An Autumn Tarot Spread for Gratitude, Letting Go, and Renewal

The Seven of Pentacles means it's time to review your progress

In Britain the churches have just celebrated the annual harvest festival, to give thanks for the sustenance and bounty provided for us by the Divine and nature. There have been celebrations for successful harvests since pagan times and similar festivals can be found around the world.And like so many other parts of our lives this has found its way into the Tarot.

It certainly found its way to New Zealand where I grew up. I remember as a child my parents taking to our church some of the vegetables they’d grown to add to the growing pile of produce on the church altar. In America the date was shifted to November and became the Thanksgiving celebration.

I grew up on a farm, and my parents taught me how to grow my own food. I don’t have time for much gardening now, and I miss it. It helps you tune into the cycles of life and death and rebirth as the wheel of the year turns.

And at this time of year, I would think about what had grown well in my vegetable garden, what hadn’t worked, tend the winter plants and dream and plan for the next growing season. Of course most of us live in towns and cities now and are less connected to Nature, but we still respond to the cycles of day and night, and the cycles of the seasons. 

The Seven of Pentacles is about taking time to assess your progress. Your work is paying off, but just check what is working for you and what isn't.

In tarot, this moment of harvest, assessment and review belongs to the Seven of Pentacles. It’s the figure pausing to asses what has grown and what is ready for harvest. There’s pride there, but also reflection: Was it worth it? Did I nurture the right things? And what comes next?

This card invites us to do the same, to pause before the wheel turns again, and to gather and assess the fruits of our own efforts with both gratitude and honesty.

The Seven of Pentacles Meaning: The Pause Between Seasons

In many decks, the Seven of Pentacles shows a gardener surveying their plants. The hard work of planting and tending is done, but the harvest is not yet complete, although it has started. The moment is one of reflection.

Whether you see results or not, the Seven of Pentacles signals that you are making progress. It may be slow, the astrological indicaiton for this card is Saturn in Taurus, but every day your work pays off. It can be helpful now to review your achievements and assess what is working and what isn't.

The shadow side - when reversed the rewards from your efforts are not as good as you thought. You now know to stop investing your time, money or energy in that project. Perhaps there was no long-term planning. Maybe there are money worries. Again, time to evaluate and assess where you should direct your efforts.

There’s both patience and realism here. The Seven of Pentacles honours the work that’s been done

There are times when the only thing to do is wait. The child is growing in the womb, it's a time to be patient and prepare for the miracle of new life.

but also recognises that not everything grows as we planned. Some things need more time; others were a waste of time, and some have given us all we planned for or more.

It’s a good time to take stock, before rushing ahead to what’s next, as the Christmas season approaches

Gratitude and Letting Go in Tarot

Gratitude and letting go may sound like opposites, but in truth, they belong together. Gratitude acknowledges what is and has been; letting go makes space for what is yet to come.

In the natural world, harvest and decay are partners. We gather what nourishes us and allow the rest to return to the soil. Tarot mirrors this cycle beautifully. The Pentacles suit is the story of cultivation and material growth, while cards like Death and The World remind us that all cycles must complete before new life begins.

This is the alchemy of autumn, turning experience into wisdom, and endings into fertile ground. Our challenges and failures eventually became compost for the soul to grow and flower and bear fruit.

A Tarot Spread for your Harvest Reflection

You might like to try this simple spread to mark the turning of the season. It’s designed for reflection, gratitude, and conscious release so you can see what you’ve gathered, and what you’re ready to lay down. Pull the cards in a gentle, meditative mood, perhaps with a candle and a cup of tea.

The Harvest Spread

1. The Seed – What I planted this year - What intention, goal, or dream did I begin with? What did I hope to cultivate?

2. The Growth – What has flourished - What has developed beautifully, either as planned or in unexpected ways? What am I proud of?

3. The Weeds – What took energy but didn’t thrive - What drained me or failed to grow despite my effort? What can I released to make way for the new?

4. The Harvest – What I can gather and be grateful for - What gifts or insights can I take forward? What has matured into something lasting and real?

5. What is still waiting to be harvested – What is still left to complete?

6. The Compost – What needs to return to the soil - What can now be laid to rest, recycled into wisdom for the next cycle?

As you read, notice both what the cards say and how they feel together. Does the energy feel abundant, tired, hopeful, uncertain? The emotional tone can tell you as much as the individual meanings.

Tarot Journaling Prompts for the Harvest Season

What do you want to plant for the coming cycle? Seven of Pentacles from the Light Seers

After the reading, maybe take a few minutes to write about your insights. These prompts can help deepen your reflection:

• What surprised me about this year’s “harvest”?

• What do I feel most grateful for?

• What am I ready to release, without regret?

• How has my definition of success or growth changed since the start of the year?

• What do I want to plant for the coming cycle?

Journalling can deepen the insights you have from any Tarot reading.

The Gift of Stillness: Rest Between Cycles

The Seven of Pentacles reminds us that rest and reflection are essential and not a waste of time. Just as fields need to lie fallow before the next planting, our own spirits need time to absorb, integrate, and breathe.

If we rush from one project or goal to another, we lose the richness of what we’ve already gained, we become more stressed and sometimes we push ourselves to breaking point. This card, and this season, both ask for patience — to linger in the “in-between” space where the old year is fading but the new one hasn’t yet begun. It’s here, in that pause, that gratitude ripens and clarity takes root.

Closing Reflections: Trusting the Seasons of the Soul

As you work with your cards this season, may the Seven of Pentacles remind you that the pauses between effort are as meaningful as the effort itself, that each harvest is not only measured by what you produced, but by how much you’ve grown.

So, take a moment to look over your own garden: the things you’ve tended, the projects that blossomed, the lessons that matured quietly beneath the surface. Give thanks for what has sustained you. Let go of what no longer feeds you. And trust that, in the resting soil of your life, new seeds are already waiting for spring.