4 of Pentacles: Filling the Void

Questions from Mary K Greer's 'Tarot for Yourself':

What is keeping you centred? What are your greatest strengths? How are you powerful? What gives you a sense of security? What do you want to hold on to or possess? Who or what do you need to protect? 

I last drew this card nearly a month ago, so I linked to it in the 'Featured Post' to the right.

I do draw this card rather frequently, and it is quite true that stability and security are very important to me. You could perhaps say they are an obsession to me. Material possessions are not that important, but security is. Stability is. Spending makes me feel that I'm putting myself in danger, always has. I've always looked upon everything in terms of how many hours it took me to earn the money that paid for it. I drop a teapot and say, 'It took me half a day to earn the money that bought that and now I've broken it.' Or I might justify a purchase by saying to myself, 'That is only fifteen minutes of work.' I'm a scrimper and saver and my little hoard makes me feel safe, in the same way I feel satisfied knowing there are several tins of baked beans and plenty of rice and pasta in the pantry -- we won't starve. Not that I ever have starved (though when I was in uni I remember living for a week on a box of Cheerios, so I guess your definition of starving may vary.)

I've never considered myself materialistic because I don't feel the need to keep stuff and frequently have clear-outs where I give away or donate loads of accumulated things, and I am not bothered about flash cars or prime real estate. Still, even though my security blanket may be less flash than some, I suppose my grasping need for feeling safe is a type of materialism. There are more ways to feel secure and stable than a certain amount of cash in the bank or number of cans in the pantry, but these are two of the coping mechanisms I've developed.

Wanting to take a closer look at this today, I have turned to James Ricklef's 'The Soul's Journey: Finding Spiritual Messages in the Tarot'.

The question becomes, 'How much do we have to have in order to find peace and happiness?' and the problem is that for many of us, the answer is generally, 'More!' But if you have your basic needs met so that you do not have to worry about them, then you do not need more money to become happy; you need more stability within. 

This I quite agree with. If I were interested in acquiring a lot of money, I would have pursued a more lucrative career, I would be more of a go-getter in that way. I don't really crave money so much as stability, so let's see what more he has to say:

Through practices like meditation, mindful living, and spiritual devotion, you can create inner stability and find a place of refuge within where you will find peace and security in times of turbulence and anxiety. So a spiritual practice is like putting money into a savings account when times are good so that it will be there to carry you through when times get tough. 

I agree with this statement and have lived firsthand this experience of a meditation practice serving me well in times of trouble. And it is true that money in the bank was not my biggest concern at that time -- though of course that could have been because there was some money in the bank!

Here's the sentence that stands out strongest to me today:

We each have our own dysfunctional ways of filling the void that is not really there... 

'...when the real solution is to work on rediscovering our true divine nature, which does make us whole.'

It's not wrong to want security or even to be materialistic. It's not wrong to be rich. It's not virtuous to be poor. The 4 of Pentacles reminds us to examine our deepest needs for security and stability. Where do they come from? How are they affecting our decision making? Our anxiety level? Our overall enjoyment of our lives? Do we need to inspect and challenge the behaviours we have developed in order to feel secure and stable?

I think maybe we do.