Seven of Pentacles

Stopping to look at the crop. Patience, and taking stock.

The picture

A young man leans on the handle of a long hoe, his chin resting on his hands. He is looking at a leafy bush beside him, with six pentacles growing in it. A seventh pentacle lies on the ground at his feet, apart from the rest.

Upright

Seven is reflection and reassessment. In Pentacles, it is the middle of the growing season. The work has been done, the crop is on the vine, and it has not finished ripening yet. He has stopped work and leans on the hoe to have a proper look.

This is the card of the long game. Savings that take years, a business that takes a while to pay, a garden, a degree, a body you are rebuilding one walk at a time. Results here cannot be rushed, and the card asks for patience.

It also asks for judgement. Is this growing the way you hoped? Is it worth another season of effort? The single coin at his feet is the one still waiting for a decision about where it goes.

Reversed

Reversed, I read this as delayed, or too little. Delayed is the harvest taking longer than you hoped, and the urge to pull the seedling out every week to check whether the roots have grown. Too little is effort without return, a lot of hard work poured into something that is simply not growing.

To tell which, ask how long you have given it. If it has had less than a fair season, leave it in the ground and wait. If it has had several and still shows nothing, it may be time to plant somewhere else.

When it turns up

If you looked at your effort like a crop, what would you keep tending and what would you let go?

Seven of Pentacles has also been a Tarot Card of the Week. Read that post to see the card at work on a real week.

If you would like the cards read against your own chart, my readings are here.

Related pages
The Number 7