four of pentacles

celticnoodle

I use to always see the four of pentacles as this greedy person who is all about himself first, and still do, really.

however, I also have been thinking about it and wonder if he can also be seen as someone who is so driven for success that he will do anything he can to achieve it. such as take credit for things that others did, if it were to make him look better in a situation. work constantly at achieving whatever the next achievement was for them. never feeling satisfied. whatever achievement they reached, it's never enough. putting success ahead of other things, such as family and well being.

does anyone else agree with this? what are your thoughts about the above?
 

rwcarter

The assumption is that the pentacles that the figure grasps are his own. But they could very easily be someone else's pentacles. So I can see covetousness and taking credit for someone else's work.

Those who doggedly pursue wealth or achievement often do so at the expensive of family and relationships, so that interpretation also fits.

Rodney
 

Marcia959

The best light I shed on the 4 of Pentacles is the prudent use of resources, a 'doing more with less' sense, including coupon clipping, and even recycling to maintain stability. But since Pentacles is not always about the coins, I also see it as holding on tightly to what you have (the inner 2 year old screaming, Mine! Mine! Mine!).

Best wishes.
 

Glass Owl

celticnoodle said:
I use to always see the four of pentacles as this greedy person who is all about himself first, and still do, really.
I have seen the 4 of Pents turn up for possessiveness. Reminds me of Golllum from The Lord Of Rings. "He wants the precious. Always he is looking for it. And the precious is wanting to go back to him... But we mustn't let him have it."

I remember a reading once where a 4 of Pentacles/ 9 of Cups combo highlighted the fact that the individual was very prideful and smug about his possessions and happy about not sharing. Self-absorbed and materialistic.
 

hopena

I've had the Four of Pentacles show up with the Two of Cups, when asking what I needed to know about someone. We hadn't been in touch, after fighting, and I was feeling both a resurge in anger and butterflies (which usually preceded his making contact under similar circumstances). Sure enough, he contacted me the following afternoon, in a way that was testing the waters.

He would always act as though he didn't need anyone, but he kept coming back. The good side of that is an ego boost (he told me I wasn't that easy to leave), The bad side is that he's hanging on for some reason, but distancing himself at times, which messed with my head. I finally found something out that he'd hidden from me, and I cut contact.
 

hopena

I might also see the card as my sister when she was younger: she always kept her things nice, and was wary of sharing, in case something was damaged. She's more generous now, but looking back, I can see that she was probably right to do that (considering how clumsy and scattered I could be).
 

celticnoodle

thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts as well on this card.
I'm sort of confined to the house and resting, so playing with the tarot and just stopped at the 4 of pentacles thinking. glad I posted my thoughts and had you all share yours as well. :)

hopena, your post regarding the guy you know. I also wonder if the 4 of pentacles and 2 of cups in that particular reading would suggest he could become very possessive of you or even wanting to be in charge as to how the relationship would be.

as for your sister, I had one like that too, but I never even thought of the 4 of pentacles in this way. it would fit though, yes.

I also had a sister who did the same thing with her toys. I remember her beloved china tea set that she never even took out of the box to play with--but instead kept it up high on the shelf of our closet.

one day, when she finally started school and was gone, I climbed up on a chair and some books stacked on the chair--and could juuuusssst about reeaaachhh it!

but, then a tower card moment happened. :eek:
I slipped, and fell and so did the box of the china tea set, breaking most of the items so carefully packed inside. :(

no wonder she always hid her toys and we only played with mine. :p
 

Baroli

Interesting. Depending on where the 4 of pents shows up in a spread or reading, I view it differently. Yes, he's miser dude unwilling to give up what he has or unwilling to share. But what if we looked at pentacles as earth and well being. Perhaps this guy is not ready to reveal what he truly wants and hides behind that big shield of money? His true self is being shielded. Or maybe he's not ready to share all that he has within himself.

Just a thought,......
 

celticnoodle

Baroli said:
Interesting. Depending on where the 4 of pents shows up in a spread or reading, I view it differently. Yes, he's miser dude unwilling to give up what he has or unwilling to share. But what if we looked at pentacles as earth and well being. Perhaps this guy is not ready to reveal what he truly wants and hides behind that big shield of money? His true self is being shielded. Or maybe he's not ready to share all that he has within himself.

Just a thought,......

hmmm...another interesting thought with the 'well being' part you mention. I wonder if perhaps we can say that this dude is keeping health issues to himself? not letting his family know about a health issue he has. what do you think about this?
 

nisaba

I see this card as showing deep insecurity. I feel sorry for people who have to live clinging onto every little thing - it's as if they are adrift and helpless in the world if they don't have such anchors as wealth or position. to me yes the card is about greed, but greed is usually about insecurity.

(and this insight is timely, given what I will be doing tomorrow!)