2026-07-24 reading

#status_complete #deck_sefirot #five-of-pentacles #the-hanged-man

i've been frustrated about my lack of progress in an important area of my life and i feel like i'm being left behind. what should i do?

In short, there's an aspect of my life that I'm passionate about and I actively work hard to learn , practice, and improve on. While I feel like I reached a high level of mastery and have improved a lot over several months, this is not reflected at all in the data/statistics. In fact, on paper, I'm actually losing progress. While I know that comparison is the thief of joy, I can't help but look around at my peers and wonder how they are so far ahead of me while I know I'm putting in so much more time and effort. How can I resolve these feelings?

the root of the problem: 5 of pentacles

Fives represent conflict, change, and instability. Pentacles represent material or worldly things; they represent the aspects of life that we control/influence or aspects that control/influence us.

The cards shows pentacles stacked together like a team. However, the center one appears to be insulated and isolated. The glowing ring around this pentacle match the ones that sit at the topmost position. The pentacles on the left and right don't have these rings at all. The center pentacle seems anxious, embarrassed, and ashamed, even though it shines as brightly as the top ones. The figure as a whole looks like a flower ready to bloom. Will the center pentacle burst through?

The center pentacle here seems to represents how I feel among my peers. I have the skills and knowledge to stand among the best, but my self-disparaging feelings are holding me back and isolating me from the others as well as prevent my growth. My potential is there, it's just unrealized.

the way forward: the hanged man

The Hanged Man can mean isolation, new perspectives, epiphany, suffering alone, or marching to the beat of your own drum. It's a lonely card that shows both pain and release.

This card shows a man hanging inverted with his feet deeply embedded in the trunk of a tree. I am reminded of a cocoon of a caterpillar, waiting to emerge as a butterfly. The man appears to be holding a bottle close to his heart, which pours out into the world. There are also some droplets falling from his hands; they seem like blood--holding the bottle hurts him somehow. Despite all this, this card seems peaceful. The man is enduring a difficult time right now, but he's becoming stronger as a result of it. Good things will happen when he finally "blooms" from the tree.

This card seems to tell me that my troubles are temporary. I feel pain in this situation because I care about it a lot. The bottle I hold to my heart is overflowing, but it makes my hands bleed. This seems to be the two sides of passion. But I should give myself some grace and be patient as well. This is a growing pain. I feel frustrated because I know where I want to be, but I'm just not there yet. This card and Five of Pentacles show potential that will soon burst forward. For now, I should find peace with my feelings.