← Encyclopedia of Tarot · lesson 71/121
Seven of Pentacles
The Seven of Pentacles is the gardener's pause. Work has been done and something is growing, but it is not ready to harvest. The card describes stepping back to take stock — is this worth the effort, should I keep going, change course, or wait?
The image
A young farmer leans on his hoe and looks at a bush heavy with seven pentacles, with one more at his feet. He is not working; he is weighing up. Waite wrote that "these were his treasures and that his heart was there". The scene is usually read as patience mixed with a little doubt.
Upright
Upright, the card is read as long-term investment of time and care, assessment, and the virtue of not rushing a harvest. Waite admitted its meanings were "exceedingly contradictory": mainly money and business, but also quarrels, or innocence. Modern readings centre on review: progress is real but slow.
Reversed
Waite gave "impatience, apprehension, suspicion" for the reversal. Modern readers often see frustration at slow results, effort spent in the wrong place, or giving up just before things ripen. Some readers do not use reversals.
Correspondences
A Minor Arcana card, the Seven of Pentacles, element Earth. In the Golden Dawn's attributions, which most English-language decks follow, it is the Lord of Success Unfulfilled: Saturn in the third decan of Taurus, 20°–30°, in Netzach, the seventh sephirah.
In a reading
In the present it often marks a review point; as advice, patience or an honest look at whether to continue. As an obstacle it can describe impatience or a project that has stalled. Beside the Eight of Pentacles it may suggest getting back to steady work after the pause.
In astrology
The Golden Dawn's correspondences, which most English-language decks follow (French, Marseille-based tradition differs for some Major Arcana).
Decan: Saturn in Taurus, 20°–30°
Element: Earth — the element of Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn
Mode: Fixed — Taurus is a fixed sign