Thanks for this.
I tend to see the 4 of Pentacles as indicating possessiveness.
I understand headstrong with the Chariot.
And I like "threatened crab"...
Another angle you might like to consider is that, in some systems, this card is attributed to the Hebrew letter, Cheth. This letter means "fence."
This frames the Chariot as a card of
boundaries. And in particular the boundary of our personality or ego. In a positive sense this boundary is moveable, flexible, and open enough to allow for personal growth and expansion.
But this does also imply and a certain degree of vulnerability.
In a negative sense this same "fence" is a barrier or defensive perimeter that divides
within from
without. It is a rigid and self defensive character armour that shields something vulnerable inside. On the outside this same vulnerability manifests in self defence mechanisms that keep other people at a distance. This can be anything from general aloofness and coldness, to a harsh and hard kind of false over confidence that rides roughshod over other people and tramples them underfoot. But unlike real self confidence that allows vulnerability, this is just a hollow sham and yet another defence mechanism.