The Fish in Page of Cups

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 16 Jul 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Flavio	16 Jul 2004
What are your impressions on the fish in the Page of Cups? Is Page's imagination?, what is the symbolism? Thanks for your comments

Little Baron	16 Jul 2004
His intuition talking to him, maybe; passing on a message; kind of a cheeky fish, which makes me feel the card to be a little lighthearted. At one with surroundings, perceptive, sensitive to vibrations from others. Yaboot

NeXoRiouS	17 Jul 2004
When I first saw the page of cups, the fish seems to be too big for the cup. That little amount of water cannot sustain it's life. Though knowing the cup is too small, the fish didn't jump out. It knows it will die once it leaves the cup. This just goes to show it's capacity is limited. It's abilities are undermined but does not mean it is not aware of it.

Venian	17 Jul 2004
I think the fish does want to get out of the cup, but only to jump into someone else's cup. To show others its limited knowledge and its emotions. If there was a next scene in the card, I imagine the page noticing the fish and at first being a little shocked, then getting all giggly laughing.

CreativeFire	17 Jul 2004
To me the fish in the cup, is his 'inner voice' and this card being sometimes about listening to your inner voice or intuition as it may have something to tell you or a message that needs to be acknowledged. Just some thoughts. ;) CreativeFire

Shade	19 Jul 2004
He's thinking "Hey I ordered a milkshake!"

ros	19 Jul 2004
I think of the Page of Cups as you are becoming aware of new emotions. You will be or are feeling different and are beginning to ask yourself why because you are aware. The FISH is moving the water which stands for emotions (for me)which are contained in the cup. So your emotions (water) are moving outside (being splashed) of their comfort zone.

Aun	19 Jul 2004
The Page of Cups is still young and innocent, and therefore he faces his feelings without fear, since he hasn't fallen in any emotional traps yet. The fish also stands for his fertile imagination, because his mind is free of the social responsabilities that isolate the King from his feelings/imagination (represented by the isle on the ocean on which his throne stands) and make the knight so detached from his inner self (he stares above his cup, and also the river is very shallow at the background of the card). Just to complete the analogy, the Queen, on the other hand, has a deep connection with her emotions and imaginative creativity. Although her throne stands in land, her dress touches the water, and her 'stylized' cup demonstrates her great potential to use her creative powers...

tmgrl2	19 Jul 2004
Whenever I see it, I don't think he is looking at it. I think he is standing there all cock-sure of himself with that big cup of emotions to offer. When he sees that fish, he is going to feel a little humbled that he was so emotionally brash and forward. I have read that it means he isn't afraid of his emotions and feelings...can have them and not have to act on them. I can't help feeling that he is very emotionally eager to offer his emotional self and that his behavior will draw forth a few laughs, but that he will be able to laugh with the ones who are laughing. This ability to laugh at oneself, after letting your feelings hang out and not getting back what you expected, is important and often never learned. So, this page, can do that. With all of the blue in the card I think of communication too. So when he finally sees the fish, I see him commenting, maybe not "I ordered a milkshake (funny, Shade)," but "Hey, how did that get in there?!" Or...."Say, fellow, do get paid scale to do this?" ouch.. terri I just can't take it seriously when I see it, because more than a "comfortable with feelings card," I see it as "a fish out of water card."

The The Fish in Page of Cups thread was originally posted on 16 Jul 2004 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.