Three of Pentacles Tarot Meaning
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Welcome to part 9 of my 40 part series Minor Arcana Meanings Deep Dives – each week or so we’ll hang out with ONE Tarot card and dive deeply into it’s symbols, meanings and messages – I’ll even give you some journalling questions to help you contemplate and connect with each card. This is similar to my Major Arcana Meanings Deep Dive series and my Meet the Court Cards series.
Today we’re diving into the Three of Pentacles – a card that’s all about doing meaningful work, finding your dharma, collaborating with others and being paid for your skills.
Suit = Pentacles
Element = Earth (physical, body, health, money, work, material world)
Number 3 – triad, trinity, harmony, coming together, working together, things taking form
Keywords:
Collaboration, meaningful work, dharma, plan–design–physically create
Meaning (Upright):
The Three of Pentacles is all about collaboration and work. It’s about collaborating with others to work on a project or shared vision and it’s also about collaborating with spirit by finding work that has meaning for you and makes use of your unique skill set, interests and abilities.
The Three of Pentacles shows us that work can also be a path to develop the soul and connect to spirit.
Symbols:
Triangles = triad, trinity, action/creating
Upright triangles = fire, action
Upside down triangle = water, receptivity
Anvil = creation tool, physically creating
3 Pentacles in arch = money connected to an establishment, creative work done for a salary or commission
Blueprint/plans = having a plan
3 different people:
Monk = leadership, vision, spirit
Architect = design, plan
Carver = physical work, creation
Advice & Messages
The Three of Pentacles will often appear in a reading to encourage you to collaborate with others and to stop trying to do it all alone! Now is not the time to be a jack of all trades.
Having a plan is important and the Three of Pentacles advises you to not rush this phase – make sure you have a general vision and blueprint for whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish.
The Three of Pentacles tells you that finding meaningful work is important to your well being. You have a unique skill set and you deserve to be paid for your skills and work – don’t give up on finding work that is in alignment with your personality, abilities and talents!
External vs Internal meanings
External = collaborating with others to build something, being paid for your skills
Internal = nourishing your spirit through physical work or creating something, finding your dharma
Reversed
If the Three of Pentacles appears reversed, it can indicate that you’re refusing to collaborate with others even when it would benefit you, instead trying to do it all by yourself. Stop that!
A reversed Three of Pentacles can also suggest that you’re getting stuck in the initial planning phases of a project and struggling to get it off the ground. Perhaps the project is not really in alignment with your spirit and more inward searching is needed to gain clarity.
An upside down Three of Pentacles can also indicate job loss, a work contract falling through, not being paid properly for your work or just that you’re having difficulty finding work that is a good fit for yourself.
Journalling Questions:
♥ How does this card show up in your life right now?
♥ What is your relationship to doing work that is meaningful?
♥ How do you feel about collaborating with others?
♥ Who do you most relate to on this card? The artist/builder? The architect/planner? Or the monk (leader)?
♥ What kind of work makes you lose track of time?
Join me next time…
Join me next time as I dive into the Three of Swords – a card that illustrates the violent intersection of mind and heart, where thoughts create feelings and painful clarity about a situation and a heart that needs healing are the main themes of this complex Tarot chapter…. Hop on my mailing list so you won’t miss out!
***Grab your FREE Minor Arcana Cheatsheet right HERE!***
You may also enjoy…
Court Card Tarot Meanings
Tarot Meanings Deep Dive series (Major Arcana)
Three of Pentacles Tarot Meaning Read More »




