Mystical Cats Tarot - Four of Earth (Pentacles)

Onaorkal

An orange and white tabby cat is sitting on the ground with his tail high up. He's staring at us with a piercing look on his face while seemingly guarding a huge pile of various cat toys. The pile is contained inside what looks like an abandoned gazebo. The structure is made of 4 poles topped with a dome, all covered by some climbing plant.
In front of the cat, naked ground with some moss can be seen, while we can see a bit more foliage behind the structure he's guarding. Muddy colors can be seen in the background, the greenish grey areas found on both sides could be trees and in the middle, the sky seems to be a pale greenish blue color.


Colors : Everything in the card seems to be tarnished by a greenish or grey tint.


This card's focus is on the dangers of materialism, i.e obsession over material possessions. ''All the toys in the world are worthless if you forget to play with them.'' Solitude, stress and no pleasure ; is it really worth it? Once you realize you've become like the cat in this card, the author reminds you of better ways to fulfill your needs, like seeking companionship and learning to appreciate again the small pleasures of life.


Symbolism :

Tail straight up : Denotes confidence.

Staring with constricted pupils : Denotes aggressiveness.

Gazebo : Symbolizes protection, shelter.

Number 4 (poles) : Associated with solid foundations, stability and discipline. Could also relate to an absence of movement, inaction.

Dome : Commonly symbolizes heavens or the cosmos (especially when topping a square structure). In our case, it could be showing how this space and the toys inside represent this cat's 'whole world'.

Climbing plant : When interpreted from a positive perspective, climbing plants symbolize fidelity and emotional attachment, but in this case, those overgrown and sad looking branches would represent dependance and obsession.
Also, plants usually symbolize life and growth, but this one doesn't look very lively and shows stagnation, an absence of happiness and a deterioration in the quality of life.

Naked ground : Absence of life or growth. It's interesting to note that plant life is often associated with abundance. Here the ground doesn't seem to be very fertile, yet this cat truly believes he lives in abundance.

Tarnished colors : Symbolize a lack of happiness, enthusiasm and energy, dullness and could be associated with a loss of value, as shiny and lustrous objects are often considered more valuable.