The 78 Cards
Four of Pentacles
Minor Arcana, the suit of Pentacles, the Four. Element: earth.
Holding on tight. Security that can turn into a grip.
The picture
A man wearing a crown sits with four pentacles. One is balanced on top of his crown, one is clutched to his chest with both arms, and one lies under each of his feet. A city of roofs and towers spreads out behind him.
Upright
Four is stability and foundations, and sometimes standing still. In Pentacles that is savings, a paid off home, a steady income, holding on to what you have worked for. Up to a point this is healthy. A buffer in the bank lets you sleep at night.
Now look at how he holds them. He cannot lift a foot without letting a coin go. His arms are locked around one, and his head is busy balancing another. Everything he owns is keeping him in place. The whole city, full of people and trade, sits at his back.
So the card asks a simple question. Is what you hold keeping you safe, or keeping you stuck? It can be about money, and it can just as easily be about control, a job, a house or an old habit. Some people hold a grudge in exactly this way.
Reversed
Reversed, I read this as too much or too little. Too much is the grip tightening into fear: hoarding, penny pinching, controlling every dollar and every person. Too little is the other end: the saving stops, and money runs out as fast as it comes in. Sometimes too little comes as a relief, a long held grip finally easing.
To tell which, look at your hands. If they are clenched, it is too much. If they are empty and you are not sure where it all went, it is too little.
When it turns up
What are you holding so tightly that you cannot move?
If you would like the cards read against your own chart, my readings are here.
Related pages
The Number 4
The 78 Cards
Every card in the deck, upright and reversed.
See every page and post in the Contents.
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