Kitchen Table Tarot

7 of Pentacles, 8 of cups, Death (and Rebirth)

Hello, friend ♥️ I’m glad you’ve joined me here today at my kitchen table. If this message resonates for you in any way, I hope you find some clarity and guidance here—the interpretation came out a little forceful, to be honest, but I think that’s the strength of the message being imparted here. If this does not seem familiar to you, that’s okay. Don’t force it to fit, but you’re welcome to stay and take whatever might stick out to you as meaningful or useful for another time.

The 7 of Pentacles represents the work done and the work still to come. It is a little taste of the rewards that should result from all the effort you have yet to expend. I get a sense, though, that this glimpse is less encouraging for you than you thought it would be. You may have put a lot of time and energy into something that may bear little to no fruit. While perseverance is a great teacher, one must use their discernment to know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em. It can be difficult to make this choice when everyone around you is encouraging you to stick with something (beware anyone that pushes ceaseless positivity), or if you’re concerned with how much you’ve already invested. Yes, some things take years to yield, but time is finite. Ask yourself if you’re sticking through something because everyone else is telling you it’s the safest option with the best possible outcome; ask who really benefits from your work.

Ordinarily the energy around the 7 of pentacles is one of optimism—pushing through that final bit of hard work that will come in clutch at harvest time, or looking back at the work you’ve put in to assure yourself that everything will pay off. The vibe of disappointment, dithering, and meddling influence makes sense in the context of the 8 of cups. This is the sign that those feelings are valid and correct. If it feels like you’ve been wasting your life in an ungentle environment, working hard at the behest of others while not even really knowing why you’re making so much of an effort, then you are allowed to leave. It’s great to be selfless, but when you give too much of yourself away, what is left for you? The Death card suggests that if you’ve been considering walking away that this is the moment. It’s easy, especially at this time of year, to talk yourself out of it. The holidays are coming up. My boss/partner/family/colleagues/friend group all need me and couldn’t possibly get along without my contribution. I’ll do it in January. You can make your own choices, and obviously not all situations are created equal. If the unsatisfying job is keeping the lights on, then throwing caution to the wind may not be the best move. But you can use this time to weigh costs and plan an exit strategy. If your immediate response actually is “I’ll do it in January” (and there’s no guarantee of timeline, but it’s common to put things off until the new year for that clean slate, fresh start feeling), then you have time to get your shit together in preparation—not just sweep it under the rug and avoid confronting it altogether.

The Death card, contrary to popular belief, is not about literal death, and certainly this time it signifies the potential for rebirth. By honestly sizing up whether you are satisfied with the trajectory of your effort, and finding the courage to leave it behind if not, a new path will open up to you. There are lots of things that this could mean for you, but the strongest sense is of freedom. Walking from wrong choices and wasted efforts will develop the strength to catch anything this portal throws at you. You have, as Mary Oliver once wrote, one wild and precious life. What do you plan to do with it? Toil towards someone else’s goals? Someone else’s stock portfolio? Someone else’s idea of who you are or should be?

Or will you possess your own life and align it how it pleases you?

Thank you for being. You are good, you are enough, you are loved. Remember that you are always, always welcome at my kitchen table. -KTT 🌻💛