In Latin, spes is the noun “hope”. It names a state of orientation toward a future good. From this noun also comes the verb sperare. The verb means “to have hope”, “to trust”, and “to wait for with expectation”. The ideas of hoping and waiting belong to the same linguistic and conceptual field. One word names the condition and the other names the action that proceeds from that condition. When someone sperat (waits), they remain aligned with what is anticipated. Time passes, but the orientation remains.
The motto Spes mea in Deo est, “my hope is in God”, expresses this structure with precision. Hope appears as something placed, anchored, and sustained. It describes a stable axis rather than a passing emotion. The phrase implies duration. Hope continues while the fulfilment has not yet manifested. The Latin language presents hope as a form of active endurance. To hope means to stand in relation to what is awaited and to persist in that relation.
The 8 of Pentacles in Tarot expresses this dynamic. In the decanological tradition, it corresponds to the Sun in Virgo. It’s technical prudence, bound to continuous labour and progressive refinement. The classical image shows an artisan patiently engraving coins or discs, focused on detail and on the repetition of the gesture.
As a mutable earth sign, Virgo relates to analysis and meticulous work. It rules the concrete organisation of matter. The Sun, principle of vitality and intellect, when in Virgo, is light applied to structure. Solar vitality warms and sustains processes that require time. The heat allows the seed to develop according to its own rhythm.
The star Spica, alpha of the constellation Virgo, reinforces this. Spica represents the ear of wheat held by the Virgin. The ear is the result of a complete cycle of cultivation that culminates in the end of the summer. Preparation of the soil, sowing, growth, maturation. Invisible labour precedes visible harvest. In this way, sperare takes form. To wait and to hope with expectation by remaining aligned with the act.
Although the work in this card takes place in the realm of Matter (Pentacles), its guiding principle is turned upward, toward intellect, toward the Nous, signified by the Sun. The material labour requires duration, delay, and the time required for form to ripen. We wait but we hope too, just as Latin unites sperare and spes. The fruits in this card are material, but they are illuminated by a higher principle from above.
Kύριε ελέησον