You arrive at the path of changing your focus. . . The Tarot card eights indicate working within the boundaries of a particular situation. The Pentacles represent your desire for material success, good health, and a happy home life.

The Eight of Pentacles represents a time of becoming an apprentice again, working hard, making use of newly-found talents to redefine yourself, or repurposing your current skills to regain your wealth and position in the community.

The Eight of Pentacles indicates that focused hard work is needed to gain success, and the seeker’s extra efforts and labour will pay off in the end. The seeker is committed to his or her project, understands personal talents and limitations, and is trying to move up to the next professional level.

This card addresses the idea of reaching mental and spiritual betterment by the way of hard work. It also touches on the idea that working at what one loves to do is in itself a reward. Concentration and persistence are important. Sometimes the seeker must work very hard for a very long time in order to gain the level of success being pursued.

Symbolism

The Eight of Pentacles card depicts a young man who is etching a pentacle shape into the eight golden coins. The archetype is sitting on a wooden bench with tools in both hands. The bench represents attention to detail and the hammer represents working hard to get the job done.

The archetype is working on one pentacle, and there is another pentacle waiting to be worked on. He has finished six pentacles, and has hung them on a wooden platform to keep track of his progress. His project absorbs all his attention. He has isolated himself from others (the town in the background) in order to concentrate and finish his work.

He is very dedicated and loves what he is currently doing for a living. Neither friends, community, nor appearance matter (tattered clothing) – only the job at hand. The town that is far in the background means that he successfully isolated himself from the distractions so that he can fully concentrate on his task.

The Eight of Pentacles refers to that moment in your life when you are dedicated to completing a certain task. You are fully-immersed, and you are committed to delivering the best version of your work.

Correspondences

  • Astrologically the Eight of Pentacles is related to the earth sign of Virgo (earth, practical, analytical, industrious, studious, methodical, precise, or critical and picky).
  • The Eight of Pentacles astrological relative is the planet Mercury (the speed with how you gather information and think, organized, determined worker, and communicates with confidence).
  • Timing is within 8 months, years, or during the spring season.

Upright Meaning Guide

New job, self-employment, building business, trade, reputation, craftsmanship, quality, master, expertise, hard work, commitment, dedication, concentration, success, accomplishment, ambition, confidence, financial security, results, rewards, achieving goals, attention to detail, productivity, scholarship, qualifications

General Meaning and Interpretation (Upright)

In a general context, the Eight of Pentacles Tarot card indicates a time of hard work, commitment, diligence, and dedication. The effort you put in will not be in vain as your hard work will pay off and lead to results, rewards or the accomplishment of your goals. When this Minor Arcana card appears in your Tarot reading, it indicates that you are methodically working towards something you want. It may seem boring, mundane or even relentless at the moment but you are on the brink of achieving great success, so don’t give up. The skills you are learning at the moment will stand to you later in life and you will come away from this experience not only with the inner wisdom you’ve gained but with a sense of pride and self-confidence from achieving your ambitions.

Love & Relationships (Upright)

In a love Tarot reading, if you are in a relationship, the Eight of Pentacles indicates that you are putting a lot of work, dedication, and commitment into your relationship. The effort you’re putting in should be paying off and the relationship moving along nicely. This Minor Arcana card indicates that you and your partner should be well on your way to achieving your mutual goals. It can also signify working hard to secure your future financially for you and your partner or family. Be sure to balance this workload with family life and spending time with your partner. If you are single, you should be feeling confident when the Eight of Pentacles appears. However, this card can indicate that a period of apprenticeship is required before you can move forward as you need to learn from your past relationships and deal with their effects in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future.

Money & Career (Upright)

In a career Tarot reading, if you are looking for work the Eight of Pentacles Tarot card is a great omen as it signifies a new job. Likewise, if you are starting a business it is a welcome card as it indicates self-employment, building a business, trade, and success. Even if you are not planning a career change, the Eight of Pentacles is a good omen in terms of career as it signifies accomplishment and achieving goals, so things should be going well in a work setting when it appears. You may find yourself achieving a level of mastery in your work or becoming a specialist or expert in your field. If you are still in education, it can indicate being offered a scholarship or achieving qualifications. If you are already in business, the quality or craftsmanship of your work and your attention to detail will earn you a great reputation and trade will flow. This will be achieved through hard work, dedication, and diligence. In a financial context, the Eight of Pentacles is also a good omen as it signifies rewards for hard work, success, and achievement. All the hard work you have previously put into your financial planning should now be paying off and you should be quite comfortable financially. This card also tells you to use some of your financial success to help those less fortunate.

Health (Upright)

In a health Tarot reading, the Eight of Pentacles can indicate that you have been working hard to achieve recovery or fitness. You are paying attention to your health and what your body needs and showing a lot of self-discipline. This should be paying off, leaving you feeling healthier and stronger than before.

Spirituality (Upright)

In a spiritual context, the Eight of Pentacles indicates that you are attaining inner wisdom through dedication to your spiritual path. If you have been working to develop your spiritual gifts you should find that the past effort you have put into your spiritual development is starting to pay off as you begin to achieve a new level of mastery of your gifts.

Reversed Meaning Guide

Repetitive or boring job, failure, lack of effort/confidence/commitment/ambition/focus, shoddy workmanship, poor quality, rush job, bad reputation, carelessness, poor concentration/productivity, mediocrity, financial insecurity, scams, overspending, debt, laziness, under-qualified, workaholic, materialistic, mean, dead-end career, biting off more than you can chew.

General meaning and interpretation (Reversed)

In a general context, the Eight of Pentacles Tarot card reversed can indicate laziness, idleness, carelessness, lack of effort or poor concentration. Alternatively, it can indicate focusing on one area to such an extreme that you neglect the other areas of your life such as being mean and materialistic and neglecting your love life or family life or your soul. When this Minor Arcana card appears in your Tarot reading, it indicates that you are not focusing on what you want to achieve or aren’t putting the work in that needed to achieve your goals or that you are spreading yourself too thin which is leading to failure. Try to set yourself goals, prioritize what you really want to achieve and take tasks one at a time. Lack of ambition, respect or confidence can all be signified by this Minor Arcana card in reverse.

Love & Relationships (Reversed)

In a love Tarot reading, if you are in a relationship, the Eight of Pentacles reversed indicates that you are not putting the effort in when it comes to your relationship and there may be a lack of commitment or just laziness in terms of making your relationship work. It can also signify letting workaholic tendencies have an adverse effect on your relationship. When this Minor Arcana card appears, boredom and complacency may be setting in. When it comes to relationships you’ll only get back what you put in, so make the effort to make your partner feel appreciated if you want to resolve the issues you’re facing. If you are single, the Eight of Pentacles reversed can indicate that you may be lacking in confidence when it comes to meeting new people. It can also indicate that you are not putting the effort into meeting new people, which may be leaving you feeling bored and listless. Again, it can also be an indication that you are putting too much focus on work and neglecting your romantic side. If you want to meet someone special, you need to put some time and effort into the romantic side of life and get yourself out there.

Money & Career (Reversed)

In a career Tarot reading, the Eight of Pentacles Tarot card reversed is not a great omen as it can signify a repetitive or boring job, lack of success/ commitment/ ambition, being an underachiever or on a dead-end career path. Things will probably not be going well in a work context when it appears. If you have applied for a new job or promotion, it can indicate an unsuccessful application and that you may lack the qualifications you need to get the job. Laziness, idleness, lack of focus and poor concentration are also represented by the Eight of Pentacles reversed. If you are in business, it can be a warning not to let your standards slip as it represents shoddy workmanship, poor quality, botched work or rush jobs and can represent getting a bad reputation or losing trade through mediocrity. If you are still in education it warns you to focus as you may fail your exams if you don’t put the effort in. Alternatively, the Eight of Pentacles in a reversed position can indicate going to the other extreme by becoming a workaholic or biting off more than you can chew. If that’s the case, try to keep the balance. Work hard when you need to but be sure to time enjoy your life too. In a financial context, the Eight of Pentacles reversed can indicate financial insecurity, overspending, getting into debt and falling victim to scams. So be responsible with your finances and prudent with your investments when it appears. However, this Minor Arcana card can also indicate being overly mean or materialistic, so try not to be a miser when it appears. Be generous to those you trust and those in need, just be clever about it.

Health (Reversed)

In a health context, the Eight of Pentacles reversed can swing between two extremes. It can be an indication that you are putting too much focus on your body in a way that is detrimental to your health and life such as starving yourself on extreme dieting or going overboard with body-building. Alternatively, you may be going in the other direction and neglecting your health and fitness completely with poor diet, lack of exercise or abuse of alcohol, drugs or over-eating. Whatever the case, the Eight of Pentacles reversed is a sign that you need to find a healthy balance to support your long term health.

Spirituality (Reversed)

In a spiritual context, the Eight of Pentacles reversed indicates that you are ignoring your inner wisdom or suppressing your spiritual side. It can signify that you are becoming overly materialistic or mean and it reminds you to refocus on your spiritual side to bring yourself back into balance.