Tarot Post – Eight of Pentacles

 

Eight of Pentacles (Prudence / Knowledge)

 

Oak TreeEight Of Pentacles (Revised) by G A Rosenberg

 

Each step has been learned
In crafty self-expression
Discipline pays off.

 

Honing my craft
Designing new ways to design
creating new ways to create
it’s all self-expression.
Can I make what I contain
both beautiful and useful?
Can I present
what I know
in a way that awakens
knowledge and appreciation
in others as well?
Each day brings something new
either realization or lesson
but how do I know it
until I can show
through my creation
my understanding
of what I’ve learned?

 

The suit of Pentacles refers to the element of Earth and of practical matters such as money and partnerships both of a business nature and of the home. They can also represent nature, the Earth itself as well as our bodies. Eights deal with recognition of boundaries and a focus of the energies to move on and continue. How do we manifest the talents and abilities that we carry within us? There are so many ways such writing, art of all various kinds, crafts, and engineering just to name a few. No matter which one we choose, there is a period of time during which we must train ourselves in the form of that expression. By becoming ever more proficient and disciplined in the forms, we give ourselves the freedom to then experiment and take them to new places, expanding the medium to better express our perceptions.

 

Astrological Correspondence – Sun in Virgo – The Sun in Virgo energy is one of analysis, self-examination and fine-tuning in every aspect of its being. One of the key words involved with this energy is responsibility and its focus will ever be on improving and making a good thing better. At times this may mean getting caught up in the details to the exclusion of the big picture. The Sun in Virgo energy also tends to be very self-contained, so busy exploring and expressing the interior of its existence that it has little need of exterior influence being complete in and of themselves. People with this energy tend to have a strong connection to the physical world and have amazing bodily awareness.

 

I Ching Correspondence – 62) Hsaio Kuo – Preponderance of the Small –

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The trigram of Thunder is over that of the Mountain. When thunder is in the mountains, it tends to echo and so feel a lot closer. It takes discipline to focus on making your way through the storm and get where you’re going rather than be daunted by the noise. This sense of focus on the immediate may seem over detailed or petty to others and yet it gets the job at hand done. This hexagram speaks a lot about self-moderation and discipline and how easily both of these things may be overturned by letting externals pull our focus.

 

When the Eight of Pentacles comes up in a reading, it can indicate that it is a time of great creativity and self-expression as long as we are receptive both to what our inner self wishes to communicate and to the means by which we are communicating it. It may also refer to a time when a tighter focus is needed. If we pay attention to the details, eventually we will be able to reconnect to the bigger picture. This may be true in our relationships as well as business and other practical relationships. The Eight of Pentacles may also be saying that it is time to buckle down and pursue one’s goals as it is possible through focus to attain them.

 

When the Eight of Pentacles turns up reversed, it may mean that we are paying to much attention to details and missing the big picture. Circumstances may have changed and what has been working for us until now may no longer be helpful. We need to step back and take a wider perspective on things before continuing. It is tempting when our efforts are not paying off to grow frustrated but the Eight of Pentacles reversed may be suggesting that patience is needed. Another meaning of this energy reversed may mean that rather than doing something step by step the way we always have, it may be time to think outside the box.