Three of Pentacles
A sculptor at his work in a monastery. Compare the design which illustrates the Eight of Pentacles. The apprentice or amateur therein has received his reward and is now at work in earnest. Divinatory Meanings: Métier, trade, skilled labour; usually, however, regarded as a card of nobility, aristocracy, renown, glory. Reversed: Mediocrity, in work and otherwise, puerility, pettiness, weakness.
A. E. Waite, Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911)
The seeds lead to potential further growth and the first success on the road of material ambitions and experience due to perseverance. Celebrate the outcome, the new opportunities that occur as a result of present achievements. Establishment of the idea of the universe. Work of a physical or constructional nature brings perfection. But it needs hard work and quarrel to strengthen a position and make it permanent and risk before one can count oneself materially secure. Also seeing one's own limits and consequences, see your capacity, use your business skills, work on your character to handle the future.
3 of Rainbows: Guidance
The angelic figure with rainbow-colored wings on this card represents the guide that each of us carries within. Like the second figure in the background, we may sometimes be a little reluctant to trust this guide when it comes to us, because we are so accustomed to taking our cues from the outside rather than from the inside.
The truth of your own deepest being is trying to show you where to go right now, and when this card appears it means you can trust the inner guidance you are being given. It speaks in whispers, and sometimes we can hesitate, not knowing if we have understood rightly. But the indications are clear: in following the inner guide you will feel more whole, more integrated, as if you are moving outwards from the very center of your being. If you go with it, this beam of light will carry you exactly where you need to go.
Tarot of the Ages - Mario Garizio ©1988 U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
The Three of Pentacles embodies the principle that hard work and service are rewards unto themselves. Everyone seeks a job that they can enjoy and do well at, and this card shows such careers that are both emotionally and financially fulfilling. It seems that this kind of career is less and less available these days, but the Three of Pentacles shows that some of us can still find such work. These jobs are those which inspire you to work hard, to do your best and to cooperate with others towards the accomplishment of a common goal. They are fulfilling on all levels.
This card often shows the master at work, the professional who has learned all aspects of his career and is now putting all that knowledge to use in the real world. If you want to be like this in your job, there are many things that you must do. You have to be responsible and fair in your dealings with others. You must stick to schedules, follow procedures, and do everything by the book. All of this may sound boring and counterproductive to expression of the self, but this is a Pentacle card, and this is the suit of regulations and conservativism. The Pentacles ideal is security given by convention. But within that convention you are totally free to express yourself, and to find ways to further develop your skills and yourself. If you have found success recently - the Three of Pentacles is a sign of such early success - then build upon it and make your future all the brighter. This card shows that, with determination and hard work, anything is possible. It's all a matter of devoting energy to a cause and seeing opportunities where no one else can. Look at every opportunity as a sculptor looks at a block of stone, or as a painter views a bare white canvas. See the potential underneath the plain and dull exterior.
The artist is perhaps the one who can have ultimate freedom of expression through his work, because each masterpiece is really a piece of the master who created it. The Three of Pentacles is a sign that anyone, not just the sculptors and painters, can express themselves through their career, and it is an indication that you should certainly try. This does not mean that you can neglect the more serious aspects of your job in order to amuse yourself, howeer. The balance of work and pleasre found on the Two can be integrated, but that balance cannot be lost or thrown away. To do so is to defeat the purpose of this card.
Tarot of the Dream Enchantress ©2009 Lo Scarabeo