Four of Disks

Meanings according to the Rider-Waite:

ASTROLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Saturn in the Second House as a symbol of preoccupation with the future due to unfavorable circumstances.

FOUR OF DISKS The Four of Disks signifies excessive preoccupation with the future, manifesting in greed, miserliness, and a deeply rooted fear of any change. Such an "attitude" is essentially hostile to life, because any attempt to "stop the moment," to hold everything as it is, is not only futile but also contrary to the natural course of things. Thus, this card usually indicates that we are one step away from stagnation, and is often a harbinger of the Tower (16), which signifies the breaking of a hardened crust. If the Four of Disks falls in a position that demands such behavior of us, it means that at this moment we need to concentrate, to limit ourselves in something, to retreat — or, having taken up a task, no longer to let it slip from our hands.

From the book: Hajo Banzhaf. THE TAROT HANDBOOK. Translated from the German by E. Kolesov. Publisher: Center for Astrological Research, 1999.

FOUR OF PENTACLES Power. The third decan of Capricorn, from January 10 to 19. Astrological equivalents: Mercury, Mars, Uranus in Cancer, the Second and Fourth Houses. The third decan of Capricorn symbolizes the attainment of real material results, reliance upon firm foundations, and steadfast conviction in the rightness of one's path. This decan is characterized by practicality, the constructive use of opportunities, and an objective understanding of one's own advantage. This decan is ruled by the Sun, and within it arises the question of how to dispose of the material abundance that life provides. The understanding of the power of material values at times compels one, in the fear of poverty, to hoard wealth, and at times to renounce its self-sufficient power for the sake of one's freedom and to lose everything entirely. Representatives of this decan show interest in matters of the struggle for survival in extreme conditions, which allows the disclosure of those potential capacities of the personality whose realization society places under restriction. People of this decan possess a natural taste: the imperfect does not satisfy them. This decan symbolizes the acquisition by a person of all the material values necessary for his life and further activity. The trap: stubbornness, inertia.

Upright position In the upright position, the card symbolizes a certain ecological niche occupied by a person within society. The FOUR OF PENTACLES is reliable; there is no place for chance here. The success attained here is lawful and is the consequence of painstaking labor. The FOUR OF PENTACLES may symbolize a small, drab, and dull domestic life. This is safety, reliability, order in the home, financial stability (a meager but regular pension), health (the norm on the verge of pathology). Strength, character, worldly needs, someone who knows what he wants, faithful to his point of view, possessed of firm character. A reliable partner. A person attaining success (though a modest one). In the theme of the FOUR OF PENTACLES the theme of Cancer and the planets significant in this sign — Jupiter and the Moon — sounds distinctly. Through Jupiter may come gifts, patronage, social benefits, humanitarian aid. The Moon accentuates the significance of home, family ties, reliability. At the same time, the FOUR OF PENTACLES may sometimes also mean greed. "I earned this by hard labor and have no intention of sharing with anyone." Ignobility, justified by unseemly pretexts ("I have a family and children").

Reversed position In the reversed position, the FOUR OF PENTACLES indicates negative manifestations associated with the sign of Cancer. These are monetary losses, disorder in the surrounding world, especially at home; disorder in affairs, the inability to gather oneself, to organize, slovenliness, obstruction, the cessation of steady income, a state of suspension, prodigality. Through this card pass such notions as "my hut stands at the edge" (i.e., it's none of my concern), "one's own shirt is closer to the body" (i.e., looking out for oneself first). The reversed FOUR OF PENTACLES is connected with the concept of boundary and symbolizes a fence, an enclosure, any kind of demarcation of plots. This may pertain both to land and to work (each takes his own share).