Five of Pentacles

UPRIGHT

Two beggars limp through the snow past a stained-glass church window glowing warmly behind them. The Five of Pentacles is material hardship — illness, poverty, exclusion — sharpened by the sense that warmth exists nearby but cannot be reached. The card honors how cold it is, and notes, quietly, that the church door is still a door.

REVERSED

Reversed, the Five of Pentacles is the turn toward the church, or the long cold beginning to break. The card can name the slow recovery from a hard season, the willingness to finally ask for help, or the harder problem of a person so used to being outside that they cannot bring themselves to step through the door.

Return to the full deck, or draw the cards and see Five of Pentacles in context.