Lack and Plenty: A Tale of the Pentacles Tarot Cards

(Based on the representations found on the Rider-Waite-Smith deck.)

Recently, I blasted through Alain de Botton’s Status Anxiety, a book that examines the anxiety inherent in what others think of us. In it, de Botton charts the history of “aspiring above our station” — borrowing a phrase that conjures images of snobbish Jane Austen characters — and the angst we feel when we perceive ourselves as falling behind, or failing to keep up with the Joneses.

As this isn’t a book review I’ll dispense with my assessment of how compellingly (or not) the author proves his thesis, except to say that, an early point de Botton makes got me thinking about how the Pentacles relate to the themes of lack and plenty as envisaged through our material standing in the world. De Botton writes: “If our position on the [social] ladder is a matter of such concern, it is because our self-conception is so dependent upon what others make of us. Rare individuals aside (Socrates, Jesus), we rely on signs of respect from the world to feel tolerable to ourselves” (viii).

For many of us, feeling “tolerable to ourselves” is fraught, especially if, in the words of Jungian psychoanalyst James Hollis, we realize that “we have been living someone else’s life,” directed by their values and their choices. (James Hollis, Finding Meaning in the Second-Half of Life, 1). Oftentimes, we reach this stage at midlife, questioning purpose beyond the typical social and cultural roles we are expected to fulfill in…