Two of Pentacles tarot card, Rider Waite Smith deck

Two things in the air at once. Balance that keeps moving.

The picture

A young man in a tall red hat seems to dance as he holds a pentacle in each hand. A green band loops around both coins in a figure of eight, the shape of the infinity sign. Behind him the sea rises in big waves, and two ships ride up and over them.

Upright

Two is the number of choice and balance. In Pentacles it is the balancing act of daily life: two jobs, work and family, the bills and the savings, a budget that has to stretch further than it wants to.

He is managing, and he is doing it with a bit of style. The band keeps both coins moving, so his balance is a rhythm he keeps up. Stop the dance and something drops.

The ships behind him know the same trick. They go up with the wave and down with it, and they stay afloat. This card asks for flexibility, a light touch and a sense of humour about how much you are carrying.

Reversed

Reversed, I read this as too much or blocked. Too much is the classic one: more balls in the air than two hands can hold, and one of them is about to hit the floor. It can also be blocked, where the juggling has become a way of putting off a decision you already know you need to make.

To tell which, count what you are holding. If the list is longer than you can say in one breath, it is too much, and something needs putting down. If you keep swapping the same two things back and forth, there is a choice waiting.

When it turns up

Which of the things you are juggling could you put down for a week without anything breaking?

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

Related pages
The Number 2

The 78 Cards

Every card in the deck, upright and reversed.

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