The 7 of Pentacles

Representing reinvention; the 7 of Pentacles represents the return of opportunity to transform and renew wealth. There is a particular focus here on turning existing forms of wealth into new forms that are more beneficial, either by exchanging commodities and resources for financial gain, or by putting financial assets to work through further investment and redistribution.

Where the Ace of Pentacles represented renewal with novelty or stagnation as its foundation depending on the orientation, the 7 of Pentacles in contrast represents transformation of existing wealth and the familiarity of well-travelled ground.

In the upright state the 7 of Pentacles portends a change in focus or perspective. This could mean that our goals for our wealth and material journey change and with that change our commitments shift, of it could mean that our goals remain the same but the path we had foreseen will fundamentally change with an entirely new route opening up to us.

In the inverted state the 7 of Pentacles represents frustration and the inability to create movement because of our adherence to ideology and commitment to approaches that have proven to be unsuccessful, weighing us down rather than empowering us. We cannot expect different results by repeating our past failures, until we recognise the barriers that we create within ourselves to our own growth we will not be able to overcome those barriers.

In the Rider-Waite deck the 7 of Pentacles depicts a farmer who stands before his harvest, 6 golden pentacles sit to his right representing potential and his reflection upon the 6 of Pentacles and its prompt to create movement. At his feet there is a single pentacle echoing the Ace of Pentacles here representing the opportunity resting with the decision the farmer will make. The farmer rests upon a single wand representing the Ace of Wands and potential for creativity, here this wand divides the pentacles representing the need for creativity and action to be called upon.

In self-reflection the 7 of Pentacles serves as an opportunity to start over if necessary. You do not have to give up everything you own and all that you have built upon so far, the emphasis here is iteration and growth; think of what you hold onto as the foundation you want to build on for your future and ask if that foundation is strong enough, what enhances it, and what weakens it.

Each new configuration of our material world has an impact on our lives. Our focus here however should not be to achieve a static nature, but instead to recognise the opportunity to change and the potential paths that could be walked should we succeed in that transition.

Ask yourself “Do I need to change my approach?” and reflect, where the 6 of Pentacles asked us to identify what was changing in our environment, the 7 of Pentacles in turn asks us to consider whether we are ready for that change or whether we need to shift in order to find balance with our newfound environment.

A thought experiment consider that many people often dream of having the ability to travel through time, either to their own past or beyond it to reflect on a world that no longer exists. One of the warnings often associated with this idea is the concept of the butterfly effect, where travelling back in time and making one small change completely changes the future. Your present is the past of your future self. Small changes made here and now, can greatly impact your future. Reinvention doesn’t mean you have to start over completely, although that is an option, it can also mean taking a new approach. Recognise that you already hold the power to create that butterfly effect on your future, without having to travel back in time to achieve it.