The fours.....what is their message???

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 03 Feb 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Chubby Mummy	03 Feb 2005
Ive been getting alot of fours in my spreads recently...what exactly is the message that they are trying to give me?? xx cm

contradiction	03 Feb 2005
cm, i would need more info, such as; what position(s) the 4's show up in. the frequency of each, are there any other cards which repeat themselves, etc, etc, etc....someone else may be able to answer better than i. have you done a reading asking "what is the significance of the 4's"?

Chubby Mummy	03 Feb 2005
other cards showing up alot? 7 of cups? all the 3's come to think of it... its strange though because Ill get one spread with all the fours and a 3, and then a few days later or with a different deck ill get all the 3's and a 4... would this be a kind of transition between making things happen and settling down? Or a period of rest before "the ships come in?" these cards would fall in general relationship spreads...and for other people too...but I know so many people who can explain cards not just by their meanings but with their numerical significance...i want to learn how to do this!! xx cm

huredriel	03 Feb 2005
I always think of the fours as relating to the Emperor, solid foundations, control etc. so eg. wands for me would be foundations of a family coming together, swords would be needing the sanctuary of your home life

ros	03 Feb 2005
Just an idea for the 4's Take responsibility and build firm foundation or stucture in your life, where ever there is weakness.

WalesWoman	03 Feb 2005
Chubby Mummy, Decoz.com is a great numerological site for learning numerology and the meanings. There are actually quite a few. This is another place I like too, http://www.astrology-numerology.com/ I agree with Ros, four's are about stability, committment, cornerstones in a sense, something to build on, solidity, structure or support system. The Emperor is sort of the summation of them all, using your authority to keep everything stable and secure, defining, declaring and defending your boundaries, ensuring a healthy, productive, secure environment, laying the law down and enforcing it, and being committed to it. Threes are harder for me to define...for some reason I always think of a pyramid or the recycling symbol, that energy going from one to another and just regenerates itself, sort of sustainment. In the Sacred Rose, the threes are Endeavors...threes are reactive, always in a state of flux and reflux, and times of assessment, mostly with communication since according to this, Mercury is the ruler of 3's.

mnemosyne7	03 Feb 2005
Hi CM, Fours mean different things to different people, and the differences may be personal or even cultural. Most westerners find fours to be reflective of home (4 walls to rooms, houses), and structure oriented. We put things in boxes, containers and rarely pay attention to the ceilings and floors. But if you live in a yurt in remote China, zeros might feel more like home. And if you were a bee, you'd probably think sixes felt pretty secure. So look around your world - inside and out - and see where the fours are. What do those things mean to you? Fours can mean comfort and security; they can also be confining and rigid. They can represent a structure that is yet to be built, or one that is ready to begin crumbling. Here's my starter list for 4s (by no means an exhaustive list, and probably only works for me, but it's worth sharing): 4 - The Fab Four boxes rooms tables houses stability law and order security building formation construction orderly systems There are four ... elements in the Tarot, seasons, directions, phases of the moon, legs on many animals and, of course, four Beatles: John, Paul, George and Ringo! The Minor Arcana fours represent the various stages of structure, containment, and organization. Fours are the boxes into which we place our passions, our partners, our dreams and our lives. Fours are our perimeters ... our boundaries ... our fences. Numerologically speaking, four is a number of solidity, steadfastness, practicality, and logical thought. And four generally feels very much like the element of Earth. The fourth astrological house is I FEEL. I feel ... I touch ... with four points out in space, we can now create an object that has length, width and depth! It is three dimensional. It is tangible. Something to think about: According to the book of Genesis, God created Earth on the fourth day. *** You can do the same thing with threes, etc. So, tell us about your FOURs! Mnemosyne

Thirteen	04 Feb 2005
Some really good observations so far. On the contrary side, 4's can also be about holding on too tight. Our Emperor there can be a solid fellow, in control; and 4's corners is a solid foundation on which to build a house. BUT, the Emperor can also be too controlling, and 4 walls can also confine. Looking at some of the 4's we get this mixed message. 4/Swords can be a rest, a healing retreat, but it can also indicate an inability to move, to get up out of that bed. 4/Coins is often seen as a miser, holding on too tightly to his money; 4/cups can be laziness, over-indulgence, daydreaming rather than doing. Only 4/wands is most often purely positive. So if you're getting a lot of 4's the message may be that it's time to get out of the house, get active, do something different, give away something you've been holding onto for far too long. Take a look at yourself and see if you're too controlling--and let go of some of that control. Trust others, toss your bread upon the water. Perhaps that is the message of your 4's. Combine with the 3's, which are usually about synthesis, and you get the message that if you stop trying to be in complete control, if you share what you have, then you and the person you share with will create something new and fresh. Any of that sound likely?

Fudugazi	04 Feb 2005
Threes are expansion, creativity without boundaries - it is what happens when two come together and produce ---a third. That, depending on the suit, can be a project for a business, a desire for a child, a film script, or a new feeling. Thirteen calls it synthesis, which I also see - but a synthesis with a dynamic dimension of growth that will lead to more development - or tail off into nothing. The fours are what you already have achieved. They are your realsiation and your security. I would say you are given a choice between the sense of solid realisation and the security of the four, and the expansion and potential for new explorations of the three. The danger of the first is that security can become a prison, or as Thirteen wrote, a way for you to control everything; the danger of the second is that free expansion can turn into lack focus and realisation as we always look for that adventurous high. I think your cards are showing you are reaching the cross-roads between these two paths. If you are aware of the traps in both, you can choose freely what your heart soul tells you is right. Remember the Robert Frost poem about the two roads diverging in a wood and how he chose the road less travelled by...Only you can know which road that is.

Umbrae	04 Feb 2005
Fours are wonderful! They are about stability, order, and structure. As such, they suggest a time to establish foundations and fundamentals for future success. They may also mirror a period of constraint, and burdens where you feel you are faced with significant choices. Fours relate to self-discipline, and maintaining the status quo (order). Let’s look briefly at the four fours. On the Four of Swords, I see two sides to the card. I think of it as the alarm clock of the gods card – “Wakey Wakey we gots some work for you to do….” There could be interruptions in sleep patterns preventing structure…but also – remember the line, “…Prepares a table in the presence of my enemies”. It’s appropriate here in the realm of Chesed. The Four of Swords is considered a card that occurs just before trials. On the Four of Wands, it’s stability after trials. The Four of Cups is about being stuck on a point or perhaps status quo. Not changing due to justification (false use of intellectual ability), the intellectual holding sway over the emotional. The Four of Pentacles (standard interp) is about preventing the normal circulation or flow, of normal order. Greed (misuse of assets) creates a breeding ground for instability...

tarotbear	04 Feb 2005
Many 3s can indicate group activities or situations involving more than one person. They can also indicate delay, but with the promise of future success. (the 4s maybe? LOL!) Many 4s indicate frutition or the manifestation of an idea, along with the foundation or 'space' where things can grow.

Umbrae	04 Feb 2005
Good call Tarotbear… tarotbear wrote: Many 4s indicate fruition or the manifestation of an idea, along with the foundation or 'space' where things can grow. Fours do, relate to the cardinal points – space. Not only do fours relate to space, as a foundation they must define space from which and upon which to build (and grow).

Fudugazi	04 Feb 2005
Yes, I like that too - and the cardinal points. I think also of the 4 dimensions - space and time. It takes mental and emotional space, as well as time, to build any project to the point it is achieved and stable. And of course, when you add 1+2+3+4 - you get a... ...tetraktys perfect geometry, harmony and all that. :)

tmgrl2	04 Feb 2005
I just did a reading today for someone at my home office... Of course, the whole spread and the positions of the cards were looked at... But there were two cards of coins (deniers) and three with Bastons (Wands)... Anyhow...I used my own spread of five cards and then pulled five clarifiers. The four of deniers today in relationship to the whole situation jumped at me to say that this woman didn't have to make her business decisions quickly...There was an 8 of Wands in the position that stood for what whe was moving away from...and the Four de Deniers (Coins) as to what she would deal with on a day-to-day basis in the immediate future... After I finished the whole reading (this lady was VERY quiet and had never had a Tarot reading..)she said that absolutely everything including the "advice" that arose in the narrative summary was right on...so here The four said...you are a partner in your own business ( a big gym) and are now being asked to buy out the other person...but you also have some other areas of your life going on, that need to be addressed...the Four of Deniers says that you needn't "rush" to make a move that will involve finances in a big way....(the eight, while representing some achievement and harmony, though, cautioned not staying too long in that spot without making a decision)... She said that financially, she is stable. The business is good...she knows she will make a move in or out...but that she does have some time. It's good to discuss what individual numbers mean, but every time I do a reading "live" something within the meaning frame is there, but never quite what I would have said if I were just discussing the card individually... Also, I didn't know what area or areas were going to come up since she gave me no clue when we started. The whole Tarot thing was new to her. The reading turned out to be about her business and somewhat about her spiritual stretching of wings into fund-raising for causes. But the four was quite clear in light of the spread and the cards and positions. terri terri

The The fours.....what is their message??? thread was originally posted on 03 Feb 2005 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.