The Suit of Cups

The Suit of Cups in the Tarot represents the element of Water. Water flows and takes the shape of the container that it is kept in. Water can be soothing and refreshing, and it can also cause floods. Water may not be harmful to touch, but it is strong enough to break through rocks and mountains in its journey. It is because of these reasons that water represents feelings and emotions.

Let us see how the cycle of Water manifests itself in the Suit of Cups.

The Cycle Begins…

The Ace of Cups shows a hand emerging from a cloud, holding a very decorative cup. Water flows out of the cup, rather than into it. Emotions and happiness are never contained within the heart of a person – everyone shares them with someone. Water from this cup can never remain within it. However, in the Ace of Cups, the water flows into another water body. And large pools of water are thus the representation of the subconscious mind – a place where all the emotions gather together and create a bigger pool of feelings and sensations.

Moving Along…

As mentioned before, emotion can never be contained within the self – it does get shared.

In the Two of Cups, we see how these emotions and feelings are shared – friendship, companionship, healing, passion – any and all of these may be the result of such a sharing.

In the Three of Cups, we see how the sharing of this emotion between more than two people can manifest as a celebration. This card is a beautiful rendering of how happiness is only multiplied as it gets shared.

However, in the Four of Cups, we see the way emotions have created inertia in the movement forward. When emotions get shared way too many times, it can lead to a feeling of listlessness and can impede the flow forward.

Changes…

When the flow is stopped, and the sharing is over-run with too many complex emotions moving in all kinds of directions, changes must occur.

In the Five of Cups, we see how letting go of some of these emotions can lead to sadness. At some point, one also must realize that while some emotions have been let go – others have still been retained.

In the Six of Cups, these retained emotions can cause nostalgia. Everything from the past becomes glorified and appears to be better than it actually was when one experienced it. It is very easy to get caught up in such nostalgic thoughts.

Towards The End…

Yet, the water flows forward – and finds rocks and mountains to cross and break through.

In the Seven of Cups, the nostalgia has led one to face ones innermost desires – and along with them one’s deepest fears. The most basic fear stems from the fear of not being able to achieve one’s most coveted desire. How inexorably they seem connected!

In the Eight of Cups, the lesson is learnt – one lets go of one’s attachment to the negative aspects of the emotions and feelings. We see how it can be possible to walk away from the burdensome aspects of feelings.

And finally, in the Nine of Cups, we see how putting that distance has helped him to find contentment and happiness – with both the positives and the negatives that stem from emotions and feelings.

Changes Again…

After all this, it is now possible to find a way to move to another, higher level of the cycle of Water. And in the Ten of Cups we see how one can manifest a picture of happiness with this knowledge. The happy picture (complete with rainbow and everything) is what can be manifested when emotions and feelings are channeled in the proper fashion.

The Journey Continues…

The journey of the Suit of Cups is the perfect depiction of how feelings and emotions can create both happiness and sadness. The force of the flow of water and the force of the flow of emotions can often be strong for many of us. But when one can start swimming both with and against such a flow, that is when one can find a mastery over the element, and reach the goal of inner and outer happiness depicted within the Ace and the Ten of Cups respectively.

Your Turn…

What are your experiences with the Suit of Cups? Are they always emotional, watery experiences for you too? What other thoughts do you have about the journey of the Suit of Cups? Please share them in the comments section below.