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Welcome to part 13 of my 40 part series Minor Arcana Meanings Deep Dives – each week or so we’ll hang out with ONE Tarot card and dive deeply into it’s symbols, meanings and messages – I’ll even give you some journalling questions to help you contemplate and connect with each card. This is similar to my Major Arcana Meanings Deep Dive series and my Meet the Court Cards series.
Today we’re diving into the Four of Pentacles – a card that’s all about conserving, hoarding resources and feeling like you just can’t relax and be footloose and fancy free in the way you secretly want to.
Suit = Pentacles
Element = Earth (physical and material stuff, home, body, money, health, sex, food)
Number 4 – stability, containment, stillness, rest, lack, stagnancy
Keywords:
Conserving, contracting, hoarding, not enough resources, miserly, cheap
Meaning (Upright):
The Four of Pentacles is about trying to hold onto what you’ve got for fear it might disappear overnight. This creates tension and ensures you stay firmly within your comfort zone, suffocating any forms of self expression. The figure on the Four of Pentacles is guarded and closed off, his heart blocked by a giant pentacle. He’s also stuck – he can’t move lest the pentacle balanced on his head falls off and if he walks away, he’s leaving those two big pentacles on the floor!
Sometimes, the Four of Pentacles is the result of reading your environment as not being a safe space to expand into. Self expression, connecting authentically with others and sharing freely feel unwise at this time.
Other times, this card illustrates a more stingy, self serving approach to life, where you might be anticipating a lack of resources and feel like you need to start hoarding stuff, regardless of how that effects others.
Symbols:
City in the background – has his back to the city (doesn’t care how his actions effect others, feels disconnected from community)
Four pentacles:
- one balanced on his head = feels he cannot move or it will fall, needs to stay still for things to stay balanced
- two under his feet = needing to keep both feet on the ground (or you’ll lose money!), cannot walk away from something for fear of losing money
- one that he’s holding with both arms almost like a steering wheel = blocks his heart and ability to feel and connect with others.
Crown and concrete thrown = he has status and wealth but it is not comfortable
Black shall/robe = protective, black is a protective colour
Blank, cloudless sky = no inspiration, lack of imagination, bleakness
Advice & Messages
The Four of Pentacles encourages you to be conservative in how you use your resources of money, time and energy and it gives you the very practical advice of saving your money and watching your spending.
BUT! If you’re already doing this and you get this card, it could be telling you to avoid hoarding to the extreme or being ridiculously cheap. If you find yourself booking the 5am flight to save $12, then perhaps you’re taking this whole “saving money” thing a bit too far.
If you want to get out of your comfort zone, focus on creating safety BEFORE branching out and expressing yourself. Try using the affirmation “I HAVE enough, I AM enough, it is SAFE for me to grow and expand.”
Reversed
If the Four of Pentacles appears reversed, it can show that you’re having trouble saving money or engaging in frivolous spending.
Alternatively, a reversed Four of Pentacles can indicate that you’re hoarding in an unproductive way, like overbuying on toilet paper but not water or stockpiling wine but not canned goods.
Four of Pentacles reversed also suggests you could be allowing your anxiety and need for safety to totally hinder your progress in life and stop you from expanding, growing and expressing yourself.
Journalling Questions:
♥ How is this card showing up in your life right now?
♥ Where are you anticipating a future lack?
♥ Where do you need to start conserving your resources (money, time, energy)?
♥ How can you create a sense of safety and support so you can really express yourself and blossom?
Join me next time…
Join me next time as I dive into the Four of Swords – the card that shows us what is possible when we finally get all the voices in our head to shut up…. Hop on my mailing list so you won’t miss out!
***Grab your FREE Minor Arcana Cheatsheet right HERE!***
You may also enjoy…
Court Card Tarot Meanings
Tarot Meanings Deep Dive series (Major Arcana)
Minor Arcana Tarot Meanings