. The real responses are buried. Be patient and open. What you (or someone else) are actually feeling/thinking will surface soon enough.

-- Attractive, yes, even lush and inviting. But all you see is not all there is. There's a lot going on underground. Wait until you have a better feel for the full parameters of this situation before jumping in.

-- Watch the tendency to understand this situation in opposites: black or white, right or wrong, good or bad, succeeding or failing, etc. Not only can both be active at different times and with respect to different aspects, but other options may come into play.

-- You've been too inactive for too long. Time to get in motion (both literally and metaphorically speaking). There are new fields to plow, new seeds to plant.

--What is your thinking planting in your life? What grows from how you habitually understand things?

-- Reaping what one has sown.

-- When seeking to understand yourself better, look at the physical "fruits of your labor." They are a mirror, for good or for ill.

-- You most probably won't get from this what you would hope. But it won't be as bad as you already imagine it could be.

-- Your focus on the possibility of failure leads to failure. Get back to work and take a chance on success.

-- Something you have forgotten about can be of use now. Have faith that it's there and that its influence will lead you. If not obviously, then in an intuitive flash or sudden memory.

-- "Appearances are deceiving." This may only look like a failure. Wait, something rather unexpected may yet bloom from this effort.

-- Time to "harvest" your work. I.e., get it out in the world, share it with others.

-- It's not possible to totally fail. Each moment is new, with new possibilities.

And I'll close with some lyrics from a beautiful song "Bring on the Wonder" by Susan Enan (on her album "Plainsong):

"I don't have the time for a drink from the cup
Let's rest for a while 'til our souls catch us up

Bring on the wonder
Bring on the song
I pushed you down deep in my soul for too long"

(If you'd like to read other posts on this card, click on the "Seven of Pentacles" Label at the bottom of this post. Then scroll past a repeat of this new post to get to the older.)

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N.B. A small thing, but just in case: some of the extra reference links offered at the very end of my oldest (years old) posts no longer work. As there are so many posts here to go through I am choosing not to find and change all of those links that are "dead." (Though I immediately delete any I now find that lead to questionable sites.) If you are interested, you can try Googling for the name of the site or article referenced. I'm finding that some are still around in new locations or incarnations, some not.

'til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot, in whatever ways it comes to you in your life,





[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under "View my complete profile")**** SEE ALSO: United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS) (charter member); Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry; Roswila's Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka); Trying to Hold A Box of Light for digital photos only.

FURTHER EXPLORATION OF THE KNIGHT OF PENTACLES

In the time since my first and rather brief post about the KNIGHT OF PENTACLES (KnP) I've collected a good many more thoughts and meanings. But first I want to share some more unusual versions of this card. The first KnP (Knight of Coins in this deck) below is from the surreal and stimulating Karma Tarot, which frequently takes me back to my hippie years when viewing its art:

Next is from the beautiful fine art paintings of The Stone Tarot. In this deck the Knights of the feminine suits of earth (pentacles) and water (cups) are Amazons:

And here's the Knight of Coins (Pentacles) in The Giants' Tarot. The figure here is a Norse giantess (another female knight):

And for COMPARISON, here's the KnP in the well-known Rider/Waite/Smith deck:

THE KNIGHT OF PENTACLES: The KnP has been like a hovering angel in my life for many months now (replacing the Queen of Swords as my advisor), whispering in my ear "slow and steady ... slow and steady." This whenever I get frantic about time -- which is all too frequently. As I had done with the Queen of Swords before it, I xeroxed four very different versions of the Knp and taped them to my wall to remind me to breathe and slow down. Especially internally. When I heed this angel on horseback, one upshot has been a more thorough awareness and appreciation of each moment along the way. Not to mention that I'm more able to do what I have before me. (At least until I speed up again.)

MEANINGS/INSIGHTS/READINGS FOR THE KNIGHT OF PENTACLES, SOME LESS COMMON OR EVEN QUIRKY -- Please note: The below is not intended to be an exhaustive exploration of this card; a quick Google will produce a wider variety of takes should you not be familiar with it. (Given my heavy reliance on projection of my feelings and experiences onto the cards, I recognize that I may very well reveal more about myself here than I do about any particular card. However, this is exactly my point: I use the cards as a path to self-discovery and healing. I hope what I post here that comes out of that process will be useful in some way to other seekers.):

-- Knights in general: have to do with being in or getting in to motion. The Knight of Pentacles is the slowest; The Knight of Cups a bit faster; The Knight of Swords faster yet; and The Knight of Wands the fastest. This aspect may help when dealing with timing issues in a reading.

-- An oppositional person. No matter which way you want to go, he or she will want to go the other. No matter what you say, he or she will have a smart aleck response.

-- This feeling of being stuck or held back is a red herring. You are basically avoiding moving on because of the sustained effort you know going ahead will require.

-- Someone who's slow to refocus when a situation demands it. That look of theirs is one of puzzlement, not annoyance.

-- There are both forward and backward looking aspects to your feelings/thoughts about this. All need to be heard and considered respectfully. This may slow things down quite a bit. But it's much better than being tossed from the saddle altogether should you dismiss or not see something crucial.

-- Someone who takes their sweet time to respond to almost anything as they hear any request or question or problem as a demand.

-- Take your time on this. There's no rush, and going too fast could cause problems.

-- Slow down internally. Try not to react before a bit of time has passed. Let the world respond to you, instead of trying to wrest control from others by rapid reaction. Time often has a different story to tell than your immediate reaction might have led you to believe.

-- Clinging, or being clung to. Time to free up the situation, to loosen it up.

-- Don't let others pressure you into rushing on this. Take the time you need, or that the situation requires. Their pressure speaks more of their insecurities or lack of knowledge and experience, than of you and/or your skills.

-- They're not disinterested, just pre-occupied with something major having nothing to do with you. Give them time to refocus on your interaction.

-- What the situation requires and what you have to offer will eventually match up. Be patient.

-- Recovery from this all too familiar problem will take longer than it has in the past. Don't give up or lose heart.

-- That this is going so slowly is as if it were saying "forewarned is forearmed." Rethink the situation.

-- Someone who's not very quick on the uptake, but once on board is thorough and reliable.

-- Late or slow bloomer.

-- Enjoy what's going on around you. I.e., don't just focus on your goal. "Take time to smell the roses."

-- True home is where you are at any given moment. All the yearning for and fear that you won't find home is like chaff in the wind. Another way to put it: Wherever you go, there you are.

-- Maintain a sense of curiosity; take the time to be open.

-- There's a heartful spiritual striving here. And given we are always a work-in-progress spiritually, the journey can sometimes feel very slow and very long indeed. Exactly the length of a life time.

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N.B. A small thing, but just in case: some of the extra reference links offered at the very end of my oldest (years old) posts no longer work. As there are so many posts here to go through I am choosing not to find and change all of those links that are "dead." If you are interested, you can try Googling for the name of the site or article referenced. I've found that some are still around in new locations or incarnations, some not.

'til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot, in whatever ways it comes to you in your life,





[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under "View my complete profile")**** SEE ALSO: United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS) (charter member); Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry; Roswila's Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka); Trying to Hold A Box of Light for digital photos only.