Tarot & Your Emotions

Does Your Cup Runneth Over?

With every reading that I give, I am careful to point out the positive points in a person’s life. Even if I have to pull out more cards to do so. I gave a reading one time that was heartbreaking. Death, divorce, loss of employment and a home. In one reading. In four months. This person had literally lost everything in four months. “Well, I can tell you this. This is as bad as it will get.” They were so happy to hear that, because sometimes when things are rough, the most amazing thing to hear is that this – right here – is the bottom. To have that certainty gives you something to hold onto when you most need it. It’s one of the reasons I love my job.

In the Tarot, the element of water shows up where there is emotion. Primarily in the suit of cups, but it is in a few other cards as well. What the water is doing, where it is going, how it relates to the other characters in the card – this is how the emotion is or will behave in your life.

If you get the Five of Cups, this card speaks to disappointment and regret. There is a person standing, looking at three spilled cups. What was important to you is gone, and there you stand – sad, confused and still. Behind the figure in the Five of Cups, though, are two full cups. And a flowing river, and a bridge. Even though the life that you thought was yours has shifted, all you need to do is breathe, turn around, and see what life has in store for you.

The character in the Four of Cups has his arms crossed. Three full cups in front of him, one being offered by what appears to be a Monty Python hand, floating on a cloud. Yet, his arms are crossed. He’s either not ready to see the joy that’s being offered him, or doesn’t want it. Meh, meh, meh. He’s a bit of a pouter. Sometimes, though, a good pout is necessary before we can embrace the next step on our path.

The Ace of Cups is fantastic. Huge cup, water everywhere, the cup is so full that it’s overflowing. This is a great card. If it’s upside down, though, yikes. Drama. There is balance in the Two, friendship in the Three, and childlike celebration in the six. Walking through the Cups is like walking through the ups and downs of our lives. Disappointment, yes, but over there? Joy. And if you hadn’t been through the sadness, your path wouldn’t have led you to satisfaction.

That’s the thing to focus on in readings, and in life, really. It’s so hard to see the pattern when you’re in it. You have to have faith and believe that the Universe will bring you everything that you need, and that it will have to knock some other things out of the way first.