Use this resource as a guide to interpreting the Five of Pentacles tarot card as drawn by Kim Krans in The Wild Unknown tarot deck.
Visual Description
A red rose wilts in the center of this image, but the largest symbol in this card and also the only color within it. Red roses are a symbol of romantic love and union, which is a commitment we make to another. Wilted, it means the rose has either been neglected, or has reached the end of its natural lifespan. There is sadness and tiredness to this image.
Above the rose, give pentacles are strung together like beads on a necklace, a performative symbol of wealth and success. The string of pentacle pearls is the stark, dividing line between a deep black background and a crisp white background.
Numerology + Suits
5 is a halfway point in numerology, the number right in between 0 (the start) and 10 (the end). As such is a fork in the road. It is a moment where we look at how far we've come and commit to continuing on this journey we've set out on, or we change our minds and head back from whence we came, or we stay where we are out of fear of both the unknown and the past.
Pentacles correspond with the element of earth and represent the material world. This means anything related to career, work, monetary resources, the skills we use to gain those resources, and the tangible goods we can buy with those resources.
Upright Interpretation
If the pentacles represent our journey toward abundance and security in the material world, the five of pentacles is a critical junction in this journey. By this point, we've muddled our way through the early stages of a goal, enough to know whether or not we're on the right path, what we still need to un/learn, and what/who we may need to let go on to continue the path forward.
This is a point at which we say goodbye to something, whether intentionally or unintentionally. It could be that you're investing so much of yourself into this goal that you are neglecting other parts of, or people in, your life. It could be that you have grown in unexpected ways and no longer fit into your old spaces. It might be that you've gotten off track and are pursuing the goal for the wrong reason. Or perhaps you've determined that you no longer want to achieve this goal and now have to let go of it and the idea of the person you might have been should you have achieved it.
This is a card of consequences. Can you accept the consequences and move forward? Do the means justify the ends? Or is the cost to high and its time to turn back? These are the questions this card asks of you when it comes up in a reading.
Reversed Interpretation
Reversed, you contemplation of these consequences change in tone. There is a greater sense of fear and paranoia. You are waiting for the other shoe to drop, maybe even making it happen, out of a fear of what it would mean to move forward. There is a choice to be made here, but you don't want to be the one to make it. You want to passively let the choice be made for you.
When this card comes up reversed, investigate your fear. Are you afraid of failure? Are you afraid of success? Are you afraid of moving beyond your comfort zone?