Tarot · Pentacles
Eight of Pentacles
- diligence
- practice
- care
The picture
A craftsman sits at a workbench engraving a pentacle; six finished ones hang on a post beside him, another lies on the ground, and a town lies in the distance.
The meaning
The craftsman works on his pentacles, one after another. The tradition reads the Eight of Pentacles as diligence, practice and care. It stands for learning a craft and the pleasure of work well done. Here mastery grows out of repetition.
Reversed
Reversed, it is read as perfectionism, or work that is merely got through without pleasure.
In love
In love it is read as the effort you make for each other, in small things and every day.
At work
At work it stands for training, further study and focused work.
As your card of the day
Care pays off today. Do one thing thoroughly, one after the other.
The Eight of Pentacles stands for practice. One more step in a skill you are learning is enough for today.
Pentacles belong to earth. The tradition reads them as work, the body, possessions and everything we build with our hands.
Picture: Pamela Colman Smith, Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, 1909, public domain (Wikimedia Commons).