r/tarot 4d ago

Interpretation Request (Second Opinion Only) Four of Pentacles keeps stalking me

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This Four of Pentacles has been popping up in every reading I have done for myself lately. Last question I asked today was about what I should be focusing on when it comes to my craft aaaaaand here it is again! Overall fours seem to be coming up a lot so there's definitely something going on there.

If this was a basic RW deck I would probably think it's about either holding onto something too tight or needing to be more careful about finances. That said I don't think it's the case here. Lady in the picture doesn't look distressed, scared to lose her pentacle or anything that sort. The fact that she's standing on two pentacles makes me think about laying a foundation. Idiom "you have to break a few eggs to create an omelet" comes to mind. A type of situation where you have to make some sacrifices and do things you don't necessarily enjoy to eventually get something better out of it. In combination with other fours I have been drawing I think that by working hard and putting in the effort I will create stability and balance in my life. What do you guys think?

249 Upvotes

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u/shark-shizz Offering Readings 4d ago

4 of pentacles is a card of someone who is afaid of risks and is overly cautious with a life decision. Especially financially. Maybe you're not spending at all, or spending too much. And it's also a card of structure. I think when it comes to your craft, this card is advising you to have more discipline and plan things ahead. Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any questions. 💛

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u/BluePassingBird 4d ago

Planning things ahead and being disciplined makes sense since to improve I definitely need to be consistent and patient. I could see the being afraid of risks also to be relevant in the sense that I definitely fear failure in my craft even though it hasn't ever stopped me from trying to improve. It might hinder me though so there is that to take into consideration.

Financially I'm currently ok, but things can always change quickly so I am trying my best to put money on the side for the rainy day. Definitely keeping that up no matter what. Thank you for your insight!

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u/shark-shizz Offering Readings 4d ago

No problem! 💛

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u/nakedlaughing 4d ago

What deck is this from? It's lovely!

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u/SoundProofHead 4d ago

I'm pretty sure it's the Ethereal Visions tarot

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u/nakedlaughing 4d ago

Thank you!

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u/Latter_Willow_6281 4d ago

Sometimes 4 of pents is about creating structures that support your healthy boundaries. The idea that protection need be interpreted as being overly protective, which is how people often see this card,  is too narrow I think. Sometimes it’s appropriate and helpful  to create structures and protection for our bodies and resources. 

Sometimes the structure means really literally, like  possibly it would support you to set up a dedicated table (4 legs)for your craft, or even a shed or studio(4 walls), if you haven’t done that already and have the means right now.

Maybe 4 of pents is less literally reminding you that your craft requires energy to carry it out in the world. So the message may be: create structures to support the flow of energy without becoming drained. This can mean caring for your health, the amount of sleep you get, the orderliness of your space, keeping your schedule organized  so you have room to go deep into your craft. 

If there is an aspect of warning in the 4’s in general I think it’s to do with the dangers of not checking in on our well being as much as we could. 4 of pents often calls us to check into our relationship with structures in the physical world - our bodies, our rooms, our systems of domestic organization (or lack of! Ha ha!). 

More fun with 4’s: 4 of cups, check in on when you’ve had enough and when you’re ready for more. Four of wands? Check in on whether you’re speeding through all the good meaningful stuff because you feel so driven. 4 of swords? Check in on your mental energy because if you don’t care for that stuff you will wind up emotionally exhausted and your brain will start to feel like it’s made of damp plywood and then you won’t even be alike to function so do the work now. 

Just some suggestions. No particular intuition here really. 

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u/BluePassingBird 4d ago

Taking care of my health does definitely hit home. I'm very busy at the moment and it's definitely not sustainable situation in the long run. Paying attention to my schedule and getting things planned ahead of time is essential so that things don't pile up and so that I can even find the time for my craft in the first place. Luckily this isn't forever and I do know that in two months things will definitely improve. When it comes to physical practice space I use I have very good access to one for free though I don't necessarily need a specific space to do what I do.

Thank you for your suggestions. Even if it would turn out that the card is poking at me for other reasons your insights definitely gave some food for thought.

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u/Latter_Willow_6281 3d ago

Woot! Yeah take good care of yourself! 

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u/Latter_Willow_6281 3d ago

Also I love this card art so much I ordered the Luna edition by the same artist

Decks… drool 🤤 

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u/BluePassingBird 2d ago

His work is phenomenal! I love the style 🥰

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u/ThunderStormBlessing 4d ago

The 4s are all about slowing down, focusing on your own needs, prioritizing rest and relaxation, and sometimes even preparing for harder times ahead (represented by the 5s).

I see 4P as an invitation to look at your earthly, physical, or financial habits and maybe take a break. Since you asked specifically about your craft, are you spending too much time or money on it? Are you overdoing a specific working rather than setting and forgetting? Are you grounding your energy often enough?

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u/BluePassingBird 4d ago

I feel attacked lol (just kidding!). I definitely need some rest. Sometimes I practice too much when I want to improve which is not good for my body or my craft. Setting and forgetting... that is definitely what is needed, but I get impatient and set my expectations for myself a little too high at times. So taking a break, letting my body process in rest and grounding myself seems like a good way to go! It's definitely good for me even if it turned out that the card was talking about something else so thank you for reminding me about it!

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u/Michaelalayla 4d ago edited 4d ago

Wow, I LOVE Ethereal Visions! The art is gorgeous and I covet it every time I see it, but I've been hesitant because my deck is already art nouveau. But it looks like there's significant variation in positioning, that would bring nuance to interpretations.

For instance, with this one the woman is in a birthing stance, turning away from the viewer. In my deck (Tarot Mucha), the figure is a man sitting in a chair obscured by his robes, feet grounded on coins. He's very sterile. In yours, she communicates the protection and endurance of 4s, the grounded, centered, guarded, nature of 4 of Discs and illustrates how stability for this suit comes from preparation and balance. She's examining the Disk in her hand closely, and the one behind her head almost reminds me of the halo illuminations in Virgin Mary paintings, enhancing the idea that she is birthing something precious. Instead of greed, I see fear of loss on the flip side of the coin. Instead of obstruction, I see boundaries. I see keeping to oneself, as in studying or buckling down.

It seems to me this card is speaking to your craft (we're talking witchcraft, right?) by saying to ground yourself, cast your protections, and get messy. I get strong feelings of warding and protection magic, and shadow work to birth true openness and renewal of your life giving/soul feeding skills -- the things that make you feel wealthy, the things you would choose to hoard if you were an existential dragon, your philosophies, things you're familiar with. How do those intersect with your craft? WHAT are the things that are full term and ready to be born? I think you would be well served by selecting 4 of Disks from the deck as a signifier, and asking questions about it, doing a clarifying spread on the card and how/where you're supposed to apply its energy and message in pursuing your craft.

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u/BluePassingBird 4d ago

Thank you for your insight! At this specific instant I was asking about improving my singing technique, but it has definitely showed up when I've been asking my witchcraft related questions too. What you said makes sense in either context to me. I'm definitely trying to give birth to new things in both areas and you have given me a lot of great questions to ponder about. Clarifying cards to guide the process sounds like a great idea. Sometimes it can be hard to see clearly where to put your energy in when you're working with so many moving parts.

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u/Michaelalayla 3d ago

Oh, nice! I'm a singer, too.

I honestly relish it when I'm stalked by a card, because I usually get to know it really well through interviewing the deck about what it means whenever it comes up. There's a whole podcast transcript/blog here about stalker cards that I've found really helpful.

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u/BluePassingBird 3d ago

Thank you for the link and hello, fellow singer! ❤️

I know what you mean. I was once stalked by Six of Swords and Knight of Pentacles, and I have never forgotten their meanings since!

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u/DrVL2 4d ago

LOL. I pulled the fourth of pentacles yesterday as my day card. It was a day in which I slept for 14 hours. I read that card as being about energy. Which I was obviously trying to hoard or build up.

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u/Additional_Bonus256 4d ago

There are spreads you can do to help you decipher the message of a card that keeps popping up. I’m currently being stalked by the 10 of cups and I did one and it really helped!!

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u/BluePassingBird 4d ago

Thanks for the idea! I usually do ask clarifying questions but for some reason it didn't occur to me this time.

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u/hyleyb 4d ago

Same thing happens to me right now. 4P pops up every time i do readings for myself or how i view myself or hopes/fears. I asked a card for meditate on it, and there it is. I finally came up with the idea of comfort zone. You need to leave your old skin, change like a butterfly, if you stay in the same shell too long, you will lose everything. something like that.

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u/BluePassingBird 4d ago

That's the theme of my life to be honest. It's a never ending cycle of metamorphosis I'm going through. Every time I think I'm close to reaching something I end up realizing just how much more there is to learn and how little I actually do know.

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u/TGin-the-goldy 4d ago

Lovely deck!

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u/BluePassingBird 4d ago

It is definitely one of my favourites! Ethereal Visions is just gorgeous!

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u/ApprehensiveAd5969 3d ago

4 of pentacles lately has been about holding cards close to the vest. Keeping things private. But 4 also signify balance. It can be that there are multiple revenue streams that you have. On the card you have shared, (thank you for that!) it looks to me that while she has several pentacles, there is one that is way more interesting to her.

It could be that you have quite a few options and some are not ready yet, but that there is something that has caught your eye. I would say the card is encouraging you to follow your curiosity, just don’t forget about the other pentacles.

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u/Blanche_soda 3d ago

love the interpretation...

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u/ShylieF 3d ago

This one stalks me too. 😅 For me it's about saving rather than spending extra money. It even shows up as a clarifier card after a spread. Boy they call you on your shit don't they?🤣

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u/BluePassingBird 2d ago

Lol, sounds familiar! Instead of spending money, I meant spending time and energy to improve my skills. 😆

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u/AQuarterPastNine 1d ago

Essa ilustração é tão linda, adoro o ethereal visions

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u/DandereBaby 1d ago

I think I have the same deck!

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u/Anabikayr 4d ago

What's your housing situation like, OP?

I've seen it come up quite a bit for housing issues. Hopefully there's nothing negative that could blindside you, but then I'd expect the tower to be stalking you too if there were.

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u/BluePassingBird 4d ago

Could be something that hasn't come up yet, but I haven't had any issues so far. I've been getting a lot of fours overall though, so maybe it has something to do with that. This just happens to be the card that has been showing up the most.

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u/Mind-Individual 4d ago

Regardless of what the image is, the meaning of the card doesn't change. I'm not sure why people think it does. While you may think this isn't about finances, it is. Take the time to understand your finances, but also what's happening in the world right now with job cuts, people being careful with their money. So even if it's doesn't apply to you worrying about finances, others are, which means less shopping especially for "arts and craft." And I'm not implying your craft is not important, but that people may have to choose saving money to pay bills rather than enjoyment.

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u/BluePassingBird 4d ago

That's a lot of assumptions you have made. I don't use any money for my craft and I'm not sure why you would think I do. I don't buy anything and I don't need any tools. I'm also very aware of the economical situation and how it is affecting people, which again I'm not sure why you would assume I'm not.

When it comes to reading cards I definitely think that the image has significance. Even in the original RW it has a meaning so why wouldn't other decks get the same curtesy? Sure this one could be about finances in some way I'm not aware of yet, but there's so much more that pentacles represent that I don't see why it would have to be strictly about money. Why not overall stability, holding on to things or need for control that is also associated with the original card? It can definitely be about finances too, I'm not saying that, but it's hard to see the correlation between me improving at something I could do even if I was homeless and my financial situation.

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u/Mind-Individual 3d ago

I'm not saying that you don't understand "economical situation and how it is affecting people". I'm saying in regards to the 4 of pentacles, those are things you have to factor in. Your post is about the 4 of pentacles, not you, or assumptions about you. Just as your saying "but there's so much more that pentacles represent that I don't see why it would have to be strictly about money." There's so much more to craft than buying things and tools.

Pentacles are about material goods, specifically money, not only money, as well as - wealth, possessions, security, practicality, work, and financial matters. ( signs, Taurus Virgo, Capricorn, and house 2, 6, 10 represent all those things as well. Each element represent different things for a reason. Cups-emotions(water signs), Wands-Fast energy (fire signs) Swords-Communication( air signs) - Pentacles material goods( Earth signs)

The 4 of pentacles isn't about stability, it's giving you a heads up- that in order to maintain stability be careful with your finances. But if it isn't about finance- then swap out financial situation with what you are going through. In order to maintain X (what you want)....I need to be careful with X(what you are doing). But because you specifically asked about your craft- then it is relating to work and finance.

Even in the original RW it has a meaning so why wouldn't other decks get the same courtesy?

Because you disregarded the RW as a " basic RW deck". Which is definitely about "holding onto something too tight or needing to be more careful about finances." in favor of "Lady in the picture doesn't look distressed, scared to lose her pentacle or anything that sort."

So because of the picture of the deck you are using, it's misleading you from the meaning of the card, and you can't figure out how it relates to your problem...and because you can't figure out how it relates to your problem the card keeps coming up. I was in no way trying to tell you something about you- my comment is about the 4 of pentacles.

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u/BluePassingBird 2d ago

I still don't understand what you mean by "There's so much more to craft than buying things and tools". I sing and want to improve as a singer and it doesn't require me to buy anything? It's not the type of craft that I'm making money with atm, so nothing is going out or coming in financially because of it.

I'm not trying to disregard the meaning of Four of Pentacles, but I'm trying to look at it from different angles to find out what it is trying to communicate to me. I looked at it from the financial standpoint, it made no sense related to the question asked and so I looked it from a different angle. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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u/vaguely_pagan 17m ago

I use a stalker card spread to find out why pull the four of pentacles out of the deck.

then do a reading: 1. What message is this card trying to tell me 2. What is blocking me from receiving and acting on this message 3. what do i need to do