In the past 2 to 3 years, we’ve written and posted very few blog posts.

This was mainly due to work and responsibilities due to taking care of the Tarot Pugs Grumble as well as my own health issues (nothing serious, just the usual issues dealing with for many years.)

In 2025, Rocky, one of the senior Tarot Pugs, was diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy at age 13 years, and began to lose his ability to stand, sit upright and walk.

Taking care of Rocky was a priority which was full-time by September 2025, in addition to other full-time responsibilities.

In 2026, Rosie’s (one of the senior Tarot Pugs and the sister of Rocky) health began to decline soon after Rocky passed away in February,  which meant late nights tending to her needs. (Most of her issues happened in the evenings or the middle of the night.)

After Rosie’s passing in June 2026 at age 14 years, it’s been an adjustment and determining where to put this extra time and energy that was dedicated to the Grumble.

Since 2023, Cash the “Rookie” Tarot Pug (age 4 years in 2026) has been a bundle full of energy but is slowly, slowly starting to settle down now.

In 2024, the Grumble was happy and healthy, which was the “prime” year for all three pugs. If I could go back to any year and relive it, I would go back to 2024.

We spent a lot of that year doing videos and photos for social media, but not much time was available for creative writing.

Since 2020, my own spiritual path has changed from what it had been for decades.

Since then, I’ve spent more personal and free time reading books (e.g. Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam and other books written by Srila Prabhupāda), attending our local ISCKON (International Society of Krishna Consciousness) Temple, and doing my personal sadhana (spiritual practice.)

As someone who is unauthorized to teach on these teachings and that my path had shifted from what is previously was (e.g. writing posts for the blog), there wasn’t much to write about – but I do love to quote these texts as they’re immensely insightful and transformative for everyone, regardless of religion or faith.

Tarot and the Tarot Pugs have always been a part of who I am which we could’ve written about tarot in the interim whilst I studied and practiced in my spiritual path.

But, time and energy always seemed limited.

Dealing with widespread chronic pain whilst managing work and responsibilities, left little energy to focus on writing, designing and uploading.

And getting older, just like most people, what was physically possible to do 10 years ago isn’t as easy now.

Even social media posts have become sporadic and sparse, which the algorithm on social media doesn’t seem to like detailed and informative posts. (The reach on social media is terrible for most small accounts.)

So, that being said, we’ll see if we can contribute more to the blog as we go back to the beginning of what we used to write about: Tarot.

Although my spiritual practice has shifted and changed since we started Tarot Pugs and how many people have come to know us, we intend to continue to do readings and write about tarot because the messages and imagery in the cards is universal to everyone – no matter religion, spiritual practice, or background.

We continue to post regularly and monthly on our Patreon, which has a free membership available as well as paid memberships.

There’s the option for a free 7 day membership trial as well as to become a free member on Patreon.

Check out our Patreon which has some available posts for free members and the public.

🔮🐾

Now let’s see what the common meanings are for the 3 of Pentacles as upright and reversed.

“Modern Alternative” Tarot Meanings: 3 of Pentacles

To begin with this card, we’ll look at the traditional upright and reversed meanings according to Rider Waite Smith Tarot (RWS) and Thoth Tarot.

Traditional RWS / Thoth Tarot Upright Meanings:

• Work to be accomplished

• Asking for feedback / comments / input

• Interview / job offer

• Completing a task or skillful job

• Labour or labourer job

• Colleagues, coworkers

• Superiors, supervisors, Human Resources (HR)

• Work valued and appreciated; feeling

appreciated for your work and skills

• Mars in Capricorn

• Rank and power

• Small expenses

• Work for hire / Commissioned work / Working

on commission

• Apprenticeship

• Evaluation / job performance review

• Barter and trade

• Criticism / Feedback / Product reviews

• Self-improvement

Note about Mars in Capricorn interpretation:

This may be interpreted as an event may occur during the time period of when Mars is in the sign of Capricorn; or less commonly, that someone may have natal Mars in the sign of Capricorn.

The dates when Mars is in Capricorn may vary depending if you’re working with Tropical astrology or Sidereal / Vedic astrology.

Thanks to search engines and astrology apps, it’s not difficult to find out when a planetary will be in an astrological sign.

Traditional RWS / Thoth Tarot Reversed Meanings:

• Negative or unhelpful criticism or feedback; taking it with a “pinch of salt”

• Receiving feedback from others only when something goes wrong and not when things are done right/well; “When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all” – quote from the TV cartoon show “Futurama” (episode: Godfellas)

• Difficult or stressful performance review; receiving or giving a poor review on the job

• Unemployment (also seen with the 5 of Pentacles)

• Job-related problems; difficulties with colleagues, coworkers, superiors, supervisors

• Interviews / presentations don’t go well

• Poor, sloppy, or mediocre craftsmanship or work performance

• Over- or under-qualified for a job

• Micromanagement by a boss or supervisor

• Work undervalued or underappreciated

Now let’s have a look at an alternative or non-traditional meaning which also is modern.

In the lists below, we’ve included some additional meanings when paired with other tarot cards.

As always, it’s recommended to trust your intuition when it comes to interpretations and when pairing tarot cards.

Some meanings may not be common or traditional when it comes to a tarot reading.

The cards act as a reflection and certain symbols, numbers, colours and imagery may prompt different interpretations and messages.

A modern or alternative take on the 3 of Pentacles may suggest the following:

• Insurance Adjucator / Adjuster or Insurance Broker – this may indicate the need for insurance or to make an insurance claim; or an insurance claim is under review. This may be for home or auto insurance, but may also be for life, medical, dental, travel or disability insurance.

If paired with 4 of Swords and/or 5 of Pentacles, this may include unemployment insurance or disability insurance through work or government programs.

• Home Inspector – If purchasing a home, a home inspection is recommended and in some places, it’s mandatory. The 3 of Pentacles may suggest hiring a Home Inspector if you’re purchasing a home, or having a Home Inspector come to your home if you’re selling your home.

In some instances, this may include someone reviewing your work or repairs to ensure everything is up to code or acceptable.

If paired with The Chariot, this could mean having a vehicle get safety certified to ensure it’s safe for the road; or getting repairs, recalls, or maintenance done on the vehicle.

• Renovations or Repairs – this may indicate home renovations or repairs either DIY (Do It Yourself) projects or with the help of a contractor or renovation company. This card reminds to do due diligence to get the necessary permits for renovations or repairs if necessary and to thoroughly read reviews or recommendations for a good contractor or company.

If paired with a Cups card such as Ace of Cups and/or The Tower (any of these as reversed or upright) could indicate problems with a leaky basement or roof, flooded basement, issues with a sump pump, or a burst pipe in a ceiling or wall.

• Court Summons – this may suggest serving or receiving a summons to appear in court such as for civil litigation, traffic court, or being charged with an offense.

In some instances, this may mean receiving a letter for jury duty.

If paired with the Hanged Man and/or the Justice card, it may mean a verdict that may result in fines, a penalty, or jail time; or may be the outcome of a case wherein someone is doing jury duty.

• Shadow Work – Spiritually, the 3 of Pentacles may suggest doing deep inner work on the self such as working on the shadow self. This may suggest self-improvement to work on what’s within the “basement” of the soul, clearing out patterns and behaviours that don’t support the life you want to create for yourself

Cash, the “Rookie” Tarot Pug and I hope you find these modern and alternative tarot meanings useful.
We hope to have more posts to share about tarot card meanings.

ICYMI:

We have a previous post in this blog series “Modern Alternative” Tarot Meanings: 7 of Cups


Until next time!