RWS : Pentacles as emotional currency : how often?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 27 Jul 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

samantha	27 Jul 2003
This is just a general query . In your readings how often do you interpret pentacles as emotional currency (if at all!) as opposed to something which has a tangeable/ practical component to it ( finances,assets , an end product. ) I know that all the cards in this suit can represent both ....but I'm just curious as to how the balance between them lies for you. When I get the 4 pentacles it nearly always falls into the "emotional currency" camp ( leastways this is where the focus is strongest ) for example : jealousy/ possessiveness, denial , emotional self preservation / keeping someone at arms length . aloofness , undemonstrativity . And rarely comes up as preserving finances / business concerns. I'd be interested to hear other peoples experiences here ...... especially any examples of cards which tend , in your readings , to go one way rather than the other.

Cerulean	27 Jul 2003
1. You talked about the four of pentacles in the RW as emotional currency. Sometimes I think of it as the rich person sitting on the box, worrying about their assets in a way that doesn't make sense. But if it pentacles comes up in a reading within the context of other things such as wands, I actually think of pentacles as material wealth or resources. I think the four of pentacles then is someone trying to secure or think about their assets and means to achieve their work. Since you are talking about scenic Rider Waite decks in the above question, the order is Strength as Eight and Justice is 11. This is a different take when I use Marseilles-based decks. 2. In Marseilles patterns, the pips are laid out in ways that are more suggestive of balance--but the order is Justice (the scales) is Eight and Strength is 11 in the major arcana. So for me the reading for the fours is about order, stability and eights becomes more about balance. Sometimes in pip patterns, the even numbers in the reading show two or four or eight. If the pattern is arranged so that two or four or eight suggest balance, then I see the four of pentacles as another way--like a cornerstone, secure or wanting to secure. I hope the above made sense. I can delete the Marseilles portion if it doesn't pertain to your question.

The RWS : Pentacles as emotional currency : how often? thread was originally posted on 27 Jul 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.