This is a forlorn image, two people walking through a snowstorm outside of a church with illuminated stained glass windows. The people are wearing tattered rags; the boy is injured or disabled, walking with crutches and seems to have a bandage on his head. The woman is barefooted; her clothing is ragged and are insufficient to protect her from the cold.
There is little joy in this card, little comfort. These people are cast out – or at least, do not seem to be able to seek shelter in the church. Clearly the church is open – possibly even holding services or a celebration; but these two people are somehow excluded.
Pentacles generally are about money, employment, physical condition. These people are lacking in all these qualities. They are impoverished and in poor health. They are isolated, abandoned and ignored. It isn’t clear whether they have been cast into outer darkness. It may be that they’re so focused on their hardship and lack that they don’t even notice the church. They may have the same attitude as the person in the Five of Cups – focusing on what is missing, while not seeing the full Cups behind him.
Regardless of the situation, they certainly feel poor, sick, injured, abandoned, and hopeless.
In a reading this card might point to financial loss, unemployment, ill health, hardships, homelessness, breakup or divorce. Surrounding cards may influence this card’s meaning; but it bodes ill when it appears.