The Quiet Wisdom of the 7 of Pentacles
Grounding and minimalist art style from The Genius Garden Tarot
To call the 7 of Pentacles an unglamorous card would be an understatement. It is…there. Like the subtle eggshell white of any rental apartment. Unmemorable yet functional, with a certain level of neutrality that doesn't cause much eyebrow-raising, but rather more of an "It's fine, I guess" tone. It symbolizes a pause and reflection, along with a call for patience, according to classic interpretations of this Minor Arcana card. I would argue that on the surface, this is completely true. It isn't a particularly show-stopping card, yet it was my card for the month of June, making this a well-timed moment to reflect on the quiet, low-key wisdom of this oh-so humble card.
When I first started reading Tarot, I would pull cards for myself daily and journal on my pulls, most days following a specific format that allowed me to grow in my reading abilities (to learn more about that, you can read my post "Tarot as Storytelling" here).
Over the last year or two, this practice has shifted, and reflecting on my "Year Ahead Spread" and analyzing the lessons I've learned and how a card has shown up for me over the course of the month (in expected and unexpected ways) has allowed for a deeper relationship with my deck. While I have written on the 7 of Pentacles before here, it felt right to come back to this underwhelming card for some additional insights.
And so I found myself at the end of June, with the 7 of Pentacles as my companion, at a place where some genuine reflection is warranted.
Over the course of the last almost 30 days, I have found this card to be ever-present in a very behind-the-scenes way. Like the gentle humming of the refrigerator—always present, but rarely in the foreground unless you come across a moment of stillness, in which you observe it and ask yourself, "Has it always made that sound?" Not in an obtrusive way, but as a nudge that asks you to notice it…when you realize you've found a minute to yourself to catch your breath.
Serene and rooting Seven of Pentacles from The Star Seeker Tarot
In my experience, I have learned the 7 of Pentacles is unobtrusive—the chill friend in the back seat of the car along for the ride, who inserts little nuggets of wisdom throughout the trip that give you cause to pause and think, "Huh…I never thought about it that way before…"
This card asked me to take a second glance at my structures and systems: the ones I have in place for my business(es), my daily routines, the way my home is organized, how I feed myself and move my body, and how I rest (or lack thereof). It called me out in a way that didn't irritate me—as a reminder to check in with myself about how I was living my life that allowed me to come to my own conclusions rather than being told what to do. It reminded me of the time years ago when I quit smoking (yes! your girl was a pack-a-day smoker 20 years ago, but hey, it was 2001 and in NYC we were still allowed to smoke in restaurants, which is where I often found myself working).
I had a boyfriend at the time who was a non-smoker, and he never said a word about my unhealthy and toxic habit, but if I reflected on it, he would gently affirm my feelings without ever inserting his opinions. In hindsight, I believe this is what made me quit. I knew how he felt about it, but he never placed pressure on me to change, nor made me feel like I should. The knowing that any true shift had to come from me is very reflective of the 7 of Pentacles. This gently supportive card is here for us to stop and look at how we are existing. That sounds large, but it is true. We only have one life in this magnificent vessel of our current bodies, and the 7 of Pentacles asks us to stop long enough to ask, "Do I like the way I'm treating myself and my life?" "Am I placing my efforts in places that are still serving me and the version of myself I am becoming?"
As we have shifted into July at the time of me finishing this current piece of writing, my card for this month is the 10 of Wands (stay tuned for a proper reflection on this one in August), which brings us back to an interpretation of the 7 of Pentacles that many of you will find out there in the Tarot cosmos. This is the patience that comes from having made valiant efforts in all of the aforementioned areas pertaining to your material world, and now it is time to take a moment to allow those efforts to bloom, rather than continuing to push.
Reflective and ethereal Seven of Pentacles from Tarot of Mystical Moments
I can see the theme of patience as well, in conjunction with the theme of review. They blend together quite naturally. Anyone who has poured their whole selves into a big (or several small) tangible projects may be able to attest and relate to the notion that with a certain level of dedication also comes a necessity for an in-depth review. If not, we run the risk of continuing to move forward in a direction that doesn't provide us with the fruits we were hoping to cultivate; instead, we pull up some unplanned vegetable garden, or more disappointingly, nothing at all. Pulling up nothing is a gift too (even though it certainly does NOT feel that way in real time—I can vouch for that), but it does show us one of two things.
Either:
We need more time for what we have planted to become realized, as our efforts are not yet visible to the naked eye and we must trust the energy of said effort that has been placed into the atmosphere, so now we wait,
OR
If we have given ourselves a reasonable amount of time (the length being completely specific to the individual—and I'm looking at you, fellow Fire signs, as we are not known for our patience) and we truly don't see nor experience even the tiniest glimmer of showing for our efforts, perhaps this is the time to pivot our energy into a different form or direction.
Reason 2 does not mean we necessarily quit, but rather ask ourselves, "What have I learned from taking this approach? What would I like to maintain from my original idea/plan, and how might I apply myself differently to this venture?" I would say that Reason 1 asks us to do the same—that while we wait, stop and reflect, we ask, "What about our efforts is sustainable and noteworthy, and which parts might be better placed on the garage shelf or perhaps even recycled altogether?"
These are personal to each and every one of us, and the 7 of Pentacles has the patience and the staying power we need to remain with these questions for as long as we need to sit with them.
No rush here. That is something that the 7 of Pentacles always promises