5 of pentacles Morgan Greer

[Edward Tarot Hands]

The five of pentacles from the Morgan Greer tarot so very different that the RWS... any ideas of it's meaning

To me the characters are very reminiscent of The Virgin Mary holding Jesus, except in this 'Jesus' is an adult, especially that he seems to be bandaged in the same places where Jesus received his wounds, on the wrists and the head. Also the fifth pentacle is behind 'Mary's' head like a halo.
I interpret it as suffering spiritually for material things or an endevour the way in the Jesus suffered physically for the sins of people. I think that the Mary image could signify returning to a childlike state where life is taken less seriously. The coulour red dominates through the picture (as it does in the Knight of cups before it) maybe signifying that a passion for a material endevour may lead to suffering.
I'm very new to tarot so I would appreciate your ideas
cheers

 

[Sulis]

I don't think it's that different to the RWS version, it's just more of a close up of the 2 people outside in the cold instead of inside the church.
I love the way the stained glass window is in the shape of a pentacle or pentagram and for me, that gives the card more of a message of healing and the way the woman is cradling the injured man also gives that interpretation for me.

I'm not Christian so would never have connected it to The Virgin Mary and Christ but if that works for you then go for it.

To me 5s are about changes, often unexpected and they are usually connected to a lesson or phase of spiritual growth (all the 5s are related to The Hierophant).. I think of them as blessing in disguise cards.. At the time they can seem awful but with hindsight, they've jolted us out of the stagnation of the 4s and allowed us to grow and learn.
The 5 of Pentacles is about changes in the material or physical realm so they can be about illness, doing without something, poverty, physical loss etc.

Edited to add a picture of the card.

 

[Edward Tarot Hands]

I'm not Christian so would never have connected it to The Virgin Mary and Christ but if that works for you then go for it.

Thanks for your words. I'm not a Christian either it just reminded me of that famous pose of Mary holding Baby Jesus. It always seemed to me that they are inside a church I never thought that maybe they are outside (I don't have a RWS deck). Maybe then it could symbolise the modern churches failure to provide comfort???
I haven't looked closely at the colours but they must be important, especially the the woman's clothes, because as far as I know the creators of the deck followed Case's ideas concerning colour uses.

Anyway
Cheers

 

[Amanda]

I believe an interpretation that Anthony Louis gives for this card is something along the lines of scarcity being a virtuous thing, which seems to go along with the impression you are getting from the art.

 

[Grizabella]

When determining what a card means by itself, I start with the traditional RWS meaning for that card. It doesn't matter what deck I'm using. And then from there I look for clues in the image on the card as to what else the card can mean.

In this instance, the image on this card in the Morgan Greer shows two very sad and needy people. The Pentacle in the window behind them gives me the impression that this place they've come to is just the bottom line---they don't have the resources to get any other help so they turn to a spiritual institution for their solution. Pentacles are very down-to-earth cards and that's why I say the image shows me that this is their last resort.

We can't tell whether they've gotten help, been denied help or even been inside to speak with someone in a helping position, so we'd be getting helpful input from all the other cards around this one in a spread.