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The Gold Foil- Five of Pentacles concentrates on a triter illustration of being "out in the cold" than a more esoteric deck by illustrating the mundane meanings of loss of profession and monetary resources. Here a beggar couple pass below the stain glass window of a medieval church, implying a feeling of hopelessness and lack of Spirit. The five Pentacles are shown in the window stain glass art of the Church. In Western Hermetic Qabalah and Thoth Tarot, Geburah- the Fifth Sephira on the Qabalistic Tree of Life rules the Fives; a state of energy that is severe in its function. Geburah is a corrective state of intelligence, whose severity is an action towards self-assessment, rather than anything karmic.

The Tarot of the Old Path illustrates the Five pentacles in the greens of the earth element it represents.

Also represented on this card is a type of poverty, as a destitute couple stand under a tree bearing five pentacles.

The man's attempt to comfort the woman seems feeble because of his wounded hands that symbolize intense suffering. The ragged clothes imply a wounded soul.

Although the woman's hands cover her face in a gesture of despair, the man's eyes are raised in hope of finding surcease from above.

The Primary meaning of this Five of Pentacles is that of destitution and hardship while seeking spiritual and material comfort and guidance.

Geburah is the fifth sephirah on the Qabalistic Tree of Life and holds significant importance in the study of the Western Hermetic Qabalah.

Geburah - The Fifth Sephirah

1. Title and Meaning: The word "Geburah" can be translated as "Strength" or "Severity." It represents the Divine force that brings about limitation, judgment, and discernment.

2. Position on the Tree of Life: Located on the left side or "Pillar of Severity" of the Tree, Geburah stands directly beneath Binah and above Hod. It is the first sephirah that one encounters when descending the left side of the Tree.

3. Symbolic Correspondences:

• Color: Red
• Archangel: Kamael
• Astrological: Mars
• Magical Image: A warrior in red armor
• God Name in Assiah: Elohim Gibor

4. Description: Geburah represents the force of strict judgment, discipline, and destruction. It contrasts with Chesed, its balancing sephirah on the Pillar of Mercy, which symbolizes mercy and love. While Chesed is the force that gives and bestows, Geburah is the force that takes away, reduces, and refines. Together, Chesed and Geburah maintain a necessary balance between expansion and contraction.

5. Spiritual Significance: Geburah is often associated with the idea of justice and is considered the aspect of God that punishes the wicked and enforces divine law. But beyond mere punishment, Geburah also represents the necessary destruction of the old to make way for the new, as in the pruning of a tree to ensure its healthy growth.

6. Pathworking and Meditation: When meditating on Geburah or undertaking pathworking exercises associated with this sephirah, practitioners often focus on themes of strength, determination, discipline, and purification. Such exercises can help one confront and overcome personal challenges, acknowledge, and address faults, and strengthen their will and resolve.

7. Practical Applications: In magickal (high magic) practices, Geburah can be invoked for courage, protection, and banishing negative influences. It helps the practitioner understand the necessity of boundaries, limits, and the judicious use of power.

This is a concise overview of Geburah, but like all sephiroth on the Tree of Life, its depths and nuances can be the subject of a lifetime of study and meditation.

When the Divination brings up the Five of Pentacles, the querent is going through:

• A period of rumination, anxiety, or concern.
• Feelings of being left out of social events because of lack of money. 
• Challenges of insecurity, deprivation, and even exclusion.  
•  The mind is focused on survival issues and thus stopping creativity dead in its tracks as a feeling of helplessness and inertia take over. 
• A foretelling of material trouble for the next 5 weeks or 5 months. 
• This card reminds us that by focusing on what we have lost or don't have, we cannot create more. We need to focus on what we do have, and on the thing, we can do; just a baby step is all we have, but that is motion and is enough to get us going again. 
• The axiom, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" may be the solution to this worrying problem that confronts the querent's intellect.

If reversed, it implies:

• Failure.
• Collapse.
• Despair. 

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