TAROTTwo of Pentacles
Upright
Balancing life’s different demands.
Maintaining balance in our lives despite many different tasks and problems we have to juggle between.
Prioritizing our time whilst ensuring what is truly important never falls off our list of priorities.
Intuition
The figure on this card is Gelos, the spirit of laughter. As well as maintaining balance within our lives, it is also important to maintain a healthy attitude to its ups and downs. Laughter and a sense of humor is often the coping mechanism that tips the balance in our favor!
Reversed
Inability to find a balance during an upcoming busy period in your life.
Lack of healthy work-life balance.
Failing to stay true to your inner priorities or allowing others to set your life-priorities.
Taking too much on, or not reaching for help, or lack of planning.
Astrologia
A balance of two very opposite forces (Jupiter vs Capricorn). Ambition, along with the determination and planning to make the best of upcoming changes or ‘either-or’ forks in life. Possible over-emphasis on material gains and being over-cautious.
Two of Pentacles
The Two of Pentacles shows a character juggling two pentacles (coins). The card represents being able to balance and maintain life despite conflicting tasks or responsibilities.
This juggling of tasks or responsibilities can lead to a very rough ride as we try to keep everything from falling to the ground.
This danger is shown by the two ships that are being thrown around a rough sea in a way very much like the two pentacles.
But the juggler seems to be happy with his task of juggling. He even seems happy to be there…
Gelos
Gelos is the personification spirit (daemon) of laughter and joy, which may seem an odd choice for this card but there is a very good reason for this. Life has its ups and downs, but the best cure is to see the humor in it, and to have a healthy and positive outlook.
Gelos appears in ancient plays and brings comedy and humor. He was also well regarded in everyday life not because laughing is fun in itself but because laughter changes your view of things.
Gelos is strongly linked with Dionysus, the God of wine, religious ecstasy and sexuality. Gelos was one of Dionysus’s retinue, making all of the above more memorable through laughter and good fun.
That Gelos was one of Dionysus’s retinue is not without chance in this deck, as the card that Dionysus appears in (The Hanged man) and the Two of Pentacles are somewhat similar.
The Hanged man (as with all Major Arcana) is about you internally, and points to inner acceptance of a situation where there is a duality; the way things are and the way you should accept them to move forward. This is often profound as it involves changing yourself. You move forward through an otherwise intractable problem by sacrificing (or changing) part of your former self.
The Two of Pentacles is another duality problem. It is about having two things that need your attention, and it suggests carrying on by proactively juggling your time, effort or outlook to make them work, but not by changing your inner self to accommodate this. As suggested by the card, such problems reduce and go away quicker if you maintain a positive attitude towards them.
Description and Symbology
The card shows a juggler with one foot solid on the ground and the other raised. He seems to not be taking things too seriously. In the Rider-Waite-Smith card, the juggler looks like an entertainer or someone playful, but in this version of the Tarot deck, the juggler is laughing out loud. He is loving this!
Behind the juggler we see two ships in a very stormy sea. One sits high on the crest of a wave whereas the other is in a trough. Both ships seem to map to the two pentacles.
The image tells us that life will give us ups and downs. Even in the good times we have conflicting tasks to balance and juggle. We should take this in our stride and get on with it all because they are just part of life.
Life will give us ups and downs. Even in the good times we have conflicting tasks to balance and juggle. We should take this in our stride and get on with it all because they are just part of life.
The card also suggests that being able to laugh at the trials that chance and providence throws at us is a good response. We may not get more done or even escape the repercussions and consequences, but we will get through it all quicker and with a more positive outlook!
The Juggler
The juggler holds two pentacles representing material possessions or things we value. Life is about constantly juggling such things: income vs outgoings, what we want vs what we need, and what we would like vs reality. Yet the juggler does not feel the weight of his decisions because he knows his goal is to be happy despite all the complications. Sometimes you don't have to right. You just have to be happy with your choices.
The rough sea
Behind the juggler we see a rough sea and black clouds. This symbolizes ‘life can be full of fears and bad outcomes’.
The ships
The ships are buffeted around the rough sea but do not sink. They tell us that all trials will pass if we hold on and sail an even keel. The ships also match the two pentacles being juggled. They represent the same thing; all that we value.
Tips for Readings
The following table shows the upright and reverse meanings for general questions. The last row ('Yes/No') is useful when you are picking a single card to decide a yes or no decision.
Upright
Reversed
There are issues for at least one partner that mean they are carrying stress or a heavy workload, and this is probably coming from outside the relationship.
It is important for you both to work as a team, offering support, understanding and help. Without this, the relationship may start to suffer. And don’t forget to keep the relationship at the top of the list!
For new relationships, there may be workloads that prevent you seeing each other as much as you’d like, but don’t take this as a negative – there is a connection, just not enough time in the day at the moment!
There are issues from outside the relationship to do with workload or conflicting tasks, and this is affecting the relationship.
It is important to keep your life in balance and place the things that have long term value at the top of your list, and your relationship and family is among them.
Make time for your significant other even if you cannot offer direct help, because communication or just someone to vent with can go a long way.
For those early into a relationship, there may be a period of not seeing each other as much as you’d like. This is caused by issues outside the relationship, so don’t confuse it as a problem within the relationship. Communication is the key!
A time where you need to be sure of your priorities is approaching. There will be a lot of work to do and more than one task may come in at the same time.
This may be work vs personal, or conflicting tasks within work.
Whatever the make-up of the work, it is important to be true to yourself and set your own priorities rather than take on the priorities of others, as they may not be totally to your benefit.
It may be important to learn to say ‘no’ or ask for help, as well as realistically assess timescales and how much time you can professionally afford if you also have personal commitments.
You are taking on more than you can do at work, and this is affecting other parts of your life.
The card suggests it is important to reassess what you have promised,and be honest to both yourself and others.
Sometimes you have to admit defeat in one area to maintain other areas of your life, or you have to tone back commitments in one area to maintain other areas.
Although you will soon be busy with a number of tasks, it is important to not forget your health and well-being. Taking time out to recharge or clear your head between different tasks is not dead or wasted time, it is time well used to maintain the quality of your effort.
You are taking on too much and although you may be meeting your targets in your chosen priorities, others are getting neglected. One of the most important ones is your personal health and this is suffering. Either place your own well-being higher up in your list of priorities or expect a burnout!
You will soon be busy in more than one area of your life and will need to juggle your priorities. Do not lose track of the most important priorities: your sense of who you are, your purpose for being on this planet, and your future.
Short term goals set by your boss or other task-giver may or may not also align with your career and financial goals, but make sure they also make you happy and not just some bean-counter at head office!
You are taking on too much and losing sight of two very important priorities; being true to yourself and maintaining your most important relationships.
Although some things can be put on hold, make sure you have your personal priorities intact, because this card suggests this is not the case.
You will be called on to juggle your money between important costs.
This may involve pain with budgeting and cutting some items in the short and mid-term, but it is important to take a longer term view and work towards your best future interests.
You may be overspending or fixing the issue with borrowing and taking on too much debt.
It is important to cut back and create a more maintainable budget
Yes through being able to work through hurdles in your life whilst being able to juggle multiple tasks and responsibilities.
No through failing to maintain a good balance in your life.
Reading the Card
The upright card
On one level, the Two of Pentacles is about juggling day to day priorities: someone with more than one job, a parent with career and family commitments, a worker who has multiple clients and management to keep onside
On a deeper level, the Two of Pentacles is about forming a balance between things you need to do to survive and those you need to give your existence value. The card signifies a time when these concerns will occur in your life.
You may be rushed off your feet at work and at the same time have personal or family tasks to complete. You may be deciding between a task that will make you money but leave you mentally exhausted, and one that will fulfill you creatively but not make much money.
There are many such candidates that want to spend your time, and we often find ourselves doing both whenever we have the time to give, but not stepping back and thinking in a longer term towards what level of both makes us happiest is often the best balance. The Two of pentacles tells us true value is never a thing but getting this balance right.
The reversal
The reversed Two of Pentacles suggests the same options in front of you as the upright card, except this time you are getting the balance seriously wrong:
- You may be trying to fulfill both tasks but end up doing both badly.
- You may be trying to do one task and ignoring the other, causing worry or repercussions later.
- You may end up doing neither task and simply drop all pentacles or sink all ships!
The card suggests the path you are taking is unbalanced. You need to consider where true value lies for you rather than your boss, or the people you are trying to please, or the ideals you are expected to maintain.
Card Design Process
The problem with illustrating Gelos the spirit (daemon) of laughter is that there are no surviving statues or images of him.
The aim was to depict someone who looks like he could drink everyone else under the table and still crack a good joke, and have everyone laughing about it the next day despite their blurred vision!
Final Words
The Two of Pentacles represents a busy period ahead where you will need to juggle different (and possibly conflicting) tasks. The goal will be to find a balance that allows you to move forward in a flexible and balanced way and be happy with with your choice.
