I’ve written interpretations for every card in the Wild Unknown Tarot. As the box of the deck states, there are no rights or wrongs. These are simply my perspectives on the tarot card meanings. I hope you find them useful!
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Four of Pentacles :: Wild Unknown Tarot
Creator’s keywords: possession, control
Carrie’s keywords: comfort zone, rigid

Four pentacles form a diamond. They are bound together by intricately intertwined threads of blue, magenta and yellow. The lines in the background draw in towards the diamond, but are unable to penetrate its defenses. There is a sense of security and stability in the imagery, but at what cost does that come?

Diamonds are one of the hardest materials that exist. The Four of Pentacles is often associated with rigidity and stubbornness. In some instances, it can be beautiful to be as rigid as a diamond. But in other instances, being so hard and fast can be detrimental. As human beings, we sometimes become fixed in our ways for better or for worse. This is the energy at work in this card.

It is natural to feel the need for security and protection, but this card often shows a manufactured sense of protection. By clinging to anything – belongings, land, ideas – we believe that we can maintain control. Instead of an actual sense of safety, the Four of Pentacles often hints at the illusion of safety – an illusion that we try to maintain by clinging to what is familiar.

But the inevitable truth is that change is constant. There are times to hold tightly to the status quo. But as a long term strategy, this approach is not sustainable. You can’t micromanage everything. You must learn to use your personal influence while also accepting that some things are simply out of your hands.

The pentacles in this card are bound together, perhaps in an attempt to keep them under control. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In fact, as the suit of pentacles relates to the material realm, this card can sometimes assert the importance of saving money and protecting your assets. But often, if you’re not careful, this type of behavior can turn into hoarding and short-sightedness. 

In the classic Waite-Smith tarot, the Four of Pentacles shows a person sitting hunched over on a box, clinging four pentacles close to his body, including pinning two of the pentacles down with his feet! How’s THAT for maintaining control? 

Numerologically, four is about structures, stability and control. So in the Four of Pentacles, we see those principles applied in the earthly, material realm. This card tends to get a more negative reputation, but as I hinted at earlier in the post there can be positive aspects. The Four of Pentacles can remind you to watch out for yourself so you don’t get conned or ripped off. It can also give you permission to maintain ownership over what is rightfully yours.

But this card also speaks strongly to the ways that clinging, controlling and possessing are ultimately unsustainable. It takes a lot of energy to hunch yourself up and refuse change. Sometimes you are better served by finding inner liberation and releasing the need to maintain the status quo. 

In a reading, this card can ask you to examine what, and why, you are trying so hard to preserve. Where do you feel that things will fall apart without your management? What ideas, behavior patterns, goals or objects are you clutching? Is your energy being used efficiently, or to your detriment?

It’s essential to find the balance between preserving the things that you value while also being open to the natural ebb and flow of energies. You don’t have to cling so tightly. You can learn to relinquish a little control. You’ll have so much more energy to use productively when you’re operating less from a place of force and more from a place of trust.

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