Five of Pentacles
The 5 of Disks signals an abrupt breakdown of prior stability, bringing crisis, loss, and material suffering. Its Mars-driven energy produces painful upheaval as securities—food, home, possessions, or safety—are threatened or taken away. Imagery of a ruined farmstead captures the depth of devastation and helplessness this card can indicate. The card also evokes a cautionary tale of overreaching into forbidden forces, exemplified by the Horcrux ring, which leads to personal ruin and a path of torment.
Keywords
Correspondences
Mercury in Taurus
Keywords
Crisis, need, bankruptcy, poverty, loss, fears, lack of purpose, insecurity, meaninglessness, pain, destruction of form
Meaning
While the 4s are all about consolidation, the 5s are about an eruptive breaking of moulds. The stability of the 4s grows unstable, and if we were comfortably settled with the previous cards we now go through a certain amount of pain and insecurity at having to adjust. The 5s are under the auspices of Mars whose somewhat violent energy is very appropriate to the dynamic of these cards.
Meaning (Material Loss)
In the suit of Disks the Mars energy is the most painful and difficult. When material securities fall away and prove brittle, people suffer. We are material beings and if we are robbed of that sustenance whether it be actual food or our home, possessions or sense of safety we are in pain. The best image to express the deep suffering of this card is a quiet farmstead with the fields ripe for harvest, and an army marching through, killing the farmer and his family, slaughtering his livestock and trampling his crops into the dirt.
Exploring the Card
The five of Disks shows Dumbledore's withered hand after he touches the Horcrux ring. He tries to break the mould of the material world by calling the dead to him and this breach ultimately robs him of his own existence - it is the first step on the path of torment that finally leads him to plead for death on top of the Astronomy Tower. The black stone of the ring represents one disk, the other four are symbols for the most inauspicious of geomantic figures stitched into the sleeve of his robes: tristitia, carcer, rubeus and amisso - sadness, prison, reddening and loss.
Visual Description
A single aged hand is shown upright, its thin, wrinkled fingers pressed together and wearing a dark oval ring on the middle finger. The wrist is encircled by an ornate cuff or bracelet inlaid with three round coins or disks bearing small astrological/alchemical symbols. The background is textured fabric folds rendered in dense cross-hatching, and a small planetary glyph appears above the hand. At the very top border a circular pentacle-like emblem is visible, and along the bottom margin the title reads '5 Torment' with a small bull/Taurus-type glyph just above the word.
Harry Potter tarot
💜 Please support creators. Buy official decks.
ℹ️ Disclaimer
All card images and descriptions are taken from public sources. They are used for review purposes only. All rights to these images and descriptions belong to their creators. If you believe there is a copyright infringement, please contact us at [email protected].