3 of Pentacles: not so ''positive''?

[November]

Hello everyone, I'm having a problem with the 3 of Pentacles (RWS), that is I think didn't really understand its true meaning.. I've always considered it as a card of teamwork, support, solid basis between two and also a card of learning and hard work, but it has sometimes occured to be not so positive..

What's its real meaning? What are those 3 people really up to? Are they really building something together?

 

What are your experiences with this card?

Thank you so much.

Edited July 23, 2023 by November

[Mister]

Just here, it stands as "work", or "at the workplace", with no inclination on the plus/minus-scales.

The 'tip' is covered by the cards surrounding.

 

Sticking with RWS, 3P followed by 4W would be nice to see, thereas 3P-8C would be a bother.

 

No idea if the above application can be relevant for you, though.

[November]

Thank you for your help @Mister, I get what you mean. Of course surrounding cards are important too. 

[DanielJUK]

In the RWS card we've got a young apprentice (possibly a stonemason) building a window in a Cathedral or Church. They seem to have creative skills but maybe they have no experience in this situation or with this type of round window. He talks to two people from the church, there is debate on the internet if it's two monks or a monk and a nun but the gender is not really important. These people have experience or knowledge in the area and give guidance to the young mason. This card is about collaboration and team work, the people with experience and knowledge respect him and he respects their experience. They are encouraging the young creative person, giving them confidence to build it but also guiding him to do a good job. In the numerological order of the cards, after the initial seed (1), we have plans and some progress (2) but with the 3 we have some goals and completion happening, this will give the young mason confidence. There are rewards as an outcome here if they work with the others.

 

This work takes skill and effort and a negative of this card is if this person doesn't have the motivation and direction in what area this card applies. Maybe their workmanship is poor with the stone. What happens if they don't want to listen to others and get feedback from others? Maybe they don't like critique! It's regularly said about this card that the other 2 are encouraging rather than critical but sometimes you want to go it alone. It could be confidence is running low and motivation, it could be no teamwork in some situations. The reversed or negative version of this card has no respect or democracy between the people, one person thinks they are better or more knowledgable than the others. Selfishness is perhaps a negative of the card. I guess also what happens if the people advising are negative influences in this?

 

In Waite's writings, he says this is a monastery and there is a reward for doing this work (perhaps there is good money involved as a contract or the opportunity). He also suggests comparing it the 8 of Pentacles, where the guy is turning out the pentacles and making them perfect but is now off on his own journey. He also says this is a card of nobility, aristocracy and glory. The reverse is mediocrity in work and pettiness.

 

I see this card as usually quite positive, there is a reward at the end, he gets confidence in his work and will go on to make a success of it. Completes some goal. I had it come up in a reading recently and it reflected this forum! We give encouragement and share what we have learnt with people starting out or at different levels of knowledge. What happens if they don't listen to us or someone gives bad advice though?

[Chariot]

The 3 of Pentacles is one of those cards that usually makes sense for me, when it actually appears in a reading—because I can figure out what it's referring to by its position in the spread. However I do find it tricky to explain on its own.

I learned the upright card to mean 'appreciation/reward for good work or skill' while the reversed card means more or less the opposite—'shoddy work or poor skill getting a negative reaction from others.'  The card has to do with public recognition of work, so the reversed card can also mean a person is not getting the recognition they do deserve for good work.  (It might come up that way if you got passed over for a promotion at work, etc.) The work in question can, apparently, include teamwork skills, because there are several people depicted on the card.  But in the RWS illustration only one person is actually working! The others are just standing around observing.  It's an odd card to explain logically.

When followed five cards later with the 8 of Pentacles—which is usually said to mean 'learning or perfecting a skill'—it doesn't make a lot of sense in the tarot journey, either. The 3 of Pentacles is receiving public recognition/reward for a skill they haven't learned yet?  Hmmm.  It always seemed to me that the apprenticeship should come before the recognition ...but hey.

I usually assume the 3 of Pentacles has to do with public recognition of work when it comes up in a reading—which can include teamwork skills as well as a good work ethic (if upright.)  On the other hand, the 8 of Pentacles has to do with  producing work or learning a skill that might be something the person is doing for their own enjoyment, not necessarily for employment purposes.  Public recognition is not a factor with the 8 of Pentacles, and the person is working alone ...at least in most of the RWS-based decks.

The positive or negative aspects of both cards depend upon their position in a reading AND whether or not they are upright or reversed.  I see both cards as more positive when they are upright and less so when they are reversed ...although the 'negative' can simply mean 'a lack of' rather than implying anything shoddy about the work in question.  

[Natural Mystic Guide]

14 hours ago, November said:

I've always considered it as a card of teamwork

14 hours ago, November said:

 

Your understanding of this card is great, @November  Perhaps your feeling that you are sometimes not picking up on the nuances of the Three of Pentacles is because you are not using reversals or elementals in your readings? 

 

Three people are pictured in this card.  So the meaning pertains to an activity involving three or more people, not a single person and not a couple.  Because this is a Pentacles card, it represents working on something on the material plane — an actual physical project — like building something, not an intellectual exercise, or a relationship, or creative work — like writing or composing music. 

 

Do you use reversals?  If you do, then a reversed card could mean that these people find it challenging to work together or that other conditions surrounding the project are unfavorable.  If you use elementals in your reading — if a Pentacles card falls in a Air position; or a Fire position, then the project is not holding together; or it is susceptible to damage.  So if you do look at cards in terms of upright/reversed or compatibility due to suit, it can give you a heads up if the project might have challenges.  If you see a possible challenge, surrounding cards may give you ways to correct this. 

[November]

15 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

In the RWS card we've got a young apprentice (possibly a stonemason) building a window in a Cathedral or Church. They seem to have creative skills but maybe they have no experience in this situation or with this type of round window. He talks to two people from the church, there is debate on the internet if it's two monks or a monk and a nun but the gender is not really important. These people have experience or knowledge in the area and give guidance to the young mason. This card is about collaboration and team work, the people with experience and knowledge respect him and he respects their experience. They are encouraging the young creative person, giving them confidence to build it but also guiding him to do a good job. In the numerological order of the cards, after the initial seed (1), we have plans and some progress (2) but with the 3 we have some goals and completion happening, this will give the young mason confidence. There are rewards as an outcome here if they work with the others.

 

Hello @DanielJUK, thank you so much for your help here, I think your explanation is very exhaustive. I agree there must be confidence between the 2 parties, otherwise the project won't even start, so here's the concept of cooperation/teamwork.

 

15 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

 

This work takes skill and effort and a negative of this card is if this person doesn't have the motivation and direction in what area this card applies. Maybe their workmanship is poor with the stone. What happens if they don't want to listen to others and get feedback from others? Maybe they don't like critique! It's regularly said about this card that the other 2 are encouraging rather than critical but sometimes you want to go it alone. It could be confidence is running low and motivation, it could be no teamwork in some situations. The reversed or negative version of this card has no respect or democracy between the people, one person thinks they are better or more knowledgable than the others. Selfishness is perhaps a negative of the card. I guess also what happens if the people advising are negative influences in this?

 

Yes, I agree. Once I got the 3 Pents as outcome for a job interview, but the querent didn't get the job.. Now with your explanation I can see more why.

 

15 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

 

In Waite's writings, he says this is a monastery and there is a reward for doing this work (perhaps there is good money involved as a contract or the opportunity). He also suggests comparing it the 8 of Pentacles, where the guy is turning out the pentacles and making them perfect but is now off on his own journey. He also says this is a card of nobility, aristocracy and glory. The reverse is mediocrity in work and pettiness.

 

I see this card as usually quite positive, there is a reward at the end, he gets confidence in his work and will go on to make a success of it. Completes some goal. I had it come up in a reading recently and it reflected this forum! We give encouragement and share what we have learnt with people starting out or at different levels of knowledge. What happens if they don't listen to us or someone gives bad advice though?

 

Thank you for sharing this example too! Yes, it makes sense, it's what we actually do in this forum 😝 

[November]

14 hours ago, Chariot said:

The 3 of Pentacles is one of those cards that usually makes sense for me, when it actually appears in a reading—because I can figure out what it's referring to by its position in the spread. However I do find it tricky to explain on its own.

I learned the upright card to mean 'appreciation/reward for good work or skill' while the reversed card means more or less the opposite—'shoddy work or poor skill getting a negative reaction from others.'  The card has to do with public recognition of work, so the reversed card can also mean a person is not getting the recognition they do deserve for good work.  (It might come up that way if you got passed over for a promotion at work, etc.) The work in question can, apparently, include teamwork skills, because there are several people depicted on the card.  But in the RWS illustration only one person is actually working! The others are just standing around observing.  It's an odd card to explain logically.

 

Hi @Chariot, thank you so much for your help here. My ''problem'' was that generally I understand this card, in ''positive'' contexts, but in ''negative'' ones I don't.

With your examples here it's more clear now, I agree with you.

 

14 hours ago, Chariot said:

When followed five cards later with the 8 of Pentacles—which is usually said to mean 'learning or perfecting a skill'—it doesn't make a lot of sense in the tarot journey, either. The 3 of Pentacles is receiving public recognition/reward for a skill they haven't learned yet?  Hmmm.  It always seemed to me that the apprenticeship should come before the recognition ...but hey.

I usually assume the 3 of Pentacles has to do with public recognition of work when it comes up in a reading—which can include teamwork skills as well as a good work ethic (if upright.)  On the other hand, the 8 of Pentacles has to do with  producing work or learning a skill that might be something the person is doing for their own enjoyment, not necessarily for employment purposes.  Public recognition is not a factor with the 8 of Pentacles, and the person is working alone ...at least in most of the RWS-based decks.

The positive or negative aspects of both cards depend upon their position in a reading AND whether or not they are upright or reversed.  I see both cards as more positive when they are upright and less so when they are reversed ...although the 'negative' can simply mean 'a lack of' rather than implying anything shoddy about the work in question.  

 

I'm with you about all of this, thanks again!

[November]

4 hours ago, Natural Mystic Guide said:

Your understanding of this card is great, @November  Perhaps your feeling that you are sometimes not picking up on the nuances of the Three of Pentacles is because you are not using reversals or elementals in your readings? 

 

Hi @Natural Mystic Guide, thanks for your help here. Yes, this is the problem 🤣

 

4 hours ago, Natural Mystic Guide said:

 

Three people are pictured in this card.  So the meaning pertains to an activity involving three or more people, not a single person and not a couple.  Because this is a Pentacles card, it represents working on something on the material plane — an actual physical project — like building something, not an intellectual exercise, or a relationship, or creative work — like writing or composing music. 

 

Do you use reversals?  If you do, then a reversed card could mean that these people find it challenging to work together or that other conditions surrounding the project are unfavorable.  If you use elementals in your reading — if a Pentacles card falls in a Air position; or a Fire position, then the project is not holding together; or it is susceptible to damage.  So if you do look at cards in terms of upright/reversed or compatibility due to suit, it can give you a heads up if the project might have challenges.  If you see a possible challenge, surrounding cards may give you ways to correct this. 

 

Thank you for sharing all of this, this is good advice for reading better the card.