Additional deck interpretation:
The Eight of Pentacles points you towards the need to change the direction of your life path right now and to enhance your skills as you continue your journey through the seventy-eight passageways of growth.
This is the level on your continuous cycle of change where you want to build upon your previous successes, acquire wealth and gain a prominent, well-respected position in your community. You may need to become a hard-working apprentice again.
Although you may already be a skilled craftsperson, this path represents a time of making use of newly-found talents to redefine yourself or using your current skills to become a craftsperson in a different field. This new field will be something you love to do, not something your family thinks you should do.
The Eight of Pentacles indicates that focused hard work is needed to gain success. Extra efforts and extensive labor will pay off in the end. The seeker is committed to this project, understands personal talents and limitations, and is trying to move up to the next professional level.
This card addresses the idea of reaching mental and spiritual betterment by the way of hard work. It also touches on the idea that working at what one loves to do is in itself a reward. Concentration and persistence are important. Sometimes the seeker must work very hard for a very long time in order to gain the level of success being pursued.
The obstacles of the past become history because you hammer away at what you love to do and do not give up because you believe in your dream.
Numerical Number 8: Eight is the number of power and personal achievements.
The Element of Earth: The Eight of Pentacles is associated with the elemental qualities of planet Mercury (how the mind works) and the zodiac sign of Virgo. The combination of Mercury in Virgo makes you work hard and pay attention to details.
Probable Outcome: You worked very hard to achieve success and the obstacles of the past are way behind you. You hammered away at what you love to do and did not give up because you believed in yourself and what you could achieve.
Your hard work could have involved receiving a degree, diploma, certificate, on-the-job training, staring over with a new career, a new job, a promotion, self-employment, or a new hobby/project.
Or it may have involved becoming a teacher, mentor, tutor, or training/sponsoring others to help individuals develop their own talents.
You might be in a secure relationship, or you might decide to make a commitment, or decide to start a family.
Possible Outcome: You raised the bar to achieve success and hammered away, but now you are not sure you love what you are doing. It's possible you are in this career for all the wrong reasons, or you do not believe in yourself and what you can achieve.
You are not sure if you want to use your talents to become a teacher, mentor, tutor, or trainer.
You may be having trouble getting a degree, diploma, certificate, or with on-the-job training as an apprentice.
You might be struggling because you started over with a new career, a new job, self-employment, or a new hobby/project.
You might not be ready to make a commitment, or decide to start a family until you get your career path figured out.
Then again, you might not be able to channel the Eight of Pentacle's energies into your life. If this is the case, then you might lack the commitment and dedication to make things work because you might be in this trade for all the wrong reasons.
Timing: The Eight of Pentacles is related to an important event of dedication to succeed that is turned into action. This event may occur in months or years to come.
