Four of Lemons

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 20 Jun 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Indigo_lady	20 Jun 2003
I was sitting down and decided to write a little something on my daily card and I decided to share it with you guys Though I think I need some liquid SOON Four of Pentacles Don’t take things for granted The four of pentacles belongs to the suit of pentacles.. duhh thus it makes emphasis on possessions (of course that depends to on what the card surrounding it are, the question you’re dealing with, and of course what are possessions for the querent). The four of pentacles comes after the training and hard work of the 3 of pentacles and the drawbacks of the 5 of pentacles. So it usually represents the rest you take after hard work to look at your earnings. That moment at the end of the day when you can sit at your porch and look what you have achieved and enjoy it while you sip down a chilled glass of lemonade. I don’t think it is a card of greediness and avarice. Maybe people around will perceive the holder of this card as greedy, but he’s not. He’s just a person proud of his own achievements, merits, of what he’s got. The 4 of pentacles though does not imply that the person has fully fulfilled their potential, so they shouldn’t be sitting sipping lemonade since they’re not even half way true. Of course, if you’re the one sitting there, sipping that lemonade and taking advantage of a well deserved rest you are going to think: “I just finished working like a dog, and I finally get a rest, some piece and quiet, and no more hassles. And you know what? It feels good. Why do I want to put myself through more trouble again??? I might not be King Midas, Donald Trump, Al Einstein, _________ (you fill in the name of your personal hero or goal). But maybe I don’t need to get there after all. I’m satisfied with this, I can live comfortable with this, I can conform to this and not sacrifice myself anymore… It’s a scary world after all and this is safer. I don’t take any risk or exhaust myself.” He can become a miser because he NEEDS to hold on to what he’s got because he doesn’t want to risk or work to anything else. Haven’t you ever met a person than when they’ve got two cents they hold on to them and blow them so much out of proportion as if they were now the sole owners of Fort Knox? What a horrible life… They say a one eyed man is the King in the land of the blind, and that is this guy taken to the extreme -This can happen, but it doesn’t need to be that way Doesn’t it feel good when everything is under your control??? Of course it does, but don’t overdue it because just as with everything nobody needs a little self-righteous tyrant running there life. Talking about control, have you ever thought that being in control and in balance sometimes stops you from making decisions and changes because you are afraid of altering this peace. That is a warning the 4 of Pentacles brings, against being inactive and, again, just sitting their comfortably sipping your lemonade (see, it’s really hot around me right now so I’m obsessed with the lemonades..), or watching your money collect dust underneath your mattress, that is, not doing anything productive with it. Again, the age old question our lemonade dude is pondering upon, why change things if this is so comfortable, so stable, so predictable, so SAFE? Yes of course define safe, he might get heart burn from all that lemonade. Or if he’s the one making the lemonade he might squirt his eye with toxic lemon juice while squeezing the lemons and go blind.. Maybe I’m on the way to a heat stroke here… Overall everything is going good for you, you have a comfortable lifestyle. You’re on the right track and you should be happy about it. I know I would But you need to think about HOW you will handle this stroke of well deserved good luck How can it indicate an inheritance?????? Explain me that. Of course it implies money and possession, but how do you connect it with inheritances? Maybe you’ll inherit a lemon farm and sell bottle lemonade for the rest of your life. You’ll take over the lemonade market and be the lemonade Zar… or Zarina I think I’m dehydrated

darwinia	21 Jun 2003
I liked this! One of my favourite cards in the Osho Zen is the Miser card and I also like the Fey tarot's take on this. I love your reference to lemonade. Miserliness and hoarding is not exactly greed as you say, it's slightly different, more like the aftershock of greed perhaps? I think your notation about pride comes a bit closer to why he's not letting go of things. One thing you said: <> I know many people enjoy relating the cards to each other in this manner. What comes before, what comes after--the "journey" aspect of the cards. I find it somewhat restrictive (unless purposefully writing a story about it), but interesting to see the pattern. We've been trained well by Rachel Pollack as readers. <> Another great take. This card seems to be the antithesis of potential to me. If someone is hoarding what they have, they don't seem to be focused on potential at all. Oh and your thoughts on control are interesting too. I recently came across a book I had back in 1974 by Hugh Prather (who was all the rage at the time.) Here's an interesting snippet from that which reminds me of your point: "A plan eliminates boredom by promising change. But, ironically, a plan is only my decision to *imagine* a different future, and if followed too rigidly it precludes spontaneous happenings." Sort of like journeys seen in tarot cards. I might get in trouble for that, but it's not meant as a criticism of the way people choose to see reading cards, merely an alternative to the more rigid pattern. Spontaneity is the first cousin of intuition. <> Neat comment, I've really enjoyed your thought in this post. I think in this case "safety" might translate as "fear." I don't see this guy as well adjusted or enjoying the fruits of his labours much. I think that squirt of lemon did it. He was so worried about having enough lemonade that he grabbed a whole whack of lemons and tried to squeeze them all at once into a huge cauldron of lemonade that he could eke out for months for himself alone. And he put it way, way back in the fridge so no one else would see it. His eyes are still stinging, but if he has a quarter of a cup of lemonade in the morning and a titch after lunch, it's gonna last for years. Of course, by that time, he could have built a factory that makes lemonade and employs 112 people, but he's not into potential.

HudsonGray	21 Jun 2003
I've seen it as 'holding onto your living money', something you need to do to keep to a tight budget in hard times, not as miser hoarding. The isolation to me indicates a reprieve from the world for a time, sort of a rest & regrouping. Never saw it as a Scrooge card.

darwinia	23 Jun 2003
Good point, there is bias concerning meaning which creeps in depending on which deck you use. Probably why some people dislike keywords, or prefer pips, and also why it's helpful to have more than one deck to augment your learning. Just for interest I decided to do a comparison of imagery and keywords from the Four of Pentacles in a few decks. - Tarot of the Spirit - Four of Earth "Power" Basically shows four pentacles in a vertical row. Seems very grounded and solid both geometrically and colour-wise. - Secret Tarot (Nizzoli) - In the "Kingdom of Pleasure" within the Four of Pentacles, a prosperous gentleman is sitting at an elaborate desk, in a fancy study, and looks like he might be writing a memo or toting up figures. Stability; great certainty. - Gill Tarot - Shows the number 4 superimposed on a black and white bullseye against a background of symmetrical stars. The keyword is "Order." - Spiral Tarot - A prosperous well-dressed man holding a pentacle, crowned by another, with his feet on two more. Orderly black and white checkerboard flooring and his chair is made of brick and mortar, solid, grounded, while a tiny window with bars looks out to a plant. - Songs for the Journey Home - 4 of Earth Songs. Lots of detail here. Through a window, a person asleep on a desktop, exhausted after computing math formulae or a budget; a fat piggy bank, looking very satisfied with itself as it walks out the cat door; locks and chains and keyholes against the back wall while outside flowers and vines are blooming. Balance needed between isolation, budgeting and narrow discipline. And then the spin I mentioned above from the Osho Zen Miser card and the Fey 4 of Pentacles with the fellow in chains on a wheel and a key out of reach on the floor. Seemingly diverse meanings but perhaps just a highlight of both positive and negative aspects of the card. When does power become limiting or narrowly focused to the detriment of growth? Power and order are good things in moderation, but taken to extremes...we are reminded of balance. Ya gotta have sugar in the lemonade or it's too bitter to drink. It's amazing how different artists have a more negative connotation. My conclusions: 1) We can think for ourselves--always an attitude to foster amid rigidity. Ain't it grand? 2) HudsonGray's take is very similar to the Songs one without the negativity of narrowness. In other words, he can think for himself. Feeling the urge to calculate a household budget......

firemaiden	23 Jun 2003
There is an aspect of this card (coins as shields)which speaks to personal boundaries, self protective armour, - limits which are sometimes necessary protection and sometimes stifling, depending on the circumstances.

The Four of Lemons thread was originally posted on 20 Jun 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.