MINOR ARCANA

Three of Pentacles Tarot Meanings

Three of Pentacles is all about expansion, growth and collaboration. Often we think we can do everything alone, but opening ourselves up to a bit of outside help can make a huge difference in how fast you progress. Throughout life, we will always play the role of both student and teacher interchangeably.

No matter how old we get, we will always be novices in something and it’s important to stay humble in those moments and to not let the ego take the wheel.

With the Three of Pentacles, we are looking at collaborative energy within the realm of earth, so our material world, the things we can see, hear, touch and smell.

Three of Pentacles Tarot Meanings Building

Three of Pentacles Tarot Meanings Accountability

Three of Pentacles Upright Meanings

In the upright position, the Three of Pentacles refers to our skills and the skills of others, our ability and willingness to work as a team or community and also focusing on nurturing our own abilities. Some of the key meanings of the Three of Pentacles are:

Skill
Collaboration
Unique potential
Abilities
Teamwork

Back in the day, we were creatures of community, everyone had their role to play and collaboration was second nature. These days, especially with the internet making it easier to learn new skills than ever before, we can easily slip into the mindset that we are a one-man-band. This is not the case. We will always need collaboration to thrive and the appearance of the Three of Pentacles is saying exactly that.

Three of Pentacles Reversed Meanings

In the reversed position, the Three of Pentacles refers to the feeling of aimlessness, of floating around with no real direction or purpose. Some of the main reversed meanings of the Three of Pentacles are:

Lack of growth
Mistakes
Noncommittal
Apathy
No goals

If you are someone that finds it hard to stick to a certain goal or gets bored or frustrated easily when trying to learn new skills, then the Three of Pentacles is the perfect card for you. There is a feeling of detachment with this card, a disconnect with the present moment that causes us to not really connect with our external world. We need to find a way to re-create that connection and start to feel more aligned with what is going on around us.

Reading Three of Pentacles in a Tarot Spread

When the Three of Pentacles appears in a spread, a good place to start is with the keyword ‘building’, whether it’s you that is trying to build something and needs a hand to do it, or if someone else is building something that they need your help with, building is a strong theme with this card.

Like all the pentacles, there is usually a goal in mind that we’re trying to reach. With the Three of Pentacles, that goal is in sight, but it’s becoming harder to achieve by ourselves. We’ve reached a point where we have to expand in order to progress.

Three of Pentacles as An Invitation

If the Three of Pentacles appears as an invitation, we are invited to have a look at the blueprint of our goals, to see what areas we can take control of and what areas would be better off left to people with the right skills and knowledge.

For Three of Pentacles, this invitation could be the following:

An invitation to find people with complementary skills to yours in order to push forward with your plans
An invitation to assess your own strengths and weaknesses and find ways to support your weaknesses and empower your strengths
An invitation assess a lack of growth and find out what is stopping you from being able to move along your journey

Three of Pentacles as Sage Advice

The Three of Pentacles can offer confident advice about achieving our dreams and open up new avenues from which we can gain success.

Some advice Three of Pentacles may offer is:

There is always more than one way to get something done
When faced with an obstacle or challenge, sometimes seeking outside help can be the answer
We all have our strengths and weaknesses, never be ashamed of reaching out for someone to fill the gaps that you can not
We all make mistakes, but it is the way we bounce back from them that shows us what we’re really capable of

Three of Pentacles as a Lesson

When the Three of Pentacles appears as a lesson, it is often teaching us to play nicely with others and to re-wild our ideas and preconceptions about teamwork and community.

Some lessons that Three of Pentacles may offer you are:

A lesson in teamwork and collaboration
A lesson in knowing and accepting your weaknesses
A lesson in how to create goals and what it takes to achieve them effectively
A lesson in being both the student and the teacher throughout our lives

Three of Pentacles as a Redirection

When the Three of Pentacles pops up to redirect you on your path, it may be that you’ve been struggling needlessly when there is an easier and more stress-free path you could be taking.

As a redirection, Three of Pentacles could symbolise a need to:

Commit more time and energy to the task at hand
Expand your knowledge and skills in order to reach the next level
Find support from external sources in order to get to where you want to be
Reaffirm your goals and make sure your actions align with your desires

Pentacles

The Pentacles manages our material world, meaning they point us towards our home, health, family and overall safety and grounding. They are a fairly active energy as they require some effort on our part to execute the energy within the cards.

For example, we can only improve our health if we do exercise. We can only improve our home if we clean, tidy or even renovate. We have to take action on Pentacles energy to get something out of it. Often the Pentacles are seen purely as money cards, but they can represent abundance in all forms.

Earth

Within the Tarot, the four suits correspond with the four elements. The Pentacles is the element of earth, giving these cards a grounded and secure value.

The element of earth is a very slow moving energy, but it does move nonetheless. This can ask us to test our patience, resilience and determination. It can also mean hard work and lots of skill building. Within the Pentacles, we effectively try and find new ways to ground down into that earth energy, so we can really explore the foundations of the life we’re building.

Threes

The number three within numerology is a number of expansion and growth. When we apply that to the earthy energy of the Pentacles, we get a growth and expansion within the material world.

When it comes to the Three of Pentacles, this might look like a new college course, learning a new skill through free YouTube tutorials. It can also be an expansion in regards to making more room energetically or more literally in your home. It might even be an expansion in the family such as a new child or even a new pet.