The VII of Pentacles and Noticing
There is a walk I like to do in town along the river. Generally, once a week when I go into town to do errands, I will do this walk. Cosmo loves it too. I never have a hard time getting him in or out of the car for this walk. And there is this one point along the road that always makes me stop and stare. It is just poignantly beautiful. It feels like the essence of Vermont. It reaches someplace deep in my heart that causes me to pause and fill up on gratitude.
Here’s what it looks like on a late summer day right as the leaves are about to turn:
This is it folks, the scene that stirs my soul, that gives me pause, that calls me towards gratitude. And when I stop and take a photo, it reminds me of the content gaze of the figure in the VII of Pentacles, contemplating serenely the pentacles growing gloriously upon the bush. It seems that he is full of appreciation for what he has grown. There is such abundance and it is surely his as one pentacle rests glowing at his feet.
The VII of Pentacles tarot card from the Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.
When I look out over this vista, I feel like all this is mine: the hills, the trees, the river, the earth. It is the place where I belong. It is the place I call home. But even if I was just passing through, I am really seeing it, ya know? I have my eyes wide open. I am intentional in my observation. I am present in my body and soul. This type of attunement is precious as we so often get lost in thoughts, plans, problems, and fantasies. The gift of the VII of Pentacles is to be fully immersed in the moment.
When we stop and get truly present, we have the opportunity to see what is really important. When I look at this view of the White River, it gives me a little bit of space to stand in awe. And in that moment of awe, I am able to strip away what isn’t important any more. This is a VII of Pentacles moment, when we can look upon our abundance, feel stillness within, and then know where we want to invest our time and energy long-term. The little distractions and annoyances fall away. The things we are wasting our time on become unbearably dull in their meaninglessness. We are invited to focus on what will truly return rewards with our full-hearted investment.
Of course, nothing is guaranteed in life. We can work hard toward goals that align fully with our values, and still not succeed. As I return to this beautiful spot along the river, the seasons change, the view changes, and then it returns to a version of an earlier time. The cyclical nature of reality is revealed in full color in front of me. Summer turns to fall, fall to winter, winter to spring, and then spring comes back around to summer again. This cycle repeats and repeats with variations on how it manifests in the environment around me. This mirrors the cycles of our lives. Everything comes back around again but in slightly different circumstances and forms. What will you do with your next chance during your next cycle?
If you’ve been working on something difficult and not making progress, that can be a VII of Pentacles moment as well. The question to ask yourself is if you don’t “succeed” in reaching your goal, was the effort still worth it? The answer should always be yes. The little things you do every day towards that goal are the whole point. If you hate every second of the journey, it’s simply not worth it. Go and do something else. Why would you waste every second of your day miserable? There have to be other goals that you can work on that are more fun! You may not agree with me on this one, but I do think the journey is the point. If the journey is ALL misery (there can be parts that suck, but it can’t be the whole thing), then it isn’t the right journey for you. I think life is about finding joy when we can. Don’t cut off that possibility by engaging in activities that only occlude your joy.
What if we went through life thinking that everything would take a little longer than we expected? Instead of things happening in a season, they would stretch out over many seasons or many cycles through the seasons. Maybe the VII of Pentacles is telling us to take it slow, to keep the vision we have, but to hold it loosely. It’s beautiful to hold the vision of the future that we want, and make action plans that will get us there, but there is more to life as well. We dip and we ebb and we circle back around. Life isn’t a straight line up and to the right. The more we accept and live within that reality, the more content and joyful we can be.
Because things might change. Actually, I can fully guarantee that things will change. Even the course of the White River changes, especially given the uncertainties of climate change that have recently caused the river to flood more often. If we hold too tightly to goals and plans for the future, we miss the signs and signals that something else is unfolding. When we cling to the way things “have to be to work out right”, we cut ourselves off from the current state of things. Perhaps a different door is opening up for us, something magical and wonderful. We don’t want to miss that because we are grasping at an old goal or dream. A VII of Pentacles moment may be one where we notice that new door standing open and we contemplate what it means. Will we stay the course or will we try out that new door? There is no right answer here, but there is a gift of choice. The VII of Pentacles asks us to notice our choices, be fully awake to opportunity, and make decisions with our full presence.
Really, I just wanted to share their photos with you today. At first I didn’t realize that I was taking a picture in the same spot in each season, but after I did notice, I made it a point to take a few more photos to enjoy the full cycle of the seasons. Right now, in the spring before the leaves start to poke out and the ground is still muddy, it isn’t my favorite version of this view, but it still stirs my soul. I’ll leave you with a mud season photo and a wish that you too will take notice today, of whatever it is that needs your attention. Open your eyes. Open your mind. Open your heart. What is there to see?
