"I do not at all understand the mystery of grace--only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us." --Anne Lamott
I choose my Tarot of the Week randomly, so it is absolutely fascinating to follow last week's Four of Pentacles with the Five this week, because there is an arc in the Pentacles that is fascinating and intricate. Last week's Four of Pentacles showed a rich man hoarding his wealth, closing his heart chakra to others, his earth star chakra to Mother Earth and the connections we feel to all living beings, and the Crown Chakra off to the Divine. The Four of Pentacles is often called the Miser card, and the Five is called the Poverty card, but far more than just poverty is happening in this scene.
e see two people, a man and woman, in rags. Walking through the snow barefoot, sick, injured. They are in a desperate place. And behind them a stained glass window shines with Five Pentacles, forming an anchor. Around the anchor are grapes and leaves, symbols of fertility and abundance. Their plight is desperate and they are clearly destitute, suffering, in need.
So much can be said about these two. One opinion I have come to with this card is that these two are a couple, and that will come into play in a bit. When I say there is an arc in the Pentacles, what I mean is that the themes build and morph into important lessons around money, possessions, and family. We start with the Ace, which is the divine financial push, the new beginning with money. In the Two, you see the balance of home and career, money and spirituality, come into the equation. The Three deals with working hard, finding investors and following your dream. The Four deals with achieving financial success and becoming possessive, closed off and filled with fear of losing the money. The Five is the fear realized. This is the rock bottom.
What does that mean? I love J.K. Rowling's quite--Rock Bottom is the solid foundation in which I built my life. And this is the opportunity that the Five offers to its recipient. ives in the Tarot have a reputation as being rather, ahem, challenging. They are cards of upheaval, action, and change. But with everything in the Tarot, the good can hinder and the bad opens the door to real transformation and spiritual growth. It is not epitomized more clearly than in the Five of Pentacles. The illumination in this card, the anchor here, is the church. It will give these people a place to stay, some bread, heal their wounds. But their largest wounds are their spiritual wounds, and this card acknowledges this spiritual loss.
I don't think it is any mystery why this card comes after the Miser card. Tarot pushes us toward a spiritual life. We serve, love, give, purify, and then realize. Grace in given in each of the Aces. We see it symbolized in this hand coming from the sky, handing us the gifts of that suit. As we travel through the suit, we squander it. Our ego becomes enmeshed in it, around it, because of it. These are the human lessons we are here to learn. Tarot consistently and gently reminds you to refocus on the spiritual. If we lose the spiritual, we lose the gift.
This card comes when we face sickness, financial worries, addiction, loss, injury and other suffering that befalls us. If we recently lost a job or money stream, this can appear as the fear of poverty. It is a card of Lack. Lack of food. Lack of health. Lack of Job. I said earlier that we have to think of these two as a couple, because the idea of sickness and in health, richer or poorer, are very strong undertones here. This can be something affecting you or your partner, or your children. The most important part of this loss, as I said earlier, is the spiritual loss. So, this card asks you to reprioritize. Find your spiritual center. Where is the place that calms you? What spiritual teacher, what church or spiritual center? What is the prayer, the thought, the meditation? Go to it. Recenter. While your injuries will take time to heal, you can soothe the spiritual pain first.
You may pull this card if you are ready to leave your marriage because of finances or sickness. Or if you have left a marriage and holding onto guilt because of this outdated idea. It is a reminder that this is playing into your subconscious. Tarot doesn't make any judgments about that, it just reminds you of these vows and how they are playing in your life.
Whatever your fears are with the Poverty card, it is important to remember that this card offers so much promise and optimism. Spirit is reminding you of your spiritual center, and the attachments you have to material wealth. Spirit wants to shelter you, care for you, heal you, and if you humble yourself before Spirit, the fear will leave, the feeling of lack will also leave. Reversed, this card is a validation of the hardships and suffering you once faced and congratulating you on finding your spiritual center again.
Let me know what you think in the comments, and happy reading, loves.