Four of Pentacles: tarot meaning, upright and reversed

A seated figure holds one pentacle, balances another, and pins two beneath the feet.

Upright

security · holding

Protect a foundation while noticing the cost of keeping everything tightly controlled.

Reversed

insecurity · release

Possession may become a source of fear, or a grip may be loosening.

In a reading

The position gives this card a particular task: a description of the situation, a challenge, or guidance. Read its image and meaning alongside the other cards and the question that brought them together.

Golden Dawn correspondence

Sun in Capricorn, 20–30 degrees. This is the attribution in Book T.

Sources

A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. These notes are original interpretations of the Waite–Smith imagery, informed by that text.