Four of Pentacles

Cardinal earth: sovereignty, cushioning, crowns

FOUR OF PENTACLES

The Four of Pentacles is about sovereignty and enjoying the fruits of the labour of the Three of Pentacles.

In the image from the Rosebud Tarot, the figure is settled among books and plants enjoying the sunlight; they are cushioned and contented.

CAPRICORN III + FOUR OF PENTACLES

This card correlates with the third decan of Capricorn. You can learn more about the decans here.

Capricorn III is the place where the building work of Capricorn II comes to fruition.

This is a decan co-ruled by the Sun and Mercury, and this pairing can be imagined as the one who wears the crown, with all the responsibilities and rewards that brings.

Austin Coppock says of this decan that,

The great construction undertaken in the second face succeeds and upon this edifice do the mighty figures native to the third face sit, holding court atop thrones of power. Here we see the apex of matter’s many mountains. Their struggle is not to build, but to administer to the world. Considered a solar decan by some, regents abound. This is the place of the religious leader, the CEO and the King.

– ‘Capricorn III: The Throne’, Austin Coppock

Kira Ryberg expands on the theme of the throne, and what it might mean to land on the ‘cushioned’ throne – a place where you are living in comfort, but perhaps glossing over what it has taken to get here.

In Capricorn III, we see the development, expansion and rulership over the works that were dreamed up and begun in the second decan. We see an ascent to power that can land one atop a cushioned throne, potentially a the expense of others and potentially at the expense of oneself.

– Kira Ryberg, ‘36 Decans’

I love Maeg Keane’s exploration of the possibility of the crown, and what it can mean to inhabit the energy of the sovereign. They explore all the ways in which rulership might be lively, relational, and animistic rather than rigid and calcified.

Your crown awaits. Is it a daisy chain? Is it a coronet around a jester's hat? Is it a tiara of racoon bones? A heavy thing of dark gold and amethyst? Is it candlelit black tower full of creatures whispering to each other atop your head? Perhaps yours is a sprawling thing of peacock plumage. Or a coronet of silver spires, bright red velvet, and ermine fur. Or a fox cap wreathed in hellebore. Or a diadem of fennel fronds, dried seaweed, and black pearls. Maybe it is the very planets themselves whirling around you always.

– ‘Enter The Throne Room’, Maeg Keane

There is the potential for reconnecting to more vulnerable aspects of the self in this decan, in allowing the heat of the sun to soften icy Mercurial powers.