The 3 of Pentacles

Representing connection; the 3 of Pentacles represents the connection between creation and destruction through causality and the awareness of the element of sacrifice being raised. The 3 of Pentacles represents our understanding of the interconnectedness of wealth, in rudimentary terms the adage “You have to spend money to make money” is encapsulated here.

In the upright state the 3 of Pentacles represents our connection to our community, our environment, and the material world around us. The emphasis here is placed on raising our awareness of how much or how little we contribute first to that physical world before we ask of it, or how much disturbance we cause within it. Here the emphasis is to recognise that world is the source of the substance we draw from in order to transform.

In the inverted state the 3 of Pentacles is a warning not to shun the communities that invite us to join them, nor to neglect the environment that attempts to nurture us. Do not bite the hand that feeds you as it were. Here we are warned that our capacity to create wealth of our own is limited by our connection to the material realm, the act of creating wealth for ourselves in reality is the act of taking ownership of the wealth of others. The emphasis here is placed on our charitable nature, and the sacrifices we make considered as investments needed before returns can be paid.

In the Rider-Waite deck this connection to the wider community is depicted by the scene of a sculptor standing upon a raised platform with a hammer and chisel in hand attempting to maintain an archway. Before the sculptor, stands a man and a woman representing the elders of the Church they hold in hand a scroll with their vision for the archway. This depiction emphasises the contribution to a community, in this case the labour of the sculptor is contributed to the church.

In self-reflection the 3 of Pentacles is an opportunity to consider the ongoing cost of maintaining our material possessions and determine what impact that is having on our wealth and well-being. Remember your physical health is part of your material wealth, it can be monitored and measured and quantified over time by recording data such as height, weight, heart rate, and blood pressure etc.

Ask yourself “What does this cost?” and “What impact does this have on me?” remember to go beyond monetary cost and consider the impact on the other three domains of the Minor Arcana too, your creativity and level of activity, your relationships to others and yourself, and how much time you spend thinking.

It can seem quite sterile and calculated to treat your life like a business, comprised of incomes and expenditures of energy, however just like a business you have an expense account that must remain balanced and stable. Imbalances in our lives come at an emotional premium. Even where there is no financial cost of maintenance, the cognitive cost can be great; consider how much time and energy you are devoting to maintaining everything you hold onto and whether you want to reclaim those resources and devote them to something else.