Seven of Pentacles

Minor Arcana · Pentacles · number 7 · Sette di Denari

Seven of Pentacles, plate by Pamela Colman Smith
Pamela Colman Smith, 1910

Upright

The Seven of Pentacles is a farmer leaning on his hoe watching the fruit grow on the vine: money, business, barter, says Waite, but the readings contradict each other, from quarrels on one side to innocence, ingenuity and purgation on the other. It is the card of financial patience: you have sown, and now you wait. If these days you wonder whether an investment or a project is worth the effort, it is no accident: this is the time for assessment, not harvest. Beware of arguments about money among partners. The practical advice: do the sums calmly, decide whether to continue or change crop, and do not pull up the plant to look at the roots.

Source: Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910) · read the original passage
«These are exceedingly contradictory; in the main, it is a card of money, business, barter; but one reading gives altercation, quarrels—and another innocence, ingenuity, purgation.»

Reversed

Reversed, the Seven of Pentacles gives a precise warning, and Waite puts it in a single line: anxiety about money one is asked to lend. Someone is asking you for money, or you are about to ask, and the card says: think. If these days a friend or relative has asked for a loan, or you would like to help with money, it is no accident that you feel uneasy. Lending to people you love without clear rules can cost the love as well as the money. The practical advice: if you lend, write down amount and timing; if you cannot afford it, say no with affection.

Source: Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910) · read the original passage
«Cause for anxiety regarding money which it may be proposed to lend.»

Source

Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910) Part III, § 2, The Lesser Arcana, Seven of Pentacles https://archive.org/details/a.-e.-waite-the-pictorial-key-to-the-tarot