Fives in Tarot signify conflict and change. They are midway between the ace and number ten, therefore halfway in the arc of the suit’s journey. Here we are midway in the journey of pentacles: material wealth, resources, earthly values.
A destitute couple trudge barefoot in a snowstorm. The man is on crutches and looks up to the heavens in defiance. The woman is bundled in rags and huddled over, eyes downcast. They are so caught up in their despair they don’t notice the illuminated pentacles in the stained glass window of the church at their side. Help is at hand if only they would lift their eyes from their despair to notice it.
When problems come they tend to take over our entire perspective and we get caught in a negative mindset. We go over the problem, how it started, how awful it is, how impossible it is to solve and we become closed off to any chance of awakening to a possible solution. If we don’t believe a problem can be solved then how can we ever be receptive to a solution?
These unfortunate souls in this picture remind us of the pitfalls of a scarcity consciousness. Times may be difficult and challenging. But sure as the Wheel of Fortune goes up and down, nothing lasts forever, there is always change, and even in the darkest night there is the light of the stars.
This week the tarot instructs us to be mindful of our negative thoughts that keep us trapped in a web of negativity. This beautiful woman in her gorgeous red dress is blindfolded and bound within a cage of eight swords. She stands suspended above a landscape of water and earth. She is neither grounded or connected inwards to her intuition. She is stuck, trapped, perhaps of her own making. Have you ever been told, “You’re overthinking things…” When the thoughts are negative they feed a victim mindset and one can feel helpless and hopeless. But look closely at this picture and observe more closely. What if the woman loosened the binding (it doesn’t seem too tight around her body) and then took off the blindfold. She would see the path of water in front of her and quite possibly the castle on the hill behind her and quite possibly the connection between the two. Looking for solutions rather than dwelling on the problems you will naturally be drawn to the light and all will be revealed.
SpiritedTarot 