Chuck us Another!

I remember reading this card for one of my old neighbours once, suggesting that in the world of work, she was a bit of a multitasker. She had said this was true and seemed pretty happy with my bringing the skill up in her reading. In this version of the card, the guy doesn't seem so at ease with the juggling of his coins. He looks as though he is perspiring, trying to keep them in the air without dropping them. This is more like me. I get stressed when I have too much to do; especially when at work. Whoever the phrase 'I thrive on pressure' was inspired by, it certainly wasn't me. I left both of my last two full time jobs because keeping all of the balls in the air was too much of an ordeal and I was conscious of consistently dropping them.

I had a really nice chat with my uncle the other day. While my mum was driving my dad to the hospital, I pulled up a chair in the kitchen and we talked. His son is a year older than me. We had a bit of a falling out a few years ago and I stopped answering his messages. Depending on which way you look at it, my cousin has done very well for himself. He has (what I am told) is an amazing house, a fast and expensive car, a job that pays him close to £100,000 a year and travels all over the world. However, as my uncle put it, he is rarely happy. For that kind of salary, he is at the beck and call of his boss, who has been known to ring him at 11 o'clock on a weekend evening, lives in fear of redundancy, and has nobody to share his fortune with. I can see him in this version of the 2 of Pentacles as well.

It took me quite a while to realise what was important. I have never been particularly materialistic, but for a while, I threw myself into the same career roles time and again, because I believed that these kind of well paid jobs would prove my worth. But with each job, I received another knock and had to come to terms with the fact that I am not cut out for that kind of pressure. With emails coming through at twenty at a time, more appointments and meetings to attend than I could get my ahead around, and having to jump into taxis here, there and everywhere, I eventually ran from my desk, leaving the gold pentacles to fall and smash on the floor. This card makes me think of that.

Having said all of this, there are times when that has not been the case. In the teaching work I did last year, I was under an enormous amount of pressure in some of my jobs, but because I knew what I was doing, I was able to hit the ground running. In that example, I had got myself loosened up and ready before beginning my juggling act. With that in mind, this card could be about thinking on your feet and taking on extra stuff successfully when you already have enough to contend with. It's about knowing your limitations.

Dad is home now. He is sore but relieved that it is all over for the time being. With that out of the way, I wonder if someone is eager to chuck another pentacle into this juggling act. Even though perspiring, the guy in the card is coping. He looks ahead, focused, as the pentacles appear balanced. However, if someone chucks another into the equation, it could just knock him over the edge.


Illustration from The Tarot of Reflections by Francesco Ciampi