Four of Pentacles
holding tight · security · possessiveness · a closed fist
Card art: Pamela Colman Smith, 1909, for A. E. Waite. Public domain.
The suit of Pentacles
In a few words
- holding tight
- security
- possessiveness
- a closed fist
A figure clutching four coins, one under each foot. Security kept by holding on; safe, and a little stuck.
Upright
- Everything
- A figure clutching four coins, one under each foot. Security kept by holding on; safe, and a little stuck.
- Love
- Possessiveness, or a fear of losing the other. Love held too tight goes numb.
- Work
- Guarding your position, your ideas, your budget. Stability, at the cost of growth.
- Money
- Saving, holding, refusing risk. Prudent now; miserly if it goes on.
- Myself
- Control feels safe. Ask what it is costing you.
The surety of possessions, cleaving to that which one has, gift, legacy, inheritance.The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), p. 274
Reversed
- Everything
- The grip loosens. Generosity, or a loss that teaches; sometimes carelessness.
- Love
- Letting the other person breathe. Or a jealousy that finally breaks.
- Work
- Sharing, delegating, spending on growth. Or losing control of the budget.
- Money
- Spending freely again, for good or ill. Find the middle.
- Myself
- Open hands. Some things come only when you stop clutching.
Suspense, delay, opposition.The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), p. 274
The card, as Waite described it
A crowned figure, having a pentacle over his crown, clasps another with hands and arms; two pentacles are under his feet. He holds to that which he has.The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), p. 274
The plain-word meanings on this page were written for ShreeJyoti and are still under review.