Three of Pentacles

Cardinal earth: history, practicalities, foundations

THREE OF PENTACLES

The Rosebud Tarot renames the Three of Pentacles ‘Three of Earth’ making plain its elemental nature.

Threes in Tarot call to mind balance, harmony, stability, communality, and support.

There is a triangular element to the threes: foundations that allow ascent to the top.

Threes are a reminder that all projects require some form of communion and relationship.

This card is lush, green, inviting. The deep green of the trees indicate high summer fullness; the cosmos can be glimpsed through the branches.

Children are playing together, freely, in communion, in almost wild abandon.

Childhood toys are burnished gold in the light, a hint, perhaps, that this is a nostalgic memory.

Pentacles don’t ask for deep emotional dredging like the cups do, but there is a sense in this card that part of the practical is a connection to history, dreams, and simple pleasures.

CAPRICORN II + THREE OF PENTACLES

This card correlates with the second decan of Capricorn. You can learn more about the decans here.

Capricorn II is Cathedral. The person born under this decan knows that they may not see the work completed in their lifetime, but that doesn’t stop them taking care with every piece of stone, nor will they rush and compromise on quality just to get to the end.

T. Susan Chang says it is precisely the process that is the joy of this decan, and of the Three of Pentacles.

When you draw the 3 of Pentacles, you have a chance to make your mark on the world! Channel your energies into something tangible - a project, a collaboration, an artifact to treasure. It is wise to remember, though, that the passion and the effort are the treasure here - not just the resulting object.

Pentacles are about daily routines, materiality, practical issues. For writers, this means the consistent, incremental work that you do to create something.

How might you begin? Word by word, page by page, building slowly, incrementally, and intuitively.

The collaboration of the threes might be with those who come before and after you. With existing writers, works, ideas, aesthetics.

With your future readers.

With your future self.