kittiann
Ah, the infamous 5 of pentacles! Is it just me, or does this card feature snow in at least 90% of decks? 
This card is very RWS, with some of the more interesting symbols from the Thoth deck included. I don't see any Marseilles influence here. The snow, the boy walking in the cold, both of these come from the RWS. Of course, our young man is all alone while trudging through his snow; but unlike the RWS inhabitants, at least he has some shoes and two working legs! This card, like others of the pentacles, seems to take place in a more wild or countrified area, unlike the RWS. The symbols on the five disks are taken from the Thoth deck. As Lon Milo Duquette describes them in Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot: 'five Hindu tattva symbols of the elements: red triangle of fire, silver crescent of water, blue circle of air, yellow square of earth, and black egg of spirit.' Lon also notes that the pentagram is facing downwards with the symbol for spirit at the bottom point, indicating the triumph of matter over spirit. This is also true in the Lo Scarabeo Tarot, if viewing the pentacle from the young man's perspective. From our perspective, the yellow square of earth is featured as the bottom point of the pentacle, which to me indicates the Descent into matter rather than the triumph of matter. The difference, to me, is that everything must undergo the Descent as part of the natural process, the wheel that takes all things from the top of the Tree of Life to the bottom and back up again. The triumph of matter over spirit is purely an individual matter.. allowing ourselves to be brought down when we should be keeping higher things in mind. The lily and the rose feature again on this card, one on either side of the young man's path.
This card, obviously, represents material hardship or trouble. There's nothing like a picture of walking in the snow without adequate clothes to bring up a feeling of the poor and destitute. But I think the flowers, as well as the various pentagrams, give us a picture of what led up to this point as well as how the young man can escape his plight. The pentagram, seem from the young man's perspective, seems to say that he got himself into this mess - perhaps by sacrificing his spiritual well-being for material happiness. Of course, when viewed from our perspective, the pentagram seems to say that this is simply fate, the natural course of his life that will perhaps take a turn for the better in time. Either interpretation could be taken from this card. But I think the flowers to either side of his path represent a choice that he ought to make. Of course, he can continue going forward without turning aside to either the rose or the lily; but it seems that following this course has led him into a rather unpleasant place. It reminds me of a quote from Julie of the Wolves: 'when fear seizes, change what you are doing'. Clearly, fear has seized this young man in the card that Crowley titles 'Worry'. The flowers are there to tell him 'change what you are doing'.
This card is very RWS, with some of the more interesting symbols from the Thoth deck included. I don't see any Marseilles influence here. The snow, the boy walking in the cold, both of these come from the RWS. Of course, our young man is all alone while trudging through his snow; but unlike the RWS inhabitants, at least he has some shoes and two working legs! This card, like others of the pentacles, seems to take place in a more wild or countrified area, unlike the RWS. The symbols on the five disks are taken from the Thoth deck. As Lon Milo Duquette describes them in Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot: 'five Hindu tattva symbols of the elements: red triangle of fire, silver crescent of water, blue circle of air, yellow square of earth, and black egg of spirit.' Lon also notes that the pentagram is facing downwards with the symbol for spirit at the bottom point, indicating the triumph of matter over spirit. This is also true in the Lo Scarabeo Tarot, if viewing the pentacle from the young man's perspective. From our perspective, the yellow square of earth is featured as the bottom point of the pentacle, which to me indicates the Descent into matter rather than the triumph of matter. The difference, to me, is that everything must undergo the Descent as part of the natural process, the wheel that takes all things from the top of the Tree of Life to the bottom and back up again. The triumph of matter over spirit is purely an individual matter.. allowing ourselves to be brought down when we should be keeping higher things in mind. The lily and the rose feature again on this card, one on either side of the young man's path.
This card, obviously, represents material hardship or trouble. There's nothing like a picture of walking in the snow without adequate clothes to bring up a feeling of the poor and destitute. But I think the flowers, as well as the various pentagrams, give us a picture of what led up to this point as well as how the young man can escape his plight. The pentagram, seem from the young man's perspective, seems to say that he got himself into this mess - perhaps by sacrificing his spiritual well-being for material happiness. Of course, when viewed from our perspective, the pentagram seems to say that this is simply fate, the natural course of his life that will perhaps take a turn for the better in time. Either interpretation could be taken from this card. But I think the flowers to either side of his path represent a choice that he ought to make. Of course, he can continue going forward without turning aside to either the rose or the lily; but it seems that following this course has led him into a rather unpleasant place. It reminds me of a quote from Julie of the Wolves: 'when fear seizes, change what you are doing'. Clearly, fear has seized this young man in the card that Crowley titles 'Worry'. The flowers are there to tell him 'change what you are doing'.
