The spilled liquids on the 5 of cups

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 30 May 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Sushi	30 May 2005
A friend of mine once discussed the liquids on the 5 of cups in the rider waite. The two red liquids are both easily explained as blood or wine, but we were stumped as to the third green liquid. We concluded that it must be poison of some sort. Tonight I was reading online about absinthe as I heard that it's now available here legally, and I wanted to know more about. I stepped out of the room here for a minute and must have knocked over my deck on the way out. One of the cards on the floor that was facing up was the 5 of cups. I saw the green liquid and the light went on. It could be absinthe ! The depressions that many famous artists and writers that used absinthe went thru ties in well with the 5 of cups, I would think. Especially since their depressions led to many great master pieces- which would correlate well to the two unspilled cups. Any thoughts?

Fulgour	30 May 2005
The primary colours are RED blue and yellow, and mixing blue and yellow produces GREEN. GREEN is a tertiary colour, or third generation. While we cannot see the contents of the two "full" Cups ~ maybe they are of primary value?

Moonbow*	30 May 2005
So Fulgour that would mean that the other two cups could hold yellow liquid and blue.. doesn't bare thinking about was they could be. Perhaps the symbolism could be what the colours represent though. Red is a vibrant, energetic powerful colour and the loss of it could represent the loss of those emotions and feelings. Green is a healing and calming colour and the implications of it being spilt is also relevant to the card meaning, hurting and unable to heal. The other two cups could, of course, be empty, and therefore no emotions to spill out, emptiness is winning. Absinthe though! Never thought of it but that would make your first assumption right Sushi.... poison! :)

Fudugazi	30 May 2005
Great intuition, Sushi! I saw absinthe in the shops the other day - and you are right - it's that same colour, and you deductions about depression linked to absinthe and its transcendence in great pieces art makes sense in that card. Given that the card was painted in 1908-9, when absinthe was still very popular, it is entirely possible. Thanks for sharing your insight! If we stick with the "poison" interpetation, then we could see it as gall- for disappointment is a kind of poison, which we must transcend to get to the other side (the two cups).

Jewel-ry	30 May 2005
What a wonderful observation! Absinthe has been used medicinally since the Middle Ages to treat various parasites. However it can leave the patient rejuvenated. It is also very bitter. Used to be taken with sugar cubes apparently. Bitter Sweet! Interesting!

memorexe	30 May 2005
I just visited http://www.strindbergandhelium.com/ there's a nice little clip about absinthe and women. August Strindberg of all people is an afflicted "cups type." memorexe

psychic sue	30 May 2005
Going off the colours thing for a moment, I see this card as a "it's no use crying over spilled milk" kind of thing. You can't change the past so get on with it!

mythos	30 May 2005
Given that I only noticed the red-green thing with this card for the first time last night (let us put that down to lousy eyesight, shall we?) my comments may come way out of left field. Red is the colour of the base chakra, and green the heart chakra. When deep in grief, our will to survive (base chakra) can be lost, and our hearts are broken (spilled). Just a thought. Love the absinthe observation. Not available here ... as far as I know. Not being a drinker of anything alcoholic, I could be completely wrong on that. The only 'green' drink I'm familar with is that awful artifically coloured 'lime' cordial. Now that'd be enough to make anyone grieve ... and probably for the state of their own well-being. Must be killer stuff ... huh! humour ... er just in case you took that last bit seriously. Mythos feels a silly attack coming on!

HudsonGray	30 May 2005
Absinthe is illegal in the US, so we don't have it here either. They did show it being used in the movie Moulin Rouge (made them see Tinkerbelle dancing really sexy!). It was made with wormwood, which is pretty toxic. Pernod and Pastis are liquors that are 'neutered' forms of Absinthe, so if you tried them you might get a sense of the flavor. Still, thinking of it in the cup on the card would give the meaning a different 'edge'.

tarotbear	30 May 2005
mythos wrote: The only 'green' drink I'm familar with is that awful artifically coloured 'lime' cordial! The drink 'Chartruese' is chartruese colored ... so is Midori. I'll stick to scotch, myself! :smoker:

Little Baron	30 May 2005
tarotbear wrote: I'll stick to scotch, myself! :smoker: Me too! I had quite a few absinthe shots one night and yes, it is poison, lol. It is also, to my memory, quite hallucagenic. LB

mythos	30 May 2005
tarotbear wrote: I'll stick to scotch, myself! :smoker: Have one for me! Since a blood transfusion some thirty years ago that included a surprise package ... the hepatitis C virus ... alcohol has been off my agenda ... but I would love a scotch ... so by all means enjoy one for me, and I'll live vicariously through your pleasure! mythos

The The spilled liquids on the 5 of cups thread was originally posted on 30 May 2005 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.