V of Cups
Quick story about another reason why I love Tarot. We've been having some self-control problems with our son (he has extreme ADHD and impulse control is a significant challenge), and he's currently had his electronics removed. I like to do Tarot daily card draws with him because he tends to focus and is somewhat in awe of the "knowledge" that Tarot has. Last night, I sat him down to try to do a short mind-quieting meditation to focus on what he needs to know for his day tomorrow. With that question in mind, I shuffled the deck three times and let him cut it.
I pulled: the VI of Pentacles. Yesterday's card. What are the chances?!
I asked him what he saw, and he was drawn to the imagery of the beggar asking for money. We talked about the card's meaning, the different symbolic representations, and how it could represent him asking for his privileges back when he has lost them, that perhaps this card is inviting him to think about the things that got privileges taken away and left him like this "beggar" in the card. He didn't like that. But I told him to think about it and keep it in mind as he goes to sleep as well as when he goes through his day at school the next day. This morning, on the way to school, I asked him, "Do you remember what your card for today is?" "Yes," he says defeatedly. "The Beggar." So at least something is sticking. Maybe this will help give him some encouragement to find that self-control so the tables can turn. (Yes, and please.)
ANYWAY. Today's card: The V of Cups. This is a card of disappointment and grief. It's a speed bump in your daily progress as you are caught up in focusing on the misfortune of what you've lost instead of moving forward with what you still have going for you. This is about dwelling and sitting in your feels. Pity party for one.
This card can get real extreme as you dig into the details. Just like in life, it's ok to be sad and upset about what has happened, but lingering on the grief and tragedy of it all can end up having real consequences, like social distancing (not the Covid kind), disregard for responsibility and personal upkeep, depression... ya know, the kind of stuff that comes when that "speed bump" turns into a road-blocking wall.
The V of Cups playlist is available on Spotify.
Message of the Day: This card has always been easy for me to interpret and is fairly straightforward in its meaning: don't let sadness, disappointment, and defeat drag you down and keep you from moving forward. Got that? Good. The number five, after all, is a number of transformation.
But as I was looking at another representation of this card (again, from Terra Volatile), the card shows a man emptying his cup on the ground like he was enjoying his wine and saw a roach in the bottom of the cup. I love this because this is showing HOW the cups got spilled. In all the other representations, we only see the situation after they've been spilled.
When I thought about this sad man's actions, I was wondering, roach-in-the-cup aside, what would cause him to pour out his wine like that. Maybe it was cheap wine. Maybe it wasn't as good as he thought it was going to be. Maybe he realized he'd had too much already and didn't want the rest.
To me, my mind went to the saying: "Kill Your Darlings." Sometimes you have great ideas; amazingly world-changing ideas - but now isn't the time for them. Keeping them on the table just causes temptation or distraction from what needs to be accomplished, and perhaps it's best that they get swept away. So you empty your cups, sad for the genius that could be if the time, resources, and opportunity were there. You could choose to be bitter about not getting to showcase your idea(s), but that will just keep you from accomplishing the current goal.
In every illustration I have seen of the V of Cups, there are always three cups overturned and two still upright. Symbolically, threes (in numerology) represent high energy and vigor. Maybe the wine in these cups was pre-mature, the fermentation incomplete; perhaps the man was overly eager to showcase his creation and was rejected. Twos in numerology represent balance and harmony, perhaps the perfect union of sweet and bitter, a wine suitable for consumption.
However this card speaks to you, remember that crying over spilled milk isn't going to undo the past. There are lessons to be learned. Just as my son sits and fumes about his loss of electronic entertainment, he could choose to recognize the lesson being taught in the mistake instead of embracing anger and disappointment at the consequence. These are situations that everyone continues to go through in life, whether you're a 10-year-old boy, a 46-year-old man, or an 85-year-old grandma. Being mindful of the present will help keep you from dwelling on the past.
Decks shown above: