4 of Pentacles

Keywords & phrases

• Prudence
• Financial/material stability
• Over-cautiousness
• Closed-off
• Paranoia
• Jealousy
• Possessive behaviour
• Miserliness
• Stagnation
• Blocked energy

First impressions

There is not much joy to be seen in this card – rather ugly in fact. There is something clinging and a little menacing about it. I can’t image wanting to be in the grasps of this man.

What is happening in the card?

The story seems perfectly clear. A rich, and perhaps powerful man, sits alone a distance away from the rest of city life. He wears some kind of crown topped with a gold coin. He holds down two more coins with his feet and the fourth, his last coin, he keeps close to his heart. His watchful gaze is a stare directly into the eyes of anyone approaching as if silently daring them to try to take what is his.

Although he doesn’t look very physically powerful, he looks like he would go to great lengths to protect what is his.

He doesn’t look comfortable in this pose. Even the chair doesn’t look comfortable. But it seems that he cannot move as to do so might require him to loosen his grip on the coins.

Here is a man who has done well to accumulate a great deal and he’s going to protect it. But at what costs to himself and others?

How can we relate to this card?

There are times in life when we hold on too tight to people and things. And we also like to hold on to power once we have it. By doing so we are blocking the energy of exchange – the flow of love, energy and the transformative power of money.

Money is essentially energy made material and can be a power for good if used and directed with wisdom, love and compassion. On the other hand, we know it to be the root of much evil in this world in the small lives of everyday people as well as on a global scale.

This card challenges us to be better and to do better as we manage our relationships with money, things and the people in our lives. To approach life with an open heart to ensure the free flow of energy.

It also prompts us to examine and question the distribution of wealth and power in our society and ask ourselves where we sit within that dymanic, and what we can do, personally and within the community, to redress the balance for those who hold the least of it.

Other associations

Tree of life:
4th Sephira of Chesed – Mercy and the flow of lovingkindness – in the realm of Assiyah – the world of manifestation and the senses.

Thoth:
Power, the Sun in Capricorn

Major Arcana:
Associated with The Emperor – Key number 4

Message & affirmations

Today, I know the world to be a truly and endlessly abundant place and I am ready, open and willing to accept more love, light and energy into my life. I wish good things for others as I do myself and the energy that I put out there is returned to me multiplied. 

My personal experiences of this card

I don’t know exactly what this man has draped around him and I hadn’t really considered it, or even really noticed it, until it came to writing this page, but it seems dark. Is it a fur trim to his robes or chains holding him where he is?

This card reminds me that while it is a good thing to work towards achieving financial security – it is without doubt a serious responsibility that I have to myself and my child – the accumulation of wealth and material things is not the end itself.

The end game is the happiness and contentment that the security brings. If I am not spending my time, my energy and my money well, on the things and the people that matter, then what is the point of it all?!

On an emotional level, I also know only too well the damage that it does to a relationship when one or both parties shut down. The lines of communication are blocked and the intimacy is gone. I understand why it happens, we harbour pain and guard our hearts against more of the same. 

Events, situations & readings

In a work/career/business/finance spread:
Could you be holding on too tight to money and material possessions? Are you being too cautious with your ideas?

In a relationship spread:
Are you feeling insecure in a relationship and is that causing you be clinging or controlling? If you love someone set them free.

Perhaps, insecurity is causing you to hold on too tight to your feelings in and attempt to protect your heart. Only by opening your heart can you experience the full ‘value’ in a relationship – the exchange of energy, the love.

People & interaction with other cards

When the 4 of Pentacles appears in a reading with the associated card from the Major Arcana we see the darker, more controlling or even tyrannical side of The Emperor emerge. Are you in the grip of a controlling relationship?

With the 6 of Pentacles, this card is surely a calling to look for opportunities to help others and consider reciprocity and balance in our dealings with others.

The Ace of Cups and the Queen of Cups encourages us to open our hearts to each other and to possibility in our relationships. The Ace of Swords and the Queen of Swords requires us to open the lines of communication and be honest when we are emotionally guarded.

Questions, prompts & insights

When you are in ‘lacking’ state, how can you focus on abundance rather than scarcity?

Where can you offer help and comfort to those who need it?

Are you closed-off in your relationships? Emotionally guarded? How can you approach with honesty, and an open heart? How can you be more fearless in sharing and communicating your emotions?

Featured decks:
Main image from The Rider Waite Tarot.