Bohemian Gothic Tarot
FIVE OF PENTACLES
Lighter or more conventional meanings
Losing your domestic security * Falling on hard times * Financial or material troubles - Love prevails even in times of dire hardship.
Darker, shadow or more hidden meanings
Getting your priorities wrong at a difficult time, forgetting to care for those around you * Your arrogance and pride prevent you from seeking help when it's needed * Preferring to suffer than to admit you need help.A woman walks past a church at the steps of which a flock of crows is gathered. She looks dignified, almost stately, her head held high. In her right arm she carries a baby, while a small girl grips firmly on to her left hand. The Five of Pentacles is about need and want. It usually indicates a period of financial difficulty, when you struggle to pay for basic necessities and are caught up in problems about money and practicalities like accommodation and employment. It's in many ways a miserable card to see in a spread and some people dread its appearance. However, it's not all doom and gloom. Traditionally the card shows two people together, and so it's generally given a secondary, and much more positive interpretation, reminding us that even in times of greatest hardship, we should draw on love, affection and support from friends and family to get us through.
In our version of the card, however, the family relationships are more ambiguous. The mother seems almost to be dragging her daughter along behind her; does she really care about her or is she much more focused on preserving her own pride and sense of dignity? The baby looks pale, drawn and stares out at us with an expression that seems hostile and accusing. This family has obviously been through a lot, the children are in a poor state and raggedly dressed. What is the mother's focus now? Is she going to try to provide for her family or is she more bent on revenge? She seems not to even notice the church that she strides past, or those black birds of ill omen. She doesn't look like a peasant, she has the air of a more upper-class woman fallen on hard times. Maybe her scarlet dress implies that she has fallen because of some sexual misdemeanour. If so, then the man involved is nowhere to be seen.
This card is not just about the practicalities involved in dealing with times of hardship, it also asks us to consider how we manage these situations emotionally. If we forget about the needs of our nearest and dearest we'll make our own misery much worse. Love and affection are vital, however angry and resentful we feel at being confronted with such problems. Sometimes, however much pride we feel, we should ask for help, if not for ourselves then for our dependants.
As a footnote, it's interesting to know that the inscription over the church door shows that it's dedicated, appropriately, to St. Martin, renowned for giving half his cloak to a beggar on a freezing cold night.
