Make sure you grab the FREE Invictus Tarot TIY (Trust in Yourself!) Tarot workbook, if you haven't already! As a note, I am using the OG Rider-Waite deck for this series of posts, but you absolutely don't have to! Find the deck or decks that speak to you most, the cards you connect to most will always be better for your readings and sharpening your intuitive skills. This is just an example and reference for you to trust in yourself!
Five of Pentacles
From the sometimes rigid grip of the Four, we now descend into the challenging landscape of the Five of Pentacles. This card often evokes feelings of hardship and isolation, yet it also carries a subtle message about support and the possibility of finding solace.
Keywords: hardship, poverty, destitution, exclusion, isolation, abandonment, financial loss, unemployment, illness, struggle, feeling left out, seeking help, resilience in adversity
General Meaning: This card symbolizes a period of material or financial hardship, feeling excluded, or experiencing a sense of abandonment. It often represents a time of struggle, lack, or illness. However, the presence of the church in the background is crucial: it signifies that help, solace, or solutions are often available, even if the struggling figures are too preoccupied with their immediate suffering to notice them.
Personal Interpretation: Experiencing a difficult period? This could be related to financial setbacks, job loss, health issues, or simply feeling isolated and unsupported. Remember that this card also points to the existence of resources and assistance that you might be overlooking. Acknowledge your struggles, but also look up and around for the help that is often closer than you think. Don't let pride or despair prevent you from seeking the warmth and light that is available.
Reversed Meaning: situation improving, solutions to problems, accepting help
Affirmation: "Even in times of challenge, I am resilient, I seek and find the support I need, and I know that help is always available."
Symbolism: two figures, snowy landscape, stained-glass window of pentacles
Imagery Notes: two figures - poor, injured, outcast, vulnerable; snowy landscape - emphasis on the harshness of the current circumstances; stained-glass window of pentacles - hope in resources, solace, community, and solutions within reach that seem to be ignored by the figures in distress
People: individuals experiencing homelessness, the unemployed, the sick
Places: food banks, soup kitchens, shelters
Media:
Personal Insights & Other Notes: The Five of Pentacles is a difficult but deeply human card. It reminds us that everyone experiences periods of hardship and feeling lost. Its crucial lesson lies in the paradox of the unseen solution: often, when we are most in need, we are also most likely to overlook the very resources that could help us. This card is a powerful invitation to humility, to ask for help, and to recognize that true strength sometimes comes from admitting vulnerability and reaching out to the community or support systems around us. Don't walk past the open door.
If you've experienced a "Five of Pentacles" moment in your life, what was the "church window" you eventually found, or what resources did you ultimately utilize to navigate through the hardship? What advice would you give to someone currently feeling lost or excluded?
