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    Five of Pentacles Tarot Card Meaning

    The Five of Pentacles symbolizes adversity, difficulty, challenges, and financial struggle.

    Five of Pentacles Keywords

    Upright

    Financial hardship, Scarcity mindset, Material loss, Isolation and worry, Rejecting help

    Skip to Upright meaning

    Reversed

    Financial Security, Overcoming adversity, Positive change, Recovery, Hope

    Skip to Reversed meaning

    Five of Pentacles - Meaning and Symbolism

    "The card of lack, isolation, resilience, and inner strength."

    In the classic Rider Waite deck, the Five of Pentacles depicts two figures trudging through a snowy night. One walks with crutches, clearly injured, while the other, cloaked in a ragged shawl, keeps her head bowed. Both appear cold, weary, and destitute. Behind them glows a richly lit stained-glass window marked with five golden pentacles, symbolizing a sanctuary they are either unaware of or believe they cannot access.

    This card often reads as a bad omen. It signals physical or emotional depletion, illness, or being left out, whether by society, a partner, or even your own inner support systems. And yet, like every card, its meaning can shift depending on where it falls in the reading. Sometimes it shows what’s present. Other times, what you’re being called to move through or finally name.

    Upright Five of Pentacles Meaning

    The upright Five of Pentacles represents visible and invisible deprivation. It’s a card of lack of material support, emotional validation, physical safety, or spiritual faith. It shows what happens when resources run thin and the people or structures that should offer help are absent or inaccessible.

    There’s a specific kind of exhaustion that comes when you’ve done everything “right”… and still feel unsupported. The upright 5 of pentacles comes up in a reading when you’ve quietly hit your limit.

    You’ve given more than you had, you’ve carried what no one saw, you’ve kept the lights on while your emotional well-being deteriorated and your financial struggle intensified. And now, you’re running on reserves, financially, emotionally, spiritually, maybe all three.

    Upright keywords

    Love Meaning

    abandonment, feeling unwanted, relationship strain, rejection, withholding affection

    Career Meaning


    job burnout, underpaid work, invisible labor, toxic work culture, survival mode at work, proving worth through output

    Finances Meaning

    debt, financial loss, unpaid labor, poverty, fear of lack, scarcity conditioning, under-earning

    Soul Searching Meaning

    emptiness, depletion, over-responsibility, survival mode, disconnect from self-worth, unworthiness

    Manifestation Meaning

    blocked manifestation, disbelief, scarcity, self-doubt, resistance to receiving, fear of success

    Love (Upright)

    Upright, the Five of Pentacles represents emotional deprivation in relationships. It points to connection built on imbalance where one person gives while the other withholds. This card reflects emotional abandonment or relationships where intimacy is rationed rather than shared. It often shows dynamics where needs go unmet and closeness is replaced with survival-mode caregiving and silent endurance.

    Career (Upright)

    In career, the upright 5 of pentacles represents depletion and financial difficulties. It shows up when you are pushing beyond capacity in a system that doesn’t notice until you break. The Five of Pentacles in career is a call to name what’s not working. The underpayment, the unspoken labor, and the expectation that you should be grateful just to be included.

    Finances (Upright)

    The upright Five of Pentacles in a money reading represents financial instability and the emotional toll of trying to hold everything together when resources are thin. It often shows up when there’s debt or inconsistent income and when the fear of financial loss starts shaping your choices more than actual numbers do.

    Soul Searching (Upright)

    The upright Five of Pentacles in a soul searching reading symbolizes a collapse in inner resourcing. It points to the deep fatigue that builds when you’ve been over-functioning for too long and quietly compensating for the support you’re not receiving. This card reflects the consequences of equating worth with endurance.

    This card shows up when you have been surviving beautifully. You have been making it look manageable, and you have been pouring from an empty well for so long, you started thinking thirst is normal. You can’t ignore the gap between what you’re carrying and what you’re getting back, and you can’t keep pretending you don’t need support.

    Manifestation (Upright)

    The upright Five of Pentacles in manifestation reveals the energetic gap between desire and belief. It reflects a pattern of calling in abundance while being anchored in fear. This card often shows up when manifestation efforts are rooted in over-efforting without addressing the underlying belief that you aren’t truly allowed to receive what you’re asking for.

    It reveals the moment you realize you’ve been trying to call in more while secretly believing you don’t deserve it. You’ve been scripting affirmations with one part of your mind, while the rest of your body quietly prepares to expect money struggles.

    Affirmation

    “I trust that asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.”

    Let's now discuss the Five of Pentacles reversed meaning in love, career, finances, soul searching, and manifestation. 

    Reversed Five of Pentacles Meaning

    When reversed, the Five of Pentacles signals movement. A shift away from depletion or rejection. It's the slow thaw after a long winter where what once felt permanent begins to soften. Support may not be flooding in, but it’s beginning to reappear.

    This card, reversed, shows up when you start to rebuild. You might be reworking your budget, cutting ties with people who only show up when you’re useful, or setting boundaries where you used to stay silent. You’re recognizing that strength isn’t about doing it all, it’s about knowing when you’ve had enough.

    Reversed keywords

    Love Meaning

    healing from heartbreak, reconnection, safe love, supportive partnership, receiving affection

    Career Meaning

    career recovery, new job opportunity, leaving toxic job, workplace healing, financial improvement, valuing your skills

    Finances Meaning

    budgeting success, increased income, stability, support, recovery

    Soul Searching Meaning

    renewal, returning to self, honest reflection, integration, clarity, recovery

    Manifestation Meaning

    Truthful manifestation, grounded clarity, stability, release of old patterns, worthiness, guiltless receiving

    Love (Reversed)

    Reversed, the Five of Pentacles in love often represents a shift out of emotional abandonment and into self-recognition. It can signal the beginning of repair either within a relationship or within your own ability to receive love. The dynamic of one-sidedness begins to rebalance. Isolation is no longer being tolerated as a norm. Where there was once silent suffering, there is now movement through boundary-setting, honest communication, or choosing to leave behind what no longer nurtures.

    Career (Reversed)

    Reversed, the Five of Pentacles in a career reading represents recovery from burnout and under-recognition. It marks a shift away from overextension without reward. This card suggests the end of survival-mode productivity and the beginning of a different relationship with work.

    This reversal marks a course correction. A subtle, but powerful refusal to be the backbone of a system that doesn’t care if you collapse. You might be rebuilding your income, exploring a new path, or simply unlearning the idea that you have to burn out to overcome financial struggle.

    Finances (Reversed)

    The reversed Five of Pentacles in a financial reading indicates movement out of scarcity. This card often reflects financial recovery and you’re no longer defining your worth by your balance.

    Maybe you’re rebuilding after financial loss or finally asking for the financial advice you were too afraid to admit you needed. There could be a realization that scarcity is often inherited, not permanent.

    You’re not pretending anymore. You’re no longer romanticizing minimalism when you actually want stability. You’re not gaslighting yourself into being “grateful for what you have” when what you have is not enough.

    Soul Searching (Reversed)

    The reversed Five of Pentacles in a soul searching context marks a shift from processing pain to moving beyond it. Where the upright card reflects abandonment and emptiness, the reversal suggests that the period of reflection has run its course.

    There’s a moment in every person's healing where the reflection stops being useful, and starts becoming a trap. This is the point where you realize you’ve been loyal to pain for longer than it deserved. This card asks for movement.

    Manifestation (Reversed)

    Reversed, the Five of Pentacles in a manifestation reading signals a shift from survival-based manifestation to something more sustainable. It reveals the underlying tension between what you want to call in and what your body still believes is possible. This card shows that while you're taking steps toward abundance, your inner state is still anchored in lack.

    You cannot call in overflow while your body is still stuck in scarcity mode. You can’t attract stability while secretly expecting everything to fall apart. And you definitely can’t manifest what you don’t believe you’re allowed to keep. You need to regulate, simplify, and stabilize, so that when what you’ve asked for does arrive, your well-being is secure enough to receive it.

    Affirmation

    “I release the belief that I have to do it all alone to be strong.”

    Return to Minor Arcana Meanings
    astrology

    Astrology

    Taurus

    Taurus is ruled by Venus and tied to comfort, stability, and material security. The Five of Pentacles shows what happens when those needs are threatened. When your basic sense of safety, home, food, income, intimacy, feels shaky. This card reflects the shadow side of Taurus: what it feels like to be disconnected from support, touch, and the resources you rely on to feel grounded in your body and life.

    element

    Element

    Earth

    Earth is about what’s real, your body, your finances, your home, your physical capacity. The Five of Pentacles isn’t metaphorical. It’s lived. It shows up when your physical or material life is under pressure. This card helps you ground by facing what’s not sustainable, not working, or simply not enough anymore.

    chakra

    Chakra

    Root Chakra

    The root chakra governs survival, safety, and your relationship to belonging. When the Five of Pentacles shows up, it points to a root-level disruption, feeling unsafe, unworthy, or unsupported. You may be stuck in survival mode, over-functioning to feel secure, or disconnected from your physical body. Meditation with this card can help bring awareness to where your foundation needs repair.

    crystal

    Crystal

    Smoky Quartz

    Smoky Quartz is a grounding, stabilizing stone. It’s supportive during grief, financial stress, and emotional exhaustion, all key themes of this card. This crystal helps you stay connected to your body and the present moment when things feel heavy or unclear. It doesn’t bypass difficulty, it helps you hold it with more steadiness.

    letter

    Letter

    ה


    Hey (ה) is for Hardship, Humility, Hope, and Holding, the essence of the Five of Pentacles. Esoterically, ה is the breath of spirit entering form, the soft exhale that creates space even in constriction.

    It carries the sound of being emptied and the possibility of being filled again. This is the gate between physical lack and quiet grace, where what’s unseen still sustains.

    numerology

    Numerology

    5

    In numerology, 5 represents instability, change, and challenge, but also movement. The Five of Pentacles is that turning point where something has to give. It marks the moment where what you’ve been tolerating becomes visible. The discomfort isn’t a dead end, it’s a catalyst. It pushes you to stop surviving and start choosing something different.

    Astrology: Taurus

    Taurus is ruled by Venus and tied to comfort, stability, and material security. The Five of Pentacles shows what happens when those needs are threatened. When your basic sense of safety, home, food, income, intimacy, feels shaky. This card reflects the shadow side of Taurus: what it feels like to be disconnected from support, touch, and the resources you rely on to feel grounded in your body and life.

    Element: Earth

    Earth is about what’s real, your body, your finances, your home, your physical capacity. The Five of Pentacles isn’t metaphorical. It’s lived. It shows up when your physical or material life is under pressure. This card helps you ground by facing what’s not sustainable, not working, or simply not enough anymore.

    Chakra: Root Chakra

    The root chakra governs survival, safety, and your relationship to belonging. When the Five of Pentacles shows up, it points to a root-level disruption, feeling unsafe, unworthy, or unsupported. You may be stuck in survival mode, over-functioning to feel secure, or disconnected from your physical body. Meditation with this card can help bring awareness to where your foundation needs repair.

    Crystal: Smoky Quartz

    Smoky Quartz is a grounding, stabilizing stone. It’s supportive during grief, financial stress, and emotional exhaustion, all key themes of this card. This crystal helps you stay connected to your body and the present moment when things feel heavy or unclear. It doesn’t bypass difficulty, it helps you hold it with more steadiness.

    Letter: ה


    Hey (ה) is for Hardship, Humility, Hope, and Holding, the essence of the Five of Pentacles. Esoterically, ה is the breath of spirit entering form, the soft exhale that creates space even in constriction.

    It carries the sound of being emptied and the possibility of being filled again. This is the gate between physical lack and quiet grace, where what’s unseen still sustains.

    Numerology: 5

    In numerology, 5 represents instability, change, and challenge, but also movement. The Five of Pentacles is that turning point where something has to give. It marks the moment where what you’ve been tolerating becomes visible. The discomfort isn’t a dead end, it’s a catalyst. It pushes you to stop surviving and start choosing something different.

    Reflective Questions for this card

    • Where in my life am I still standing in the cold, waiting for someone else to open the door I already know isn’t mine?
    • When was the last time I told the truth about how tired I am, without sugarcoating it, without making it sound noble?
    • What have I gone without for so long that I’ve started convincing myself I don’t even need it anymore?

    Let's dive into the Five of Pentacles meaning in the Trivedia Tarot Deck. 

    Tridevia Deck - Five of Pentacles

    Visual Description: Two women sit in prayer, their faces lit by a single candle. They are not in motion. They are not out begging. They are still, witnessing what is. Above them, bats hover in the dark. They carry three pentacles that represent a debt, a burden, a lingering tie to what’s been lost. Above each woman’s head, a single pentacle remains.

    Symbolism: Survival, being stripped of access excess, your relationship with security, money, and worth.

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    Tridevia Tarot Deck is designed with 156 crafted positive affirmations in our guidebook, uniquely aligned to both upright and reversed meanings of each card, to guide your readings but also help you manifest your dreams and awaken the divine within you.

    Using the Five of Pentacles for Meditation

    Step 1 icon

    Step 1

    Start by settling. Sit or lie down and let your body land.

    If you have the Five of Pentacles card, place it beside you or over your belly. If not, call the image into your mind. Two people moving through snow. One leans on crutches. One is barefoot. Let yourself notice what it stirs in you. Is it exhaustion, resentment, hunger, something else?

    Step 2 icon

    Step 2

    Now bring your awareness into your body.

    What part of you feels like it’s been outside in the cold? Take a moment & breathe into that space.

    Now ask yourself: Where in my life have I kept moving when I needed rest? Where have I said “I’m fine” because the truth felt too big to explain? Where have I stayed silent about what I need, because I didn’t want to be a burden?

    Step 3 icon

    Step 3

    Stay with what comes up.

    Now bring your attention to the stained-glass window behind the two figures. It’s warm, lit, possibly a place of refuge. But they keep walking past it. Now reflect, what kind of support have I walked past or talked myself out of? Was there a moment I told myself, “I don’t need it,” when I actually did?

    Step 4 icon

    Step 4

    Let yourself feel that the ache of having gone without.

    Now place a hand over the part of your body that feels most alert, your chest, your belly, your throat. Breathe. Say gently: “It’s okay to name what I’ve gone without. It’s okay that I didn’t ask. It’s okay that I’m ready to ask now.”

    Step 5 icon

    Step 5

    Shift your awareness

    Now, say softly, out loud or in your head: “I am no longer abandoning myself the way the world once did. I see the parts of me that were left out. I’m not leaving them there anymore.

    Let that truth sit in your body. When you’re ready, slowly open your eyes.

    Five of Pentacles — Cheat sheet

    Cheat sheet image

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