Grip Dellabonte
Mom was visiting for a week so I didn't have much free time to post. But here we go...
Okay. The fours look like they're going to give us a break and be a bit easier to read than the threes were.
Four of Wands: In this card we have two young men, probably from somebody's court, preparing to put two large wooden stakes into the ground. Two other stakes have already been put into place behind them. The stakes that are in front each have a light colored tattered banner attached to them. They are blowing slightly in the breeze.
In between the four stakes is what appears to be an orange colored shield or coat-of-arms painted with green fleur de lys. Maybe this will be hung from the center of the four posts when the young men have finished the groundwork.
They appear to be in light conversation. They are not straining in their work; they seem to be relaxed.
The posts each have growth still coming from them, so they probably were freshly cut.
This card could represent a homecoming, reunion, maybe a wedding. But a decoration for a happy occasion is being undertaken.
Four of Cups: Well, in this card we have a young flower boy (honeysuckle?) looking off in the distance to his right. He has a circular display of blossoms on his back. He is barechested, though he has a short skirt of long-petalled flowers at his waist (they are white and dark pink fronds of some sort, actually...). He is barefooted and standing on his tiptoes. He has golden ringlets of hair around his face.
There is a young girl dressed in green leaves. The leaves slip on her arms and possibly cover her chest but her back is bare. She then becomes a vine plant from her hips down. Judging by the flower that acts as a hat, and the others coming off the vine she may be a morning glory. But she's different than him. Yet, her vine-y tendrils have curled around his waist as have her own human arms. She is in a kneeling position and is looking up but away from the boy.
They are on a patch of dirt but there is a field beside them and mountains beyond.
There is a bee approaching one of the flowers on the boy's back.
Four cups are above them.
Neither of them are looking at the cups.
The overall tone of this card for me is boredom (him) and possible addiction (her).
That pretty much is consistent with the traditional meaning.
I would go further to say that the boy is looking for greener pastures.They are both on dry ground so there doesn't appear to be any reason to pursue anything fruitful there.
She is a "clinging vine". That probably is quite stifling for him but she doesn't look like she can let him go.
She is on her knees in a beseeching position but his thoughts are turned elsewhere.
The bee in the card could suggest he has already attracted some attention from other quarters.
If this card were to come up in a reading, I think I would suggest a number of possible things: move on - you're bored. Be careful that the thing you're hanging on to is still good for you. There may be something or someone else in the picture. Can it be you two have too many differences? Are you so bored with things that you are ignoring or denying something that is trying to get your attention?
Four of Swords: This card shows three people languishing in the hot sun. There are two ladies reclining on the leaves of another trumpet like yellow flower. There is a third person of unknown gender dozing underneath the plant. The ladies' legs are seen peeking out of their form-fitting gowns. They look hot! And I mean in the can't-escape-the-sun way. There's nothing else they can do but languish until the day cools off.
The plant is in dirt, so therefore they are in dirt. But there is a grassy hill beside them.
The sun is peeking over the horizon. Maybe it is going down instead of coming up because they seem too drained for it to be the first blush of the morning!
The two women are even looking toward the sun as if wanting to help it go down.
There are four swords above their heads alternating going in opposite directions.
This is the card of rest, or taking a break from things and I think it gets that point across really well.
Four of Pentacles: Here is a well-heeled Victorian man holding a set of golden weighing scales in his left hand and a golden scoop full of coins in his right.
There are three coins over his head and one underneath the scales. There is a crest beside him to his right. Underneath him is a pile of coins, a wooden mallet, and what looks like a grey metal coin stamp.
The scales are not balanced.
I would say off the cuff that this person is in the business of making money. That's where all their energy goes. They are alone. There is no one beside them.
He looks quite pleased with the way the scale is balancing for some reason. But he needs to put more gold in the one side to balance out with the weights.
I would say that this card represents someone who has worked hard for what they've earned. They have quite a nice savings built up. It is time to save that for the future when it is needed. I think this person knows the value of his savings.
But one has to be careful not to stagnate, and become too miserly. Hoarding is not good. Money eventually needs to be put back into circulation in order to keep growth healthy.
So, in a reading this would seem to be a good card depending where it was in a layout. It could indicate that someone has done some good steady building of material wealth, but now might need to sit on it for a while and not spend it too fast.
Okay. The fours look like they're going to give us a break and be a bit easier to read than the threes were.
Four of Wands: In this card we have two young men, probably from somebody's court, preparing to put two large wooden stakes into the ground. Two other stakes have already been put into place behind them. The stakes that are in front each have a light colored tattered banner attached to them. They are blowing slightly in the breeze.
In between the four stakes is what appears to be an orange colored shield or coat-of-arms painted with green fleur de lys. Maybe this will be hung from the center of the four posts when the young men have finished the groundwork.
They appear to be in light conversation. They are not straining in their work; they seem to be relaxed.
The posts each have growth still coming from them, so they probably were freshly cut.
This card could represent a homecoming, reunion, maybe a wedding. But a decoration for a happy occasion is being undertaken.
Four of Cups: Well, in this card we have a young flower boy (honeysuckle?) looking off in the distance to his right. He has a circular display of blossoms on his back. He is barechested, though he has a short skirt of long-petalled flowers at his waist (they are white and dark pink fronds of some sort, actually...). He is barefooted and standing on his tiptoes. He has golden ringlets of hair around his face.
There is a young girl dressed in green leaves. The leaves slip on her arms and possibly cover her chest but her back is bare. She then becomes a vine plant from her hips down. Judging by the flower that acts as a hat, and the others coming off the vine she may be a morning glory. But she's different than him. Yet, her vine-y tendrils have curled around his waist as have her own human arms. She is in a kneeling position and is looking up but away from the boy.
They are on a patch of dirt but there is a field beside them and mountains beyond.
There is a bee approaching one of the flowers on the boy's back.
Four cups are above them.
Neither of them are looking at the cups.
The overall tone of this card for me is boredom (him) and possible addiction (her).
That pretty much is consistent with the traditional meaning.
I would go further to say that the boy is looking for greener pastures.They are both on dry ground so there doesn't appear to be any reason to pursue anything fruitful there.
She is a "clinging vine". That probably is quite stifling for him but she doesn't look like she can let him go.
She is on her knees in a beseeching position but his thoughts are turned elsewhere.
The bee in the card could suggest he has already attracted some attention from other quarters.
If this card were to come up in a reading, I think I would suggest a number of possible things: move on - you're bored. Be careful that the thing you're hanging on to is still good for you. There may be something or someone else in the picture. Can it be you two have too many differences? Are you so bored with things that you are ignoring or denying something that is trying to get your attention?
Four of Swords: This card shows three people languishing in the hot sun. There are two ladies reclining on the leaves of another trumpet like yellow flower. There is a third person of unknown gender dozing underneath the plant. The ladies' legs are seen peeking out of their form-fitting gowns. They look hot! And I mean in the can't-escape-the-sun way. There's nothing else they can do but languish until the day cools off.
The plant is in dirt, so therefore they are in dirt. But there is a grassy hill beside them.
The sun is peeking over the horizon. Maybe it is going down instead of coming up because they seem too drained for it to be the first blush of the morning!
The two women are even looking toward the sun as if wanting to help it go down.
There are four swords above their heads alternating going in opposite directions.
This is the card of rest, or taking a break from things and I think it gets that point across really well.
Four of Pentacles: Here is a well-heeled Victorian man holding a set of golden weighing scales in his left hand and a golden scoop full of coins in his right.
There are three coins over his head and one underneath the scales. There is a crest beside him to his right. Underneath him is a pile of coins, a wooden mallet, and what looks like a grey metal coin stamp.
The scales are not balanced.
I would say off the cuff that this person is in the business of making money. That's where all their energy goes. They are alone. There is no one beside them.
He looks quite pleased with the way the scale is balancing for some reason. But he needs to put more gold in the one side to balance out with the weights.
I would say that this card represents someone who has worked hard for what they've earned. They have quite a nice savings built up. It is time to save that for the future when it is needed. I think this person knows the value of his savings.
But one has to be careful not to stagnate, and become too miserly. Hoarding is not good. Money eventually needs to be put back into circulation in order to keep growth healthy.
So, in a reading this would seem to be a good card depending where it was in a layout. It could indicate that someone has done some good steady building of material wealth, but now might need to sit on it for a while and not spend it too fast.
Keavy