How a tarot reading encourages us to keep on perfecting our skills for life
The Eight of Pentacles always looks like hard work to me. I always think ‘work work work’…which really is the wrong attitude and takes the joy out of periods of time, large parts of our work life, when we need to hone our skills.
The eight of pentacles is hard at work honing his skills until he succeeds.
Fittingly I am writing this and avoiding working on a painting, that is taking for ever and is so large it feels like I’m never going to finish. I am painstakingly try to re-draw, a figure in the back of the painting, that I had painted out twice so far. I have considered getting rid of him totally but a. it will ruin the design of the painting and make it all even, three people on side and three on the other. Also he is my friends first husband and best friend and I don’t want to miss him out just because I can’t paint his likeness.
Its funny there are plenty of areas of my life where I just keep on working away, at my tennis game (such fun) ….writing (I love it) cooking (I like to eat) swimming (now I am coming up against the crawl stroke, which I don’t like yet, as I find the breathing so hard to keep the rhythm, its not natural yet. Just the same with painting. I know, that another six months of really concentrated eight of pentacles activity and I will cross that hurdle and it will become something I enjoy, painting that is, and swimming the crawl.
I am procrastinating. I know if I keep working at it, and learning how to get the breathing right, painting how to make the markings I want, mixing colour and keeping my hand steady. I know I will be thrilled when I succeed and it becomes second nature, like tennis, or writing. Writing about the eight of pentacles is helping me see how I am making the whole process of trying something difficult (for me), a drag because of my attitude. And I know that ‘practice makes perfect’.
And so the Eight of pentacles is actually encouraging us to do just that. Work away at whatever it is we doing until practice makes perfect. And we find satisfaction.
The Magician has the side ways 8 symbol of Eternity above his head.
It’s probably why the Chinese consider 8 to be an auspicious number that brings luck and good fortune. Also why the side ways 8 symbol of Infinity that you see on the major Arcana cards, the Magician and Strength in the tarot deck has a certain magic. This infinity symbol In mathematics means potential is endless and limitless. Indeed specifically the Magician in the Tarot is the moment when we have all the skills our disposal to manifest what we want. We just need to practice.
So the message of the 8 of pentacles is keep working away at your craft, or whatever you want to achieve. Persistence and practice will pay off. Focussing on the fine detail and honing your skills will bring great satisfaction and success. The key however I am learning is to consciously find satisfaction in this knowledge so that it doesn’t feel like hard work.