Love and the 5 of Pentacles
Elliot Adam, author of the well-loved Fearless Tarot, now guides us through one of the most complex human emotions: love. From the hilarious and completely relatable opening pages Elliot takes our hand reassuringly has he reveals the secrets of love in the cards.
He’s taken a few extraordinary approaches to the material.
First, he gives equal attention to the reversed meanings of the cards, a rare if not unique occurrence. This puts them on equal footing instead of regulating them to the “less than” pile.
Second, in addition to the general meaning of each card, he provides meanings for the cards in the areas of: New Relationship, Long-term Partnership, Intimacy, Seeking Romance, Desires for both upright and reversed.
Often in social media we avoid the difficult cards, but Elliot, as always, takes the fear out of the rough cards. Because of that, let’s find out what the 5 of Pentacles might mean in a love reading. It is not a card most of us would want to get, yet if we do, now we can handle it with confidence.
FIVE OF PENTACLES
The Five of Pentacles has traditionally been called the poverty card. Poverty has less to do with a dollar amount and more to do with your sense of self-worth. In a love reading, the Five of Pentacles can highlight unhealthy relationships or beliefs that keep you in a state of emotional impoverishment. This card will also alert you to partnerships that leave you feeling emotionally depleted. You may be giving everything of yourself to another but receiving little to nothing in return. Poverty consciousness tricks you into believing that the scraps of a broken relationship are all you’ll be able to get. These kinds of partnerships often leave one feeling emotionally starved for more. The Five of Pentacles can also appear in a love reading when a relationship is subsisting on starvation rations. This drought is not sustainable. Something must change, or the bonds will inevitably fray. Even if one partner is heroically pouring in all their effort, one person can’t do it alone; two people, equally invested, must work together to ensure a healthy relationship’s survival.
In a Love Reading
New Relationship
The Five of Pentacles warns of one partner not being completely self-sufficient, financially or emotionally. This can manifest into a needy relationship dynamic where one partner uses guilt or head games to secure their emotional needs. This card will also warn you not to approach a new relationship like a starving dog, needy for affection. Maintain your dignity and know your worth!
Long-Term Partnership
The Five of Pentacles can indicate a relationship subsisting on starvation rations. It’s time for both partners to recommit equal love and effort if the union is to survive. This card can also highlight a major financial problem that is negatively impacting the health of the relationship. Identify the energy wasters in your partnership and eliminate them.
Intimacy
Intimately, the Five of Pentacles represents an absence of physical affection in relationships. One partner may be too tired, depleted, or struggling with a health issue that has been stifling their passion. This person will need self-care before the ice can melt. This card has also been long associated with a fear of rejection.
Seeking Romance
If you are single, the Five of Pentacles advises you to raise your standards and keep them high. Don’t listen to people who tell you you’re being too picky. Wasting your time with someone who is not meeting your standards is just that: a waste of time. Second best will never be enough. Raise the bar.
Desires
You feel a desire to stop expending your energy on people who drain you. After your interactions, it is important to check within. Do you feel drained, depleted, guilty, anxious, or unappreciated? These are big red flags. Raise your standards and insist on the life you desire without settling for less.
Reversed
New Relationship
The Five of Pentacles Reversed warns you to steer clear of people who don’t have their life together. Users, energy vampires, or people who play head games will always try to latch on to someone whose energy, money, or resources they can drain. You do not have to sacrifice yourself in payment for a manipulative person to stay.
Long-Term Partnership
Your partner either struggles financially or is emotionally depleted. They may not have the resources physically, mentally, or emotionally to give you the life you deserve. If you are getting less investment than you are giving, you must make them aware. If they still can’t get you what you need, you may have to make the difficult choice to choose yourself first.
Intimacy
There’s a difference between high quality and low quality. It is the same for who you decide to open yourself up to in intimate relationships. The Five of Pentacles Reversed tells you to stop taking low quality home. The honest voice within will whisper warnings when you know you are ignoring your values.
Seeking Romance
The Five of Pentacles Reversed also appears when it is time to toss out the beliefs that make you feel like garbage. This card tells you to take out the trash. No matter what happened in the past, today is a new day to start fresh. It’s time to restore your confidence and self-esteem. Engage in fulfilling connections and activities that reaffirm your worth.
Desires
When the Five of Pentacles appears reversed, it’s time to stop depleting yourself with experiences that feel hollow or unfulfilling. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. It’s time to turn off the spigot to the biggest energy wasters that have been draining your life force.
What the Five of Pentacles May Be Teaching You
The Five of Pentacles teaches you to avoid succumbing to poverty conscious- ness in love. A healthy, thriving, loving partnership will have joy and love at its center, not guilt, head games, or desperation. The Five of Pentacles encourages you to cast out any thought, person, or belief that is draining more than it gives. If you’ve allowed the belief into your heart that you aren’t worthy of the best, it’s time to throw that garbage out! Love yourself enough to stop begging for scraps. In the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, we see two sickly figures limping through the snow. They’ve lost everything. They feel unworthy of entering the warm church they pass, glowing with security. The sick figures on the Five of Pentacles can represent a sick situation you’ve remained in way longer than it is healthy. This card encourages you to walk away from any unhealthy situation that drains more from you than it gives. No matter how you’re currently feeling, you deserve a place by the warm fire, living your best life. Insist on the life and love that are truly worthy of you. You deserve nothing less.
