Pentacles

What kind of energy, what the suit is about

Energy: dense, stable, solid, slow, building. The energy of matter, saving up, work and safety. If Wands light the spark, Cups feel and Swords think, Pentacles make all of it real in the material world — and count the result.

What it’s about: money, work, business, property, belongings, physical health, comfort, stability and the harvest (the result of the effort you’ve put in).

What people ask

When Pentacles dominate a reading, the questions are about practical, tangible things:

• “Will there be a profit? How do I improve my finances?”
• “Should I change jobs for more stability?”
• “How are my health and energy?”
• “Does this relationship have a future — a family, a home?”

Situations Pentacles describe

• Closing deals, big purchases, investments, getting paid.
• Working days, routine, building, setting up a home, getting things in order.
• Money trouble, poverty, standstill — or the opposite, prosperity and plenty.
• Health, treatment, getting your strength back after a hard stretch.

What kind of person

Character: practical, good with a household, a realist, reliable and steady. Values order, safety, material security and comfort.

Strengths: hard work, responsibility, patience, being good with money, keeping promises (“a person of their word”).

Weaknesses (too many Pentacles): too much focus on money and things, stubbornness, rigidity, fear of any change, stinginess, living only for home and work — a heavy, earth-bound character with no romance or lift.

Pace, season, element

• Element: earth.
• Pace: slow and steady — “it happens gradually” (the seed has to sprout, the fruit has to ripen).
• Season: winter — the material world, the body, money, stability, holding on to resources. In astrology the earth signs are Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn.

When Pentacles dominate a reading, the situation is firmly grounded in material reality. Practical questions come first — getting by, money, work, the body — and they need patience, effort and common sense.

From Tahmina’s readings

Ace of Pentacles — a reading on a business. The building, earthy side of the suit: “It’s always a chance. A seed that has huge potential to grow, but it will take time. This isn’t quick money.” Pentacles are about a harvest that ripens through work and patience.

Five of Pentacles — a reading on income. The other end — money crisis: “a symbol of financial crisis. You feel like you’ve been left out in the cold… there really is no money there right now, or it can’t be taken out.” Here earth means poverty, standstill and the feeling of being cut off from resources.