The Eight of Pentacles represents productivity, practice, diligence, skill, enjoyable work, keeping busy, fixing or repairing and improvement. You may be involved in training or education of some kind in order to acquire skill sets that will help your work, or you may be overwhelmed with jobs and projects that stimulate, nourish and interest you. Here we see some one who is working for the sake of the work, not for the sake of his paycheck. Quality work cannot be made by some one who is not personally invested in it. You cannot create something worthwhile in a field or job that you despise. This card is an image of the “flow” state which many artists attest to, when everything seems to fall into place as though guided by a higher force, and we are capable of getting an enormous amount done without feeling like we are working hard at all. Everything is in alignment, and one is able to channel the full force of his focus and concentration into the completion of the task at hand. This card may be advising a hint of perfectionism— make sure to review each facet of your work in turn, and do not stop refining until it is exactly as you want it to be. You have tremendous power available to you to create what you want to see, especially when what you are creating is personally meaningful to you.
The card may indicate self-improvement, if not literal external work. The man is seen refining, correcting, practicing and reflecting upon the Pentacles, in exactly the same way that we must refine, correct and reflect upon ourselves, and practice new behaviors and patterns of thinking. The laborer on the Eight of Pentacles takes his time with each in turn, just as one must observe his own needs, habits and activities, taking stock of how much they are helping or harming him in his creative, spiritual or emotional development, and then make the necessary adjustments.
In whatever realm of life this card may pertain to for you personally, the answer is clear: put your nose to the grindstone, accept no imperfection and enjoy the sense of pride and satisfaction that comes from giving anything your 100%.
Astrological Association:
The Eight of Pentacles is connected to Mercury in the third house, as a symbol of diligence.
Card meanings upright:
The Eight of Pentacles card represents craftsmanship in your work life. You may be an apprentice or working on learning a new skill or trade that you care deeply about. You likely get absorbed in your work, and produce high quality results with minimal supervision.
Card meanings reversed:
When the Eight of Pentacles card is reversed, it may represent a lack of people skills, self-obsession, or arguments that occur for the sake of arguing in your life. You may have issues with resentment or struggle with a fear of failure. You may desire to learn something new, but fear change or believe you are too old or ignorant to pursue learning new things.
