5 Coins and A Bit of Attitude

5 of Pentacles (L) Legacy of the Divine Tarot, (R) Tarot of the Hidden Realm.

I like how different tarot decks can bring different interpretations to the same card.  The example I am going to use is the 5 of Pentacles.  It is a card of ‘being down on your luck, of hard times and despair.

In Legacy of the Divine we see a woman begging, with a look on her face that is meant to instil pity in us.  However I feel it is a ‘poor me’, self-pity look, it is the face of someone who feels she has nothing, and nobody,  not even hope or a shoulder to lean on.   

If she could realise that behind her is the light of hope; that it isn’t all bad and the situation is not going to last forever then maybe she would not looks so hopeless, destitute and alone.  She does not need to be begging for help as the answer is there if she just looks behind her, indicating that a different direction or way of thinking would possibly resolve the problem.

I think we all have that one friend / acquaintance that, no matter what, is always full of woe, ‘the Wednesday child’.  It makes no matter if they had a winning lottery ticket in their hand, it would still be something to complain about.  They may feel their disappointments in life are not understood by anyone.  Yet they somehow fail to rejoice in their successes, they don’t reflect when they are having a tough time that there have been times of happiness, abundance and love. The ‘why me?’ mentality doesn’t wash with me, not when my beloved dad was diagnosed with a terminal illness at aged 39 and when my mother was bereft asking ‘Why us?’  My father’s dignified response was ‘Why not us?’.

In Tarot of the Hidden Realm’s depiction of the 5 of Pentacles, we see two young women, destitute, yet gaining comfort from each other.  They look cold, hungry and full of despair yet they both look as if they are reflecting on what has brought them to this place, how this has happened and hoping for an ending to it.

The figure on the left of the card looks as if she is knows it’s just a period of waiting, of letting things take their course, if they can hold out for that long.  And if they have each other then things will be more bearable.

As in life, we also have friends who will go through our tough times with us.  Some have been there themselves and can advise and sympathise.  Others are just feeling our pain and it gives them the opportunity to reflect on something that has brought some pain or difficulty in their life and possibly deal with unresolved issues in themselves.  These are our treasures when we have nothing else.   

Having that shoulder to lean on, to give an embrace when you feel so lost is sometimes the one thing that can keep us going?  And who hasn’t had that friend who has told you ‘things will look better in the morning’?  Because one morning,  it will.