Tarot Diary | Ace of Pentacles
Ace of Pentacles, Pagan Otherworlds Tarot
Tarot Diary is a weekly conversation with the Tarot about my creative journey. Perhaps some of what I share will be of service. As always, take what resonates and leave the rest.
Planting seeds for new creative projects
The Ace of Pentacles is the seed. It represents possibility and creativity tied to the element of earth - or that which is tangible. What magic and medicine do I want to bring forward into the world? This ace is an invitation to really consider - what do I want to grow in my garden? What creative practices do I want to nurture? And how can I create the space necessary for them to grow and be nourished?
As someone who loves to grow herbs, flowers, and vegetables, this card always brings to mind the garden and the preparation necessary for Spring planting. Because you can certainly just dig a hole anywhere and plant a seed. But in order for a seed to grow into a healthy plant, it needs to have the right soil, sunlight, location, and spacing. A desert plant won’t grow well in a rainforest - unless you provide it with some extra protection from the elements and enough sunlight and warmth to flourish.
Seedlings are delicate things - they need extra care and protection as they take root and unfurl their cotyledons. Encroaching weeds will quickly strangle new growth - and birds, small rodents, slugs, and other (potentially unwanted) garden visitors may devour new plants before they’ve had a chance to grow.
Our new creative projects need this same kind of careful tending. There are so many ways that we (intentionally or unintentionally) kill our creativity before it has a chance to sprout into something meaningful. Giving in to the voice of our inner critic (that voice that tells you your idea is silly, that there’s no point to any of it, it’s a waste of time, effort, and money) can keep us from planting any seeds at all. And if we fill our time with other things (some necessary, for sure, but also probably a lot of things that aren’t), we may plant the seeds but later realize that there’s no room for our new projects to take root. We forget about them, and the weeds take over.
One way that I’ve made more room for creative growth is by drastically cutting my social media use. Spending time looking at other people’s creative projects meant that I wasn’t engaging in my own creative practice. It was too easy to fall into a dissociated state of mindless scrolling and lose track of time. To me, this felt like a giant weed that was pulling all of the nutrients from what I truly want to cultivate in my creative garden. Stepping back from social media has freed up time that I’m now dedicating to writing, dollmaking, and nurturing a culture of creativity in my home.
Sometimes, we need to pull out our old creative projects and toss them onto the compost heap, where they can turn into food to fuel new growth. This can feel really difficult - because it requires us to take an honest look at what projects we’ve outgrown and consider what we truly want to make space for. In the garden, this is easier if the plant is dead - that’s a clear sign it needs to come out. But sometimes the plant is still alive - but you no longer need it. In terms of creative projects, maybe what you’ve been focusing on no longer feels aligned. You might be “successful” from an outside perspective - but your spirit is ready for a shift. It can help to reflect on whether your current creative practice aligns with your intuition - and honestly assess whether any change is needed.
The Ace of Pentacles invites us to consider new creative directions - and then carve the pathways that allow for these new projects to emerge. For me, this includes making time to learn how to hand-sew, bead, and process salmon skin to use in my dolls and talismans. What new creative pathways are you feeling drawn down?
Some questions I’ll be considering this week:
What projects do I want to nurture?
What new projects are ready to take root?
What weeds are blocking new growth?
What do I need to pull out in order to make space for new seeds to emerge?
What creative projects need to be placed on the compost heap?
What creative projects need to incubate until the time is right?
Ace: potentiality, possibility, a gift, singularity of purpose, beginnings, wholeness - containing the fullness of the suit.
Pentacles: Earth, the physical/sensual. The realm of the body, home, work, craft.