Four of Pentacles
The Four of Pentacles highlights the tension between serving material systems and exercising personal power over the material world. It uses the image of a machine holding a golden pentacle to ask whether you are being consumed by things or directing them to serve you. The card urges examination of where you place your power and whether fear or doubt are directing your choices. Ultimately it advises reclaiming mindful control over resources and roles rather than feeding a machine that drains you.
Keywords
Ally
When one bows to the machine, are they offering themselves as faithful servants, or are they merely showing devotion to the world in which they are a part of? The machine glows with a golden pentacle deep inside its mouth, yet it is hard to tell if it is asking for more, or merely there as a symbol of the potential of the material world. We are surrounded by things. We desire things. We exchange things. However, it is important to know if you consider yourself as just another thing to be consumed, or if you see yourself as someone who has power over the things that the world and you create. Our players on stage could be both, and perhaps we should view them without judgement, as we all have to engage with the material world in a way that is aligned to who we are.
Challenger
You may have given away your power, and you might be simply working to feed the machine instead of seeing how the machine can feed you. It is easy to get lost in the world of things and to allow it to control your fear and your doubt. Just keep in mind that you are the one with all the pentacles, and you get to decide where you put them. Therefore, be mindful of where you are placing your power.
Visual Description
A monumental carved metal face fills the card, its wide open mouth rimmed with jagged, glowing teeth that reveal a bright pentacle suspended at the center. Golden light spills outward in waves and filaments from the head, where a small robed figure stands atop a circular crest, flanked by arcing sparks. At the base three tiny figures kneel or stand on a tiled pathway, lifting a luminous orb toward the cavernous mouth. Heavy drapery and columnar structures frame the scene in warm bronzes, reds and molten yellows.
Cirque du Tarot
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