Eight of Pentacles

I started reading the cards forever ago (more than 25 years!) and when I first saw this card it wasn’t shiny and glossy enough and I didn’t like it. But I’m older and wiser now and I can see its virtues. This card is about work, steady and interesting.


The person sits, having their accomplishments on the wall, working with focused attention, with more work to follow after that. It’s about focus and concentration and doing something you personally find rewarding. People who are looking for work love to draw this card. People who are in work feel pleased that their hard work will pay off, and that there is more coming.


I like the inner child version, skating the figure of the infinite, in the flow, moving with grace. It’s when you are in the right place at the right time, and it’s all good.

Seven of pentacles

When I see this card I always tell people they have sown their seeds and are now seeing the fruits of their labor – taking a moment and resting while the outcomes grow heavy on the vine. So you are finally seeing some results (People who are graduating from college often draw this card) or seeing some investments - of time and energy as well as money - pay off. I have also seen it for women asking about pregnancy and it signifies a yes!


But I also get it when people have felt they’re taken as much as they can from this garden, and in the pause, they are considering change – new work, new careers, assessing whether the fruit is worth the labor involved. The beautiful quilt reminds us that to everything there is a season, and make sure you are waiting for the right moment to reap your reward.

The inner child cards emphasize the resting/assessing option; in that candlelit pause you can assess more fully, reflect whether you are on the right path, see for yourself if you want to continue, or if you want change. This is a moment to check your strategy and see if you are still on course.

Six of Pentacles Inner child

The inner child cards do not strictly follow the Rider Waite pack interpretations, and in the pentacles in particular they differ widely, so I will occasionally give them their own link.


Here you are climbing the mountain to get to the magic snow flake. It’s about determination and perseverance and getting there. The image also suggests that you are leading the pack, but sometimes you are walking too far ahead - check that everyone is on the same page, and wants the same goals/outcomes.

Six of Pentacles

This is a complex card and needs context to explain - money is often such a complicated issue. I always ask people which figure they most identify with. Are you giving and not getting or taking and not being able to give? Are you expected to be grateful or expected to be gracious? It’s about an uneven power dynamic, and a sense of not enough.


You might think the figure giving the charity is the happiest in this scenario, but actually no one is entirely comfortable when relationships are so fundamentally unequal. And the irony is, when I get this card for relationships, it can mean that both parties can feel that the other has all the resources, power and control…


The tarot of trees has a kinder version, where the scarcity of the nuts meets the sharp wits of the squirrels.

Five of Pentacles Inner Child

The inner child cards do not strictly follow the Rider Waite pack interpretations, and in the pentacles in particular they differ widely, so I will occasionally give them their own link.


I call this one the whistling while you work card. In this card you are satisfied and content in your labors, always a happy card to see if you are looking for work.

Five of Pentacles

No one likes this card. It’s when we are feeling out in the cold, poor and ignored. It can be about money, and simply not having enough, but it can also be about fear, and about feeling fragile and chilly in relationships.


It’s about poverty of spirit, and what wanting and not having does to you. It’s about being tired and weary, physically and spiritually. The will work for food card is a chilling and perfect summary of this card

4 of Pentacles Inner Child

The inner child cards do not strictly follow the Rider Waite pack interpretations, and in the pentacles in particular they differ widely, so I will occasionally give them their own link.


In this one, the scaffolding is up, but the building is not whole yet. There is a vision of what it should look like, and work is taking place, but don’t lose focus now, you need to ensure that your plans are good and that you are carrying them out correctly.