Three of Pentacles (Rider Waite Tarot)
First Impressions
A gray stony card. A mason stands on a bench and works with maul and chisel on an elaborate stone archway within a gray brick wall. Two men stand on the ground just behind him, and he looks a little annoyed and/or impatient with the interruption. One, a tonsured monk in long gray habit, looks up with a sort of skeptical expression. The second wears a long voluminous cloak - it’s orange with a sort of red pattern - with a long hood over his head like the one the boy wore in the Six of Cups.
The more exotically attired man holds a blueprint of this very archway. It’s a very fancy piece of work. One big archway with a pointed top that encompasses two smaller arches of similar shape. The central space between the three points of the arches is elaborately carved with three open pentacles supported by what might be fleurs de lis, and a five-pointed rose is below this arrangement. The space behind the arches and the people fades away to blackness.
Looking at this card, my eye is drawn to the expressions of the three figures. The central figure seems to be the craftsman; his expression is like a sort of “
Now what? Can’t you see I’m busy? This better not be more *#%!ing changes, I’m behind as it is …” Whereas the monk seems to be saying “Well, this isn’t right, it’s not at all what I told you I wanted, and it’s sloppy anyway, poor workmanship, I don’t think we’re getting our money’s worth out of this and I will have to speak to the Abbott about it.” The guy with the cloak, who I take to be the money guy, the wealthy merchant who’s financing the whole operation, is saying “But it’s really just a small change. It’ll only take you a second, really. The Cathedral I visited on the Continent had these beautiful flying buttresses, and the keystone was carved in the most charming fashion. I don’t see why you can’t incorporate that into this here. See, I’ve taken the liberty of putting these plans together for you …”
Now I’m a little confused. Because I always viewed this card as meaning that one’s hard work and skill is to be recognized. But now I am not so sure. Because the dialogue I envision going on here seems to say something entirely different. Putting one’s work out there, for good or for ill.
Creator’s Notes
Waite says of this card:
Waite said:
A sculptor at his work in a monastery. Compare the design which illustrates the Eight of Pentacles. The apprentice or amateur therein has received his reward and is now at work in earnest.
In
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot Waite begins at the King of each suit and works his way back to the Ace. So the apprentice of the Eight of Pentacles practicing his solitary skill would naturally fall before the master mason of the Three of Pentacles.
Others’ Interpretations
Waite goes on to interpret this card as thus:
Waite said:
Divinatory Meanings: Métier, trade, skilled labour; usually, however, regarded as a card of nobility, aristocracy, renown, glory. Reversed: Mediocrity, in work and otherwise, puerility, pettiness, weakness.
Nope. Don’t agree. Well, the first three keywords, yes. But nobility, aristocracy, renown, glory? Where is that in the face of this harassed craftsman?
In her
Learning the Tarot course, Joan Bunning saw this card as:
Bunning said:
[…]The Three of Pentacles is one of the cards in the Tarot that focuses on the group. (The Three of Cups and the Hierophant are the others.) As Pentacles are grounded and practical, this card represents a task-oriented team - people who are working cooperatively toward a common goal. There are few jobs that can be accomplished alone. We need the help of others to achieve our goals. Sometimes the Three of Pentacles is a sign that you will be more productive if you work with others. You don't have to do it all by yourself.
This card can also show a need for planning and preparation. Now is not the time to rush into something or begin a project with only a vague idea of what it's about. You need to think everything through, go over all the possibilities and make sure you work out the details. Do your homework, and your undertaking will flourish.
Another feature of the Three of Pentacles is competence - the ability to get the job done. How rare this is nowadays! This card tells you that you have the skills and knowledge you need. You can attract capable people and create a successful environment. Know that the situation is (or will be) in good hands, but be sure to concentrate on excellence in your work. Be proud of what you do and how you do it. Then you will accomplish your "impossible" mission.
Now, I don’t know if I agree so much with Bunning’s assessment of the three cards she mentions as focusing on groups. The Hierophant seems to deal with society, societal expectations in general, but I never viewed it specifically as relating to groups. And the Three of Pentacles? I see it as pertaining to one individual’s response to input from outside influences. Whether it’s feedback and constructive criticism or praise and recognition of his skill, it still doesn’t quite tick the boxes for “working cooperatively toward a common goal”.
Symbols and Attributions
Astrologically the Three of Pentacles falls in the second decan of Capricorn. Those more in the know than I say that the Golden Dawn actually links it to Mars in Capricorn. When the fiery and masculine energy of Mars combines with the stolid practicality of Capricorn, there is bound to be great energy to accomplish much. But beware - I can see that there might also be great ego, clashes of will as well!
Elementally Pentacles are an Earth-bound suit, greatly occupied with practical matters such as work and property. Numerologically this card is Three. Sandra A. Thomson says:
Thomson said:
Tarot threes refer to increased understanding and confidence as a result of having resolved, perhaps only temporarily, the conflict reflected by the twos. Threes may call for re-adjusting some of our plans.
This is literally illustrated here by the architect with the blueprints; we can only assume from the mason’s annoyed expression that their contents are calling for an overhaul of the work he has done, or at least is making more work for him now at the eleventh hour. So together the Three of Pentacles would link to an increased confidence in his work, and possible changes to be made to it. This ties in to the traditional Golden Dawn title of this card: The Lord of Material Works.
Waite said that this scene takes place in a monastery. In medieval times a monastery was much more of a community than we envision today, often revolving around an adjacent church and consequently the busy hub of the community. Hence a meeting of three individuals from disparate walks of life would not be out of line.
There’s not enough of the scene showing to determine whether this little party is meeting outside the monastery or not, but I am definitely getting an indoor vibe. So this must be an archway from an open area of the monastery or church to smaller or more private sections. Some have suggested that the two archways contained within the bigger overarching one represents two paths, and so choice. I don’t think I agree with that assessment. It’s more stylistic to me, like double French doors, just allowing for better traffic flow. Archways, as we found in the Ace of Pentacles, represent passage or portals. But notice how these arches give way to impenetrable darkness. It represents the unknown or the misunderstood. But the mason is doing his best to dispel that; notice how his carvings attempt to bring as much daylight into the darkness as possible. His carvings are open and airy. And now he appears to be doing some minor work to the wall within, as if he’s completing the hallway into the darkness, providing guidance through the darkness that he isn’t able to dispel. The mason doesn’t know the answers - he can’t turn on the lights - but he can shed some more light on the matter and provide a wall to guide them through.
Four fleurs de lis support the carved stone pentacles, and a five-petalled rose is below, surrounded by five leaves. Roses and lilies are very common symbols in the Rider Waite Tarot; they are said to represent the occult way (roses, especially red roses) and the mystic way (lilies). The five-petalled rose shown here is a very common Rosicrucian symbol whose five petals represent the five senses and so ties back to the Earth element of the suit of Pentacles. Lilies, even in this stylized heraldic form as the fleur de lis, is a symbol of illumination. Perhaps a more symbolic way to represent the light the mason is letting into the dark space beyond the archway?
One more interesting little oddity, and I’ll get on to the people. Notice the positioning of the Roman numeral III for this card, how it falls right at the keystone of the main archway; its top and bottom crossbars (or whatever you call them) in fact connects the edging on the archway. Is the numerological aspect, the III, the literal keystone of this card? In the Major Arcana, the Empress is card III; her creativity (which she expresses as fertility) is key here. The craftsman’s practicality and his ability to create this arch and presumably this building, is crucial.
The craftsman, the mason, is the central character. He even stands on a bench, above the other two, to illustrate this. There are many parallels to Freemasons in this one figure alone. Snippets of brightcrazystar’s excellent post on the subject are shown below:
[…]As The Man actually working has the setting Maul, he is Chiram [Abiff, chief architect of Solomon’s Temple and a character in an allegorical play that relates to the third degree of Freemasonry]. He is the Master Mason, not the apprentice being supervised as many people think.
[…]
The feet of Chiram (the guy with the setting maul) are in the shape of a "T", and his left arm is at a 90 degree angle palm out, the step of a Master Mason.
[…]
Everything in this card is Masonic. MASTER Masonic.
Actually, the parts I omitted in the above quote are more in depth about the legend of Chiram, and the relation as well to the Four of Swords, but I don’t follow it as well, so I left it out. But basically my understanding of it is that this guy is not just a craftsman who is skilled at his trade, but
the craftsman, a master mason, and a salute from Waite, who was heavily into Freemasonry and its symbolism.
The monk is the critic of the lot, symbolic of “the Establishment” and that which would stifle his creativity. And the other guy? I saw him as a financier, as a wealthy benefactor. But Rachel Pollack says he is an architect. This makes sense of the blueprints he holds, and the long hood - the liripipe - of the academic. The blueprints he holds forth indicate plans, and the difference between dreams (his design) and reality (what the mason can actually do, what is feasible or practical).
The mason is walking a fine line between pleasing his client (the monk), fulfilling his obligations to his employer (the architect) and his own artistic integrity.
My Interpretations
The Three of Pentacles is a card of skill, of hard-earned skill that is achieved over many years’ experience and hard work. No overnight sensation, this mason. He’s had the talent and the drive to achieve much. And now it’s time for that skill and that hard work to be recognized. Unfortunately, that’s not necessarily always a good thing. Because with it comes the red tape and the trappings of that recognition. Sometimes it’s a thankless job. Chipping away at the walls of ignorance, bringing enlightenment, it doesn’t necessarily accomplish much. But that’s the way life is. Sometimes your reward for hard work is … more work. It’s the price you pay.
If I drew this card in a reading, I would possibly see it as my hard work being recognized. But rewarded? I don’t know. You put a lot of time and effort into something once and do it well, and your reward is that becomes part of your job description. So I’d also have to bear in mind that the recognition of this card may come with strings attached.
