Four of Pentacles

Obsessive, wary, and possessive – like what we feel at an airport or train station, worrying about the safety of our luggage. This is the card of control and anxiety. If the Four of Pentacles appears, there is fear for existence, great hidden anxiety, and an acute need for protection. It expresses suspiciousness, stubbornness, and a huge reluctance to take any risks whatsoever.

All energy is spent on preserving the status quo (nothing goes out, though nothing can come in either). We go in circles, clinging to the current situation out of a striving for stability and security, which has turned almost into an obsession.

The person of the Four of Pentacles does not let go of their suitcases – and won't abandon a suitcase without a handle either. In this sense, they are like an immobile fortress. 'A first-class miser,' that's what one wants to say. They fear falling into poverty in old age. They fear losing anything at all (if the Nine of Swords is nearby, then just panicky).

They are prone to trembling over their money if they are a businessman, over their loved ones if they are a family man, over their place in the troupe if they are an actor (and star status will only heighten their fears)... one could go on endlessly. Possibly, at present, the querent is defending against some attacks directed at them. According to it, a person is prone to exercise extreme caution in everything, trembling over their property, as they understand it.

It describes egoism, greed, narrow-mindedness, pettiness, and what they will concern – money, relationships, etc., is another question. Loyalty to one's habits, unwillingness to change anything – one of the main keys of this card. 'A crusader of one's principles,' or even more accurately – a 'tank' (presence of armor, narrow field of view, crampedness, yet fixation on one's 'combat mission').

Power and an inflexible approach in the struggle for order, stability, and structure in life. Maintaining these standards seems more important than cheerfulness and humanity. The person of the Four of Pentacles definitely has character, though rather unpleasant, and they know what they want and don't want, sometimes – even too well, and ultimately, it all boils down to serving their own dear self.

The best this card can give – practicality and organizational talent within narrow limits, the ability to rely only on oneself, achieving material security, and the ability to cope with any difficult life situation while maintaining control. The worst – the wretchedness of greed, expressed in complete distrust of others, calculating everything in money, and readiness for any meanness for their own interests.

At the same time, the person is characterized by a lack of compassion and ignobility, explained by plausible pretexts ('I have a family and children,' 'I earned this through hard work and don't intend to share with anyone,' etc.). Midway between these states lies heightened caution, which can take various forms ('normal heroes always go the roundabout way' with the Seven of Swords, 'how scary to live' with The Moon, and so on). It characterizes a person firmly on their feet but simultaneously conservative to the point of timidity: they are afraid to take the slightest step aside, just to not introduce anything new, and hence unfamiliar, into their life.

This card can 'catch up with' a creative person as well (by the way, one of its meanings is hereditary talent). In this case, it can indicate that they are clinging to their laurels or their habitual working manner; it's hard for them to trust the flow, and they block their own creative abilities within the bounds of a well-trodden rut. It can also be obsession with some idée fixe, not necessarily material. Although generally, this card often describes that specific degradation of consciousness which befalls a person if they worry about monetary affairs from morning till night (be it a 'crust of bread' or deals with elite real estate) – interests catastrophically narrow, the psyche stops responding to non-material stimuli, and neglect of everything except one's own interests, known among the people as egoism, blooms luxuriantly. You can't agree with a person of the Four of Pentacles to take a risk or have champagne (you'll still have to pay for it!).