Cups Cups Cups
I need to refresh my booze supplies, so this will be Inexplicably Sleepy Izzy Explains the Tarot, which should have much the same effect.
The Ace of Cups is, duh, a cup. It’s also apparently a rock band from the sixties, which I didn’t expect but when you think about it isn’t all that surprising. It’d probably be easier to count the occult symbols that didn’t become names for sixties rock bands. Many decks have said cup being offered by the traditional Disembodied Cloud Hand, and many cups have “W” on them, presumably for water but also maybe for wine or whiskey, I’m not judging.
(Note: reinterpretation of the four elements as Whiskey, Cigarettes, Rock, and, IDK, Pizza?)
(It’d work for Pentacles.)
Usually there’s some kinda glowy, frothy element at the top of the cup, and water streaming down. Often there’s a white bird involved. More New Age decks have dolphins, because of course they fucking do.
Simple meaning is, of course, new beginnings in emotions. Usually this is a positive, and that makes sense–there are other cards for grief, anger, or getting trapped–but in standard verbose interpretations, holy shit this card is bluebirds and roses. Aces are all positive (except for Ace of Base, who have no prophetic meaning as far as I’m aware) and I mentioned the general interpretation of cups as good cards last time, so the combination is…intense. (The Holy Grail thing does not help here, I’m sure.)
Love! Emotion literally overflowing! Joy! Fulfillment! Everything’s the best! Woo!
I would combine the two interpretations and distinguish this card from the other Super Happy Fun Cups Card (the ten, we’ll get there) by saying that this is the beginning of all that good stuff. It may just be starting to make an appearance. It may, depending on the reading, be an opportunity rather than a manifested thing.
In terms of jobs and relationships, this is definitely a honeymoon phase card. He’s so sweet and charming! They have free bagels on Thursdays! That’s not to say that those feelings are invalid, or won’t last, but this isn’t a card that says they will one way or another. It probably doesn’t point to anything false–the charm and the bagels do exist–but whether they’ll be enough to last during the long term, when you have a three-hour meeting and the guy really really wants you to watch his performance art, is not the business of the Ace.
The Two of Cups is like the Lovers minus five to ten levels–the Heroic tier to the Lovers’ Epic, if you played any 4E. The typical depiction is of a couple, each holding a cup, and often but not always a caduceus topped by a winged lion head between them on account of Reasons, and probably Alchemical Symbolism. Like, offhand I would say that the caduceus likely represents communication, transformation, trade/negotiation and the crossing of borders/boundaries between people, and the lion’s head with wings represents the fact that a winged lion head is totally metal. Although it does parallel the Slightly Pervy Angel on the Lovers card nicely.
Unlike the Lovers, these two people have their clothes on, which is sad, and symbolizes that they’re working as mortals in the mortal world rather than being cosmic forces. They’re also turned to face each other rather than the reader, which again suggests operating more within their normal sphere of existence. That plus the caduceus also implies that this is a situation they’re working out and talking about–this isn’t the insta-harmony of the Lovers, who either have a cosmic understanding or have already settled all that to the point where they can just chill in front of a tree.
The interpretations are…basically the Lovers, in the more verbose version: the willing union of separate or opposing forces. This can mean romance, friendship, partnership, or whatever; it leads to transformation, harmony, cooperation, and a whole that’s more than the sum of its parts. Symbolism suggests that this is a more fragile, guarded, and maybe newer such arrangement, but not necessarily wildly any of these qualities except when compared to the Lovers.
In the more simple interpretation, this is the potential for real growth in emotions–which goes along with the “newer” aspect of the Two. If the situation started with the Ace, this is where you start figuring out not just the details of how many vacation days you get and whose house you go to for Christmas, but how you feel about those details and why. You may find you feel more strongly about summers at your grandparents’ house than you knew, or that you actually don’t mind hanging out with your co-workers once in a while.
Two is a card of stability, but within that stability, it’s also a card of exploration. This is where you’re at. Now what?
Next week: Three and Four!
Isabel Cooper's Blog
- Isabel Cooper's profile
- 162 followers
