Security Is An Illusion
Fear and the Fours
Fear
“Fear is a force that can turn that which is real, meaningful, warm, gentle and kind in your life into devastation and desert. Fear derives its power also from time and distance between us and everything else inside us, very often the way we are towards these things becomes fearful because we get insecure.” (Walking in Wonder, John O’Donahue, 2015)
John O’Donohue died in his sleep in 2008, a heart attack at the age of 52 while on vacation in France. It was unexpected.
Thinking about this week’s post, the idea of security kept returning to my mind, how and why we feel safe and stable, how and when we don’t. The relationship between fear and security is close I think, they are tangled up in each others’ arms, sometimes so tight one or the other can’t breathe, other times just a casual arm isthrown across the shoulder. When we fear Donohue says we are sidling up alongside death, opposed to a sense of wonder in the world. But still we are afraid, afraid of loss and gain, and what happened before and what will happen after, and who thought what, and will we survive. Most importantly I think, we fear who we really are, and who we might become if we let fear subside.
The Fours
Let’s look at the Fours today, led by The Emperor, the embodiment of safety and security. He is ruled by fire and the planet Mars. His astrological sign is Aries, strong, powerful and also stubborn; note the representation of the ram on his throne. The Emperor is the tarot’s best representation of the Father, the best kind of father, one who protects his family at all costs, holding the ankh scepter in one hand and the globe in the other—he holds life and the world in his hands.
The Fours are all depictions of how we deal with fear, in both healthy and unhealthy ways, how we reach for and sometimes attain the security we desire. The number four is all about stability. Think of the four legs of a table, secure and balanced.
Pentacles
The Four of Pentacles comes up fairly often in readings I do for others, and I’ve come to internalize the feelings it brings. Pentacles represent our resources, and the Four shows us our need to protect what is ours while leaving some for others. Notice the unprotected pentacle atop our figure’s head. Will our figure give up his stability if one pentacle goes away? Three legs of a stool might work just as well. The Four of Pentacles reminds us of our need for the basics of food, housing, a savings account to feel secure in this world.
Cups
The Four of Cups, the seat of our emotions asks us if we have enough, if we really need more. Our figure has three cups already. Is a fourth really necessary? Or alternatively, maybe he is stubbornly refusing what might in fact help him. The man with crossed legs and arms is refusing the Ace of Cups, a new beginning, because he is afraid of what security he might have to give up, opening his heart again, being vulnerable.
Wands
The Four of Wands shows us a different kind of safety and security: marriage, a peaceful life in a bucolic setting. Our couple has passed through the chuppah and moves on to a safe and secure life together. They have the solid foundation of a castle in the background. For them the fear of insecurity is over, for now. They can count on one another and are spiritually bound.
Swords
The figure on this card stands almost in opposition to the Four of Wands in so far as he must withdraw and take time for contemplation alone to regain balance. There is safety in his aloneness but notice he still wears his armor, his protective gear. If we think of the suits in the Minor Arcana as taking us on a journey from one to ten, we have to look back at the pain of the Three of Swords and recognize it is time to heal before we move on to Five.
A Couple of Notes
Tarot Circle has been spottily attended and I have made a decision to change the structure of my offerings for paid subscribers.
If you are a current paid subscriber or want to become one, you will receive a free tarot reading of your choice. I hope this gift will give you insight into yourself as well as the power of the cards. Paid subscribers will receive a free reading each year they subscribe. Please contact me at hanna.mc@comcast.net to schedule a reading over zoom or in person.
Summer Solstice Event Coming Up! June 19th 5pm PST/8pm EST.
Please join Laurie Blackwell and I for a tarot gathering to celebrate this important celestial event. The workbook is amazing and the event will be recorded for replay.
As always thank you for supporting my work.
Hanna xo
It's interesting that the "yin" 4s (Pentacles and Cups) seem to focus on the negative consequences or lessons of an internal look at fear (both material and emotional) whereas the "yang" 4s (Wands and Swords) focus more on the actions that take us away from fear--union and rest, respectively. Here, I see the inner and outer directions of the cards reflecting on or reacting to fear.