The Suit of Cups
The numbered cards evolve around the legend of Eros and Psyche and the development and maturatoin of feelings and the capacity to relate to another person. It is a journey which circles around the central motif of the human heart.
Psyche was a princess of remarkable beauty and the goddess Aphrodite was jealour of the beauty she contained. She instructed her son Eros the god of love to punish the beautiful Psyche. As a result Psyche's father conducted his own daughter to a lonely rock where she would become prey of a monster. The god Eros was so stunned by her beauty that he stumbled and pricked himself on one of his own arrows which brought sudden love to both mortals and gods. Eros fell in love with the person his mother had sent him to destroy. He took her back to her home, her palace. Her father accepted her back. Psyche got visites from Eros who only came in the night so as not to be seen. All Psyche knew was his smooth voice and married him. Everything would have been well if it had not been for Psyche's jealous sisters. They teased Psyche because they had never seen her love and called him ugly since he never came in the day. One night when Eros was in bed with Psyche sleeping she lit a lamp and held it to his face to see it. She had been expecting some ugly monster but she saw a beautiful young man. In her shocked delight she stumbled and fell onto his arrows and falling in love with him. Her movement cause the oil in the lamp to spill and a drop landed on Eros's shoulder waking him. He saw Psyche with the lamp and disapeared never to be seen again.
The palace disapeared and Psyche found herself on the bare lonely rock again. She tried commiting suicide by jumpin into the river but the river carried her safely to the opposite bank. For a long time she walked the worlds searching for her lost love. Aphrodite caused some terrible ordeals for Psyche which she eventually overcame.
Eros went to Zeus and asked permission for Psyche to join him. Zeus allowed it and Eros and Psyche re-married on Olympus.
Ace of Cups
In the spread it represents an outpouring of feeling. It has not differentiated and emerges as raw and overwhelming. It is intended for the beginning of a relationship which has not yet manifested. The individual is ready to embark on the journey of love.Two of Cups
The beginning of a relationship or a reconciliation where an already existing relationship has undergone a seperation. It can also suggest the meeting and contractual arrangements of business partners.Three of Cups
In the spread it suggests the celebration of marriage, start of love affair, birth of child or some other emotionally fulfilling thing. Each of theses situations is also a beginning of further explorations in the future.Four of Cups
It is a time of dissatisfaction, boredom and depression in a relationship. It's a feeling of let-down and feeling cheated even thought the individual themself is probably the cheater tom themselves. It can lead to long-standing resentment or looking more deeply at the relationship, a harder path because the previous assumtions and fantasies will then be challanged.Five of Cups
Regrest over past actions and a testing time in relationships could occur. Betrayal has occurred and there is sadness and remorse. Seperation can occur too, it doesn't mean the final ending, it could also be another obstacle to overcome in a good relationship.Six of Cups
In the spread it means a time of serenity which grows out of the testing of the dreams of the past. An old love from the past may return, or a cherished dream seems to be closer in reach. The blind 'in love' state has solidified. The past may seem beautiful and great but the present holds even more. The past can lead to the future and old dreams are still possible and near to achievement.Seven of Cups
An emotional situation where many potentials are evident but the person is faced with a challenge of choosing and acting on realistic terms to make those potentials manifest.Eight of Cups
In the spread it implies the necessity of giving sacrificing something. The truth must be faced otherwise the person cannot go any further. There is no way to overcome it except to let it go. This could come with depression. This is the part of the story where Psyche goes into the underwold thus the depression since the underwold is a place of mourning.Nine of Cups
It is a time of pleasure and satisfaction. Fulfillment and cherished dreams and wishes. It is a reward for the efforts made and the commitment put into it.Ten of Cups
An ongoing contentment and permanence in the realm of the heart.
Page of Cups
When this appears in the spread is implies something new on a feeeling. It could be a new relationship or a new quality of feeling in an old relationship or the birth of a child. It could also mean a renewal of the capacity to love beginning with love itself after a time of hurt or withdrawal. This quality must be taken care of because it vanishes as quickly as it comes.Knight of Cups
In the spread it is time for the individual to experience the heady and romantic dimension of love. It could be the proposal of marriage or some sort of different experience of falling in love. It could also mean another relationship of another kind. He may enter one's life as a poetic and sensitive young man, a heral of one's own emerging romanticism.Queen of Cups
In the spread it implies that it's time for the person to envounter the deep, unknowable, paradoxical world of feeling in him or herself. She can enter ones life as a mysterious, hypnotic woman, not overtly seductive but strangely disturbing, and a catalyst for the emergence of deep feelings and fantasies which have previously been hidden from awareness. She can appear as a beloved or a rivalbut either way such an encounter is not mere chance.King of Cups
When appearing in the spread it is time for the person to experience the ambivalent side of him or herself. Meaning the gifted cousellor and healer who can empathize with and help others yet cannot trust life enough to take its course. IF the King of Cups enters the persons life as a person with these qualities maybe it should be taken as an indication that the individual should meet that dimension of oneself.
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The Wands
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