Five of Pentacles
Mercury in Taurus
Fixed Earth
Keywords: poverty, destitution, down and out, loss, vulnerability, homeless, unemployed
Rider-Waite-Smith
In the RWS we see two destitute people walking under the light of a church window at night, in a snowstorm. One person is using crutches and both are wearing rags. They are the very picture of pitiful.
Is there anything positive in this card? In order to see the silver lining, we have to understand its place in the overall pentacle sequence. The next card is the 6 of pentacles, Material Success.
The lesson, therefore, is that karma often brings us to a dark night of the soul before we achieve our success.
In order to strengthen a muscle you first have to break it down. Trials and tribulations are often a precursor to success. The Five of pentacles, therefore, has an element of hope.
When you are in your darkest place, know that the light of hope still shines on you. Bask in the warmth of hope. The sheer audacity of hope is a powerful thing.
But the lesson of the pentacles is also about balance. As Mercury in Taurus, we see that the groundedness of Earth is upset by the rapidity of Mercury. They are lacking in harmonious balance.
Thoth – Worry
This card is Mercury in Taurus, “Lord of Worry.” It represents the natural tension between the intellect and that part of us that is more closely connected to our embodied and embedded experience.
The card shows an earthquake, indicating that the Earth is unstable being ruled by unstable elements, with Mercury naturally opposing Taurus.
Traditionally, the card is about being imbalance in your feminine energy in the aggressive world of Geburah, where energy collects and storms and rages against itself with the energy of Mars.
From Book T – The Lord of Material Trouble
A White Radiant Angelic Hand issuing from clouds, and holding a branch of the white rose tree, but from which the roses are falling, and leaving no buds behind. Five Pentacles similar to the Ace. Above and below are Mercury and Taurus.
Loss of money or position. Trouble about material things. Labour, toil, land cultivation; building, knowledge and acuteness of earthly things, poverty, carefulness, kindness; sometimes money regained after severe toil and labour. Unimaginative, harsh, stern, determined, obstinate.
Geburah of HB:H (Loss of profession, loss of money, monetary anxiety).
Herein the angels HB:MBHYH and HB:PNYAL rule.