Five of Pentacles
Through the Snow
The energy of the card
Two people walk through the snow, injured and freezing, past a brightly lit church window. The card shows lack and insecurity: a lean stretch, fear of loss, the feeling of being left out in the cold. The ground is fragile – and yet the two of them walk together.
Your path with this card
You get through this time step by step, with smaller steps than usual. Every hand you take makes the way warmer. The card invites you to accept the low tide and to look for allies.
- Where are you missing something you need to live right now?
- Who could walk through this time with you?
In the shadow
Here the card itself lies in shadow: hardship, exclusion, the fear of falling. It invites you to show yourself instead of withdrawing, and to see the light in the window as an invitation.
The image and its meaning
Two figures wrapped in rags trudge through the snow.
Behind them, the warmly glowing church window with 5 coins. It looks like a sacred building, a symbol of values and norms, of social conventions. Perhaps the impoverished figures chose their situation voluntarily; perhaps they are simply not allowed into social acceptance.
The Five of Pentacles shows us a situation of isolation, a feeling of being shut out. The figures are freezing, they are cold, and they are desperately looking for a way back into convention so that they can be better off. They are not alone, but they can only help each other a little and in limited ways.
The two must keep searching for a better situation. Here under the window they have little luck; they have to move on. This card is about the negative consequences of isolation.
We have to decide which path we want to take. The present hardship may also have advantages – perhaps it is the price of freedom, of independence, or the only way to escape from a golden cage. In any case, the situation is unpleasant for now and will stay that way until the snow has melted.
Related cards
Tarot Five of Cups
The Five of Cups mourns what has been lost; the Five of Pentacles feels the lack in its own body. Both carry a remnant of hope behind them.
Lenormand The Mice
In Lenormand, The Mice gnaw at the same reserves: loss, worry and what is slowly dwindling.
Symbols on the card
- Fenster mit fünf Münzen (Kirche) · Hoffnung, HilfeHilfe ist nah – aber wird sie gesehen und angenommen?
- Fussspuren im Schnee · Weg durch LeidDer Weg ist hart, aber nicht ohne Ziel – Durchhalten zählt.
- Krankheit und Krücke · VerletzlichkeitNot zeigt sich auf vielen Ebenen – körperlich, emotional, geistig.
- Zwei arme Gestalten im Schnee · Mangel, NotEine Phase des Mangels – materiell, emotional oder spirituell.
