Step 8, Part One – 5 of Pentacles, Whispering Tarot
I can’t find an image to link to, so I’ll describe the card.
There are two figures on a stone paved walk or road, or perhaps a courtyard, in front of a stone building. The building has a 3-step stoop leading up to the threshold. The stones of the building, the steps, and on the ground are all white. The doorway to the building is arched with a sturdy wooden door fitted with iron hardware. On either side of the door are two similarly shaped windows (tall, arched), shuttered with wooden shutters.
A figure in a blue dress holds the door ajar and looks out at the two figures in front of the building. One of the two figures in the foreground is an older woman in an orange dress and red cowl which she wears on the back of her head and which drapes over her shoulders; she carries a handbag. The other is a boy whose head and left leg and foot are bandaged. His green tunic is patched; he wears leggings and a black boot. He leans on one crutch. He and the old woman have an arm around each other.
This is a different image to the RWS and Robin Wood, so as I looked at those and considered MKGs suggested metaphors, I looked at the Whispering Tarot card alongside them. Some of the thoughts I had at that time carried through in my thought processes as I did exercise 8:1, so I will put my short list of those, with commentary, here.
*out in the cold: winter white (the dominance of the white background, building and paving stones)
*walking wounded: the figures on this card are not walking, but in order to walk one will use his crutch; his leg, foot and his head are bandaged
*no rest for the weary: the figures in the foreground do not look weary, however the woman in the doorway looks indecisive, certainly not energetic; maybe the building houses a shelter or a soup kitchen, and she is meant to have this time off – should she extend herself and invite them in anyway?
*world weary: the woman in the doorway thinks, “They just keep coming. My work is never finished.”
*beggars can’t be choosers: the woman might use a judgmental or remonstrating tone. (Whereas the RWS or RWood figures might be resigned or philosophical about this.)
X – looking for shelter: aside from my thoughts above, this card really doesn’t suggest looking for shelter to me. I did hear the Stones’ Gimme Shelter in my head as I read this, which works nicely for RWS.
A storm is threatening my very life today
If I don’t get some shelter, I’m gonna fade away
*support in adversity: at first look, I saw this building as a private home, so the woman in the doorway might be looking out to see if her neighbors are okay; with the soup kitchen or shelter idea, this could be institutional or governmental charity support in adversity
*within a stone’s throw (as pictured)
*for better or worse…. ’til death do us part: here the boy and older woman could be grandson/grandmother; the vow works familial-y, but the age difference gives it a different feeling!
*cold comfort: doorway woman doesn’t look like a warm, fuzzy comforter to me; I see her offering with reservations, not truly open-hearted
Exercise 8:1
1) My metaphors for the Whispering Tarot 5P
* - a heart of stone
* - a hand-out (the woman in the doorway has one hand on the outside handle)
* - lend a hand
* - crack in the wall (door is “cracked” open)
* - open your heart/open hearted
* - stand on your own two feet (because of the crutch and leaning on older woman)
* - on the doorstep/at the threshold
Also I was struck by the age metaphors in the colors of the foreground figures’ clothing: grandmother in orange and red – sunset, grandson in springtime green. The woman in the door is in blue, a more wintry color.
2) I used Dave’s suggestion to look to the keywords in the appendices for prompts.
My metaphors for 5s:
X - crisis: the Chinese ideogram that is meant to stand for both crisis and opportunity
X - instability: log rolling
* - adaptation: a leopard changing its spots (and the pentacles look like spots)
My metaphors for pentacles:
* - hex signs
* -money: doesn’t grow on trees
* - welcoming: My door is always open. Mi casa, su casa.
3) My metaphor shortlist – see above.
* - means they are on my short list
X – means they are not