DruidCraft - 5 of Pentacles

tarotlyn

:love: Moderators, please move this post if it is in the wrong place.

Since this is about the DruidCraft Tarot Rebirth...
I want to say that mine have "definately" been reborn...I trimmed them and
now I am falling INTO them... they feel very different now.

They were just too large for me to get my hands around...
Now I am ready to jump into to the DruidCraft study group...

What card is next?

Can I talk about the 5 of pentacles? In the RWS symbology, you see the
church panes...

Note: I don't have a deep pagan attachment to these cards, but I see
SO MUCH RWS symbology in them that it is really easy to just read with them...

The woman in this card is standing next to a tree and looks upset because maybe she has
no where else to go?... has been left by someone with no money of her own...
Out on the street...so to speak...

just commenting... what do you all think?
 

coyoteblack

It seems she has lost a lot of physical things and can't even enjoy the sunny day because she feels completely lost.
 

Sophie

5 of Pentacles

In Druidry, Trees are holy - they aren't quite churches, but they are as important to Druids as churches are to Christians. I think (from what I can see) that it's a beech tree - a Celtic symbol of passing into the otherworld - but it could be an oak, signifying both fate and stability.

Unlike the RWS card, where the two cripples struggle on in the snow, seemingly not noticing the church, the woman in this card is leaning on the tree. She has brought the pain of her loss to this holy being, and the tree is her rest and her consolation. She closes her eyes and communes with the tree. Despited losses and pressures, we are never alone and never lost when we are spiritually open to guidance - that's what this card says to me.

In the background, a reference to the story of Cerridwen and Gwion: Cerridwen pursued Gwion under many guises, and he fled under many guises, until she finally captured and ate him (as a hen, while he'd hidden as a grain), and became pregnant with Taliesin through that act. Here, Gwion is a hare and Cerridwen a greyhound. Eventually, we know that Gwion loses: but he returns as Taliesin, the great bard - so we are told that what appears to be a loss is only temporary - we will rally and what we have lost will return to us in another form, stronger and more successful, as Taliesin was stronger and more successful than Gwion.

The colours, too, are not entirely pessimistic. She is wearing a blue cloak, which shows her receptivity and a time of healing; and a golden gown with a beautiful red belt. It seems her basic nature is glowing, energetic and well-balanced. The hare Gwion and the greyhound Cerridwen are racing across a green moor - a herald of spring - and on the bare branches of the tree, we see buds ready to open when spring comes.

The figure cannot see all that, but she is drawing strength and courage from the holy tree, and burying there her pain. This is a pentacles card, a suit that makes the link between the physical and the spiritual: she is finding physical and spiritual solace in the arms of the tree. I have the image of a woman who has escaped her home for a few hours to bring her troubles into the heart of nature, and draw strength from it, before returning stronger and calmer, to face the music.


Numerologically, 5 has several meanings, some of which are contradictory, but which are well represented in this card. The number of humanity, representing the triumph of human will and courage; also, a number of testing and loss. A number of love (Aphrodite's number), and a number of courage.
 

coyoteblack

I thought I read every possable meaning for this card by now but this might be the best I have read yet.
 

Sulis

Fives are also cards of transformation and especially so in the DruidCraft where each five shows a part of the Caridwen Taliesin myth.

In the Five of Pentacles we see the Taliesin after his transformation into a hare being chased by Caridwen in the shape of a grey hound.
http://69.34.198.122/Packs/druidcraft/68.jpg
He is about to be caught and so will have to transform again, showing that it is often stress and change that makes us grow and transform.
 

geministar

Fudugazi, thank you for posting about this card. I really enjoyed reading it and it has deepened my understanding of the druids and of this card in particular.
 

MissCW

I agree, great explanation. How much do I love the Druidcraft and why didnt I buy it so much sooner?

One question I have with this card, obviously the woman is this card is feeling loss and upset as you can see. Would you say she is bringing it out, or keeping it to herself?

Although she is out in the open, it still looks and feels a private moment for me.
 

tarot4fun

Not disregarding the story of Ceridwen Taliesin~ just putting it aside momentarily to look only at the image~~

I see the portrait of suffering and loss in a young woman being confronted with the reality of life.

The nature of dogs is to chase and the nature of the rabbit is to run for it's life~
Sometimes sad things just happen.

Good things happen to bad people ~and~ Bad things happen to good people. But who are we to judge, things happen, life goes on ... a hungry dog will find a meal.

Just a thought~
Suz :heart:
 

geministar

That is a good point too Suz :)

MissCW, I feel she is keeping this sadness/loss to herself. She has gone somewhere private to her, to deal with her thoughts alone.
 

Sophie

Very good point Suz!

I feel she is sharing her feelings with the Tree - her living church. Those of us who have close connections with trees know that we are never alone close to a tree, and that the physical contact of a tree is very consoling. (I discovered as a very little girl that trees have that gift. They are friendly and capable of unconditional love to all those that seek them out).


Sulis - you're absolutely right about the number 5 and transformation - something I was struggling to express. Through loss we are renewed. And because this is a Druid deck, we are renewed, too, thanks to the spiritual help of trees.