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Five of Pentacles

Material Crisis, Loneliness and Hope in the Dark

Five of Pentacles Tarot card

Symbolism and Meaning

The Five of Pentacles is a card that shows hardship, but also blindness to the help that is available. We see two figures (often crippled or ill) struggling through a snowstorm. They are poorly dressed, frozen and exhausted. They pass a beautifully lit church window showing five golden pentacles. Warmth and shelter are right beside them, but they are so focused on their suffering that they do not raise their heads to see them.

The snow symbolises emotional coldness and physical hardship. The church represents spiritual support, charities or help from friends, which is available if only we ask for it. The card speaks of "poverty" that is not only material, but also spiritual - of feeling like an outcast, someone inferior who does not deserve to be saved.

It is a card of crisis, but a temporary one. The Five (the number of change and instability) disturbs the order of the Four in order to force us to grow. Sometimes losing a job or our health is a painful impulse that makes us re-evaluate our lives and look for support where we never looked before.

Interpretation of the Card

In a spread, the Five of Pentacles often heralds a difficult time financially, losing a job, unforeseen expenses or health problems. It may also mean a feeling of isolation in a relationship ("lonely together") or rejection by a group. But the most important message is not to lose faith and not to be afraid to ask for help. In this situation pride is your greatest enemy.

Light (Upright)
  • Financial trouble, poverty, debts
  • Losing a job or a source of income
  • Physical illness, a weakened body
  • A feeling of rejection, isolation and loneliness
  • Worrying about making ends meet
  • Spiritual emptiness and lack of hope
  • The need to turn to others for help
Shadow (Reversed)
  • An improving financial situation, getting out of debt
  • Finding a new job after a period of unemployment
  • A return to health, convalescence
  • Regaining hope and self-belief
  • Receiving support (from friends or institutions)
  • The end of the "lean years"
  • Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel

Card Attributes

Element: Earth (material and physical problems)
Keywords: Poverty, illness, isolation, snow, crisis, help.
Action: Losing, falling ill, worrying, surviving.
Astrology: Mercury in Taurus - concern for material things and a restless mind.
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