Page of Pentacles

Keywords:
student, apprentice,
earthy, practical,
new beginning,
focus,
connection to nature,
financial opportunity,
manifesting

Reversed:
unfocused,
short-term focus,
rejecting learning,
impractical,
fresh start still in the future,
loss of financial stability

Element: Earth
Direction: North
Season: Winter

The Page of Pentacles holds the pentacles symbol of pure Earth energy in her hands. This is the potential of the Ace through X pentacles cards ready to be put into form. The Page is ready to do something with all the potential of the suit. Pages are about learning, about taking risks, about starting out. The Page of Pentacles is ready to explore, learn, and try out all kinds of earth energy pursuits

When the Page of Pentacles shows up in a reading, she usually is pointing you towards a new start, or a need to experiment in the realm of Earth.  This includes things like: career change, going back to school, building or buying a new home, redecorating, planting a garden, getting in shape, a healthy lifestyle change, financial planning, self-care, and sports or hobbies, especially outdoor ones.  Ask yourself where you need some fresh energy and direction in the Earth element of your life.  Ground and center yourself in your body and on this Earth and ask for guidance.  What does your body have to tell you? What does Mother Earth have to tell you?

The great thing about Pages is that there is little responsibility involved in the actions of this youthful figure. She is experimenting, she is trying things out, she doesn't have to be perfect or even know what she is doing at all!  The important part is to try, to take a chance, to go out on a limb and say, "I can do it... maybe!" No one expects the Page to be exceptional or get it just right the first go around. There is a leniency and allowance with the energy of the Page.

Page of Pentacles Rider Waite Smith deck

This type of experimental behavior is youthful, but you do not have to be young to use it.  As children we are not particularly concerned with the outcomes of our efforts. We are eager to learn and nonplussed by failure.  As we grow older, we lose this urge to try without consequence.  We start to care about "wasted effort" and "failure".  This concern keeps us from trying things that we don't already know how to do or think will be very hard to learn and we might not be able to.

A good example of this would be learning an instrument. At age 8 we don't care how terrible our violin practice sounds to ourselves and anyone else within 100 miles.  But when we are 28 or 48 or whatever, we are embarrassed and easily frustrated by how long and hard we have to work to sound anything less than humiliating on the violin.  We avoid anything we won't be good at right away, and certainly anything we may never be good at!

The Page of Pentacles shows up in a reading to remind you of how silly that mentality is. She encourages you to try even though you may be scared or embarrassed. She says, "The only real form of failure is refusing to even try in the first place." There is supportive energy now with the Page of Pentacles to act youthful and experimental.  Try something new, just do it!

Reversed Page of Pentacles:

This card in reversed is a non-starter.  Something or someone (probably yourself!) is stopping you from making a fresh beginning, starting a new project, learning, or experimenting.  Oftentimes, we are our own worst enemies, refusing to pursue our dreams or goals.  We want to be a violinist but the effort is too great, the noises we produce too horrifying, the long journey to Bach stretching endless into the future. The Page of Pentacles reversed wants to give up before she even starts because of illusions and fears.

Shadowscapes Tarot

The important thing to remember here is that you will never succeed or become a great violinist if you don't ever try.  Each time you practice you are exponentially closer to your goal than if you never even get a violin to practice on in the first place.  If you're worried about being 75 years old before you're any good, what a silly thing to worry about! Wouldn't you rather be a badass 75 year old violin player than a person who has never even tried to play the violin at all!?

The Page of Pentacles shows up in reverse in your reading as a indicator that you need to take a look at what you are not doing that you wish you were doing.  Do you want to be out hiking but haven't planned a single vacation or left a free weekend all summer?  You need to get your priorities straight or you will miss out on summer's abundance.  Do you want to get a new job or move up in your job but you haven't filled out a single application or spoken with anyone about increasing your responsibility?  Well, it's time to step up and ask for what you want.  It is very rarely that our heart's desires are offered to us on a silver platter, but even if they are it's often a silver platter of our own conjuring.  The Page of Pentacles reversed says, "Speak up! Act now! Try instead of letting your life pass you by! Are you going to listen to her?