The Images of the Tarot Oracle in Psychic Readings

The Four of Pentacles

The Four of Pentacles is the image of possession, the emblem of material attainment. As such, it brings in its train all of the standard pitfalls of excessive materialism: greed, shallowness, vulgarity, misplaced pride, a reluctance to let things flow, and the evasion of life's deeper purpose and significance. Still, man does not live by spirit alone. It is easier to be a connoisseur of wine than of vodka, which is pure spirits. Wine has "body," and comes in a nearly infinite variety of flavors. Thus, the material blessings should not be wholly dismissed, and the image of Four Pentacles can often signal a very positive increase, and enjoyment, of material wealth and power.

When, however, the image appears in its reversed position, the message nearly always conveys a warning about an imbalance in the respective material and spiritual dimensions of life. This was true of a client who came to us asking about an unhappy marriage that she acknowledged as having been a mistake from its outset. It was unclear why, after almost 15 years of misery, she still persisted in it, but the reversal of the image of Four Pentacles in our Reading for her led us to ask if material issues were a factor in her attitude with respect to maintaining or dissolving the marriage. She admitted that she felt bound by the importance that she placed in her beautiful home and the easy comforts of her daily life as the wife of a very rich man. After reassessing the relative values of the material and psycho/spiritual aspects of life, and after leaving her husband, she wrote to tell us how little she missed her home and all its amenities. Life had opened up for her, and became luminous with a sense of freedom and joy.