II, Suit of PentaclesTwo of Pentacles tarot card meaning
Upright and reversedTwo of Pentacles in shortIn short
The Two of Pentacles keeps things in the air. A young man in a tall red hat dances with a pentacle in each hand, joined by a green cord looped like a figure eight, while ships ride the waves behind him. You balance two demands at once, lightly, and stay on your feet as things move.
- Juggling
- Balance
- Adaptability
Piece oneThe grey shore
He dances on a flat strip of lilac-grey ground while the sea heaves behind him. Waite reads gaiety and recreation, and also agitation and trouble. Firm ground for the dance, restless water at his back.
"On the one hand it is represented as a card of gaiety, recreation and its connections, which is the subject of the design..."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe ground is calm so the sea can be wild. The dancer needs one steady thing under him while the ships behind him rock. He keeps his feet on the grey strip and lets the coins and the cord do the moving. Balance starts with where you stand.
Piece twoThe ships
Behind the dancer two ships ride layered waves. Waite skips them, and they echo the dance: the sea rises and falls and the ships stay afloat by moving with it. The ups and downs are weather. Riding them is the skill.
Why it is hereThe ships repeat the dance in the background. They climb a wave, drop, and climb again, the way the coins swing in the cord. Nobody steers the sea, and the ships stay up by moving with it. The young man does the same on dry land.
Piece threeThe dancer
A young man in a tall red hat and an orange tunic, caught mid-dance. Waite says he holds a pentacle in either hand as he dances. He glances sideways, half amused, half watchful, checking both coins are still there.
"A young man, in the act of dancing, has a pentacle in either hand..."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereHe is young because the card is about juggling with energy to spare. His hat, his bent knee and his sideways glance all say the weight is light for now. The cord keeps the coins together, and his body keeps the rhythm. The sea behind him sets the beat.
Piece fourThe endless cord
A green cord loops around both pentacles in a sideways figure eight. Waite calls it the endless cord, like the number 8 reversed, the same infinity sign that floats over The Magician and Strength. Each coin that goes out comes back round, so the juggling never quite stops.
"they are joined by that endless cord which is like the number 8 reversed."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe cord is the rule of the game. It ties the two coins into one loop, so letting one go would drop the other. The figure eight also matches the waves and the ships, rising and falling without end. The dancer keeps the loop turning.
Colour, and where else it appearsEchoes
-
The grey shore
Lilac-grey ground under deep navy waves: still below, restless behind. Temperance stands at the edge of a pool, between water and land, pouring water from cup to cup. In the Six of Swords a ferryman poles a boat across the water toward the far shore. The dancer stays on the shore and lets the sea do its rolling behind him.
Also in -
The ships
Stacked blues, light over dark, with two small brown ships riding them. In the Three of Wands a man stands on a cliff and watches his ships sail on a yellow sea, waiting for them to come home. In the Two of Swords the sea sits behind a blindfolded woman who refuses to move. Here the ships pitch and the dancer pitches with them.
Also in -
The dancer
Red and orange from hat to hose, the warmest figure in the suit. The Fool is another young man caught mid-step, light on his feet at a cliff edge. Two cards on, the Four of Pentacles stands stiff, coins pinned to his chest and under his boots. One keeps the money moving. The other holds it still.
Also in -
The endless cord
Olive green on pale blue, the colour of growing things wrapped around gold. The same sideways eight floats over The Magician's head, and over the woman in Strength as she bends over a lion. There it hangs in the air as a sign. On this card it comes down into the young man's hands, and he has to keep it turning.
Also in
Colour notes are ours, read from the picture; Waite does not explain the colours.
Two of PentaclesUpright
Upright, you're handling more than one thing: two jobs, two bills, work and family, plans that keep shifting. Waite gives two readings. The picture shows gaiety and recreation; the other reading is written news and messages, and also obstacles, agitation and trouble.
The dancer fits both. He's having fun, and he's busy. Stay flexible, keep a light touch, and notice if the juggling gets to be too much.
Two of PentaclesReversed
Reversed, Waite's words are enforced gaiety and simulated enjoyment: smiling while you struggle to keep up. The balance is slipping, and pretending makes it worse.
He also lists handwriting, letters and letters of exchange, old words for bills of payment. Paperwork and money matters need you. Drop one ball on purpose before you drop them all.
Yes or noMaybe.
Maybe. It's still moving. Keep your balance and it can work out.
Two of Pentacles in your lifeIn your life
Love
Fitting love around everything else, or a light, playful relationship. Make time for it on purpose.
Work
Many tasks, shifting priorities, maybe two jobs. You can do it if you stay organised and flexible.
Money
Moving money between needs to stay afloat. Track it closely. Hold off on new commitments.
Health
Balance rest and activity. A card can't diagnose you; if something's wrong, see a doctor.
Spirituality
Calm while life keeps moving. Practise in short moments between everything else.
Advice
Stay light on your feet. Keep the important things moving and let the rest go.
As a person
Adaptable, busy, good humoured. They keep a lot going at once.
Past, present, future
Past: a busy stretch of juggling. Present: a balancing act you can manage. Future: changes that ask you to bend.
Written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
Symbols and correspondencesAt a glance
- Suit
- Pentacles
- Element
- Earth
- Astrology
- Jupiter in Capricorn
- Sephira
- Chokmah
- Upright
- Gaiety
- Reversed
- Enforced gaiety
QuestionsCommon questions
Mostly yes. Someone coping well, even enjoying it. Waite also links it to agitation and trouble, so watch the juggling doesn't wear you out.
Balance between love and the rest of life. A light, fun connection, or a couple finding time for each other.
Maybe. It's still moving, and it depends on your balance.
Waite calls it the endless cord, like the number 8 reversed. It's the infinity sign over The Magician and Strength too, a flow that goes round as long as you keep moving.
Jupiter in Capricorn, an earth sign, in the Golden Dawn system. Jupiter brings growth; Capricorn brings work and structure.
Waite reads it two ways: gaiety and recreation, as the picture shows, and written news, obstacles and trouble.
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911Card meanings and quotes: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911. Element, decan and sephira: the Golden Dawn's Book T. Colours, life situations, yes or no and questions: written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
All 14 Pentacles