Five of Pentacles
Out in the cold, you walk past the lighted window. Help may be closer than you think.
- Card
- Minor Arcana · Pentacles (Earth)
- Upright keywords
- Hardship, Isolation, Anxiety, Lack
- Reversed keywords
- Recovery, Help, Things improving, Rescue
- Yes or no
- Leans no
Traditional correspondences Golden Dawn: Lord of Material Trouble / Thoth: Worry / 1st decan of Taurus · Mercury / Sephirah: Geburah (Severity)
Upright meaning
Hard times and feeling left out. Help may be nearby.
Two ragged figures trudge through the snow past a stained-glass window glowing with five pentacles. The Five of Pentacles is hardship: money problems, illness, feeling excluded. Upright, it acknowledges struggle, but reminds you to look for help, which is often closer than you think.
Reversed meaning
Recovery and help arrive.
Reversed, things begin to improve. Support arrives, or you find a way out.
For ways of reading reversed cards, see how to read reversals.
Love
Feeling left out in the cold.
Support and reconnection.
Work
Job loss or financial difficulty.
Recovery and new opportunities.
Money
Financial strain. Seek advice.
Improvement.
Relationships
Feeling excluded.
Finding support.
Health
Health worries. Seek care.
Recovery.
Tarot does not diagnose physical conditions. If you have symptoms that worry you, please see a doctor.
Mind and spirit
Spiritual poverty.
Finding faith again.
As a person
Someone struggling.
Someone recovering with help.
Timing
Hard times last a while, but help comes. In the calendar, late April is also a guide (roughly April 21–30).
Advice
Ask for help; you’re not alone.
Accept support.
Questions to ask yourself
- What help am I overlooking?
- Who can I reach out to?
- What do I really need?
A common misreading
The Five of Pentacles isn’t permanent. It is a hard time, with help nearby.
The story of this card
Five disrupts earth’s stability. Material security is lost, and the lesson is to seek help.
The Waite deck’s picture and symbols
In the Waite deck two poor figures, one on crutches, walk through snow past a lit church window with five pentacles.
History and differences between traditions
The Golden Dawn named it Lord of Material Trouble.
Words for today
I reach out for help.
Hard times pass.