Man, the Four of Pentacles. When I first started messing around with Tarot cards, this one used to just confuse me, honestly. I’d pull it, and I’d see this guy sitting there, clutching his four pentacles, one on his head, two under his feet, one in his arms. And my first thought, always, was “Okay, he’s just being stingy. Hoarding his cash. Not much else to it, right?” I always pictured some old miser, sitting in a dark room, counting pennies. Real basic stuff.
But then, life has a funny way of making you revisit things you thought you understood. I remember a particularly rough patch a few years back. Moved to a new city, job was okay but not great, and money was tighter than I’d ever experienced. Every decision felt like it had huge stakes. I was literally checking my bank balance every other hour. I wasn’t just saving money; I was clutching it. And not just money. I was clinging to every old routine, every familiar comfort, even if it was obviously not serving me anymore. My whole world had shifted, and I was trying to hold onto the old one with white knuckles.
Guess what card kept popping up in my readings during that time? Yep, the Four of Pentacles. Over and over. At first, I’d just sigh. “Yeah, yeah, I know I’m worried about money,” I’d mumble to myself. But after seeing it for the fifth or sixth time, I started to really look at the image. It wasn’t just about money, I realized. This guy wasn’t just guarding his wealth; he was completely enclosed by it. He wasn’t enjoying it, or investing it, or even really using it. He was just… holding on.
My “Aha!” Moment
That’s when it clicked for me. This card, for me, wasn’t just about financial stinginess. It was about security, yes, but often a warped, fearful kind of security. It was about the fear of losing what you have, even if what you have isn’t actually making you happy or helping you grow. I was holding onto a budget so tight I wouldn’t even buy myself a decent coffee once a week, even though it would have been a small mental boost. I was holding onto the idea that if I just kept everything exactly as it was, nothing worse could happen. It was control, born out of fear.
I started observing this pattern in other areas of my life too. Like my stubbornness to try new things, even simple ones. Someone would suggest a new restaurant, and my immediate thought was, “No, I like the old one, it’s safe.” Or a friend would talk about a new hobby, and I’d think, “Nah, too much effort, what if I’m bad at it?” It was like I was holding onto my emotional and energetic ‘pentacles’ as well, afraid to put them out there, afraid to risk them.
- Clinging to old routines even when new ones are healthier.
- Refusing to delegate tasks, thinking only I can do them right.
- Being overly possessive of ideas or even relationships.
- Resisting change, big or small, just because it’s change.
The card became a mirror for me. It forced me to ask: What am I holding onto so tightly that it’s actually preventing me from gaining something better? Where am I sacrificing growth for the illusion of safety?
Letting Go, Bit by Bit
It wasn’t an overnight change, you know? It never is. But seeing that card repeatedly made me conscious of it. I slowly started to loosen my grip. I bought that coffee. I tried that new restaurant. I said “yes” to a social gathering even when my first instinct was to hermit away. Each small act felt like I was prizing one of those pentacles from the guy’s grasp, letting it roll a little, giving it some air.
It taught me that sometimes, to gain, you have to be willing to release. To invest, you have to be willing to spend. To grow, you have to be willing to leave some comforts behind. The Four of Pentacles isn’t always a “bad” card, not really. It’s a call to awareness. It asks: Is your security serving you, or are you serving your security?
So now, when I pull it, I don’t see the miser anymore. I see someone who’s had to learn, just like me, that real security isn’t about how tightly you can hold onto things. It’s about building a foundation strong enough that you don’t have to clutch everything so desperately. It’s about knowing when to open your hands, even just a little, to let new possibilities flow in.
