In-Depth with the 4 of Pentacles

“If you want love and abundance in your life, give it away.” - Mark Twain

“If you love it, set it free”, “if it’s meant to be it will be”, “que sera sera” - just a sample of quotes that capture the essence of letting go for the greater good. This themes crops up many times across the tarot. Think, the 6 of Swords, the 8 of Cups, the dreaded Tower or even worse Death…to name but a few.

But the 4 of Pentacles gets a bit lost in this conversation, and I think is a generally speaking more difficult translation. But all we need to do is mind our protagonist’s body language to get to the heart of this card’s message. Sitting down, looking straight on, closed off, arms folded, tight grip - what can we conclude? The Pentacles in this case do not occupy negative space, they sit close to the body. This is the posturing of someone who is desperately afraid to lose what they’ve already acquired. But why? Maybe they don’t believe they deserve it? Maybe they fear that if it does slip away, they’ll never gain it back? Perhaps they’re not even sure if it’s theirs to begin with. It is both the depiction of someone who is protective and greedy. Someone who has placed great value on material possession, but understand that value may come from a place of fear and not superficiality.