What's with the mitt????

celeste

Can somebody please explain to me the significance of the mitt on the hand of the little girl accepting flowers in the Rider-Waite Six of Cups? I can usually figure these things out but this one is driving me crazy! I mean why would she be wearing a mitt when the other child obviously isn't? There must be some spiritual/arcane or other significance to this that is over my head. I don't know why this bothers me so much,but every time I see that card the mitt just jumps out at me,and I don't have the foggiest what its supposed to mean. Can anybody help me out here?
 

nina

Hello,
I always thought it just meant it's winter, it's cold. She's wearing mittens and she's got that wrap around her head. It's especially nice to get flowers during the winter, also being bundled up indicates a sense of safety and security many associate with childhood.
-nina
 

Thirteen

Little girls wear mittens

I doubt there's any huge significance to it. Rather it's part of the girl's costume, indicative of the nostolgic, happy time that is the card's meaning. Significance might be:

1) That the weather's likely cool enough to need mittens--given the flowers, shall we guess that it's early spring? Or might that be edelweiss? A kind of winter flower, time "frozen" for a moment?
2) That this was a time of financial comfort, given that the girl is dressed up nicely, bundled up warmly but also prettily (poor children don't get mittens).
3) That this is a time of being coddled and cared for--as the little girl likely had the mittens made for her or at least put on by her mother or nanny.
4) Simply that this was a time of childhood--little girls wear mittens and play with the little boy next door. A chalice/vase of first flowers is exchanged in the midst of that first puppy love.
 

gloria

The 6/Cups represents childhood memories.

As you say the mitts do look big and I think clumsy. Surely it would be impossible to take hold of that cup.
Could they signify an inability to come to terms with maybe an unhappy childhood? Something traumatic that hasn't been worked out yet.
As we see in the RW card the person doesn’t actually accept the offer of flowers. (friendship, love) Maybe a parent is now tryng to say 'sorry.'
But I think the large mittens signify the difficulty this person has in responding to the offer being made.

Could even signify the need for councelling.

Gloria.
 

Thirteen

gloria said:
But I think the large mittens signify the difficulty this person has in responding to the offer being made.

Could even signify the need for councelling.

Um...I'm not usually one to usually say this, but I think you might be reading WAY too much into those mittens. I think the mittens are big simply to imply that homey, old fashioned mitten that most folk in this alpine villiage might wear (and maybe the best the artist could do under the circumstances). Home knitted by grandmama, maybe even hand-me-downs. The bit-too-large element makes the little girl look "littler," sweeter, more innocent. Big, comfy, oversized mittens to keep tiny hands warm.

And just because she hasn't taken the flowers doesn't mean she didn't accept them. She has one mitten lifted to accept, and the cup is big enough that the mittens won't cause a problem in holding it. Even if it did, she's a little girl for heaven's sake! Little girls are shy, they might refuse a vase of flowers with a giggle or hug it to themselves because their tiny hands can't hold it well. A childhood memory might contain all this, but surely, with a smile and with understanding ("I was so young!"), not a need for councelling.

Let's remember, 6 cups is generally (and certainly in RW) interpeted as HAPPY childhood memories and nostolgia. If it was a fash back to something bad or hidden in childhood, something regretted, painful and needing therapy, then it would be crossed by something like the 5-cups, maybe 3 or 8 or 9 of swords. But in and of itself it's not a negative memory. The only negativity in the card, per se, is that the person is lost in this nostolgia, day dreaming and not dealing with the reality of the present.
 

gloria

Yes I agree Thirteen you would expect 6/Cups to be positive card for childhood memories. But twice in separate readings I did, it proved not to be the case.
However, I still keep an open mind with this card.

My post was merely to peruse a few possible ideas in answer to Celeste’s question. Nothing is written in stone.
The reason we participate in this forum surely is to delve into the pros and cons of the cards.
I see it as a learning process whereby you can either take on another’s idea, or you can discard it. Whatever.

I have to say I’ve always had the deepest respect for other people’s views here, their knowledge is tremendous. It’s a great place to learn.

Gloria.
 

celeste

I appreciate all your responses. If the mitt is supposed to signify being taken care of in cold weather why doesn't the other child have one? Is he poorer/not so loved and taken care of? Is this again the union of opposites shown in the lovers card but on a socio-economic scale? I wouldn't have noticed it so much if both children were similarly mitted but they arn't. There is some implied difference between the two-and that is what is gnawing at me.
 

jmd

Just thought I'd give a quick link to an earlier thread which discusses this card, and makes mention of the mitten:It would be interesting to know if there was particular significance to the wearing of a mitten in the minds of either Waite or, probably more importantly, Pamela Colman Smith.
 

Thirteen

celeste said:
I appreciate all your responses. If the mitt is supposed to signify being taken care of in cold weather why doesn't the other child have one? Is he poorer/not so loved and taken care of? Is this again the union of opposites shown in the lovers card but on a socio-economic scale?

The boy is older and, well, a boy. We know he's older because he's bending to give the girl the cup--and in childhood, girls who are of an equal age to boys are usually taller.

As a boy, he's not as prettied up as the girl. But he's certainly not poor (maybe not as rich, but not poor). He's got layers of clothes on, none patched, and he's certainly got his head and ears kept warm.

Let's also consider that as an older boy from perhaps a not-so-rich family, he might now have chores, unlike the little girl who has no chores and might, being younger and from a richer family, be more coddled or just expected to keep her hands soft and pretty--not roughened from dry weather and harsh play. Our boy might also think and feel he's tougher ("I don't need no stinkin' mittens! Those are for girls and sissies!").

Then again, are we sure he's not wearing gloves? His hands are almost as red as his stockings and hood.
 

celeste

Thank you jmd for posting that link to the earlier discussion.

It was quite thought provoking.
I actually started thinking that maybe her white mitt stands for purity and perhaps instead of the boy giving her the flower he is taking it from her instead(virginity-innocence?). But maybe I'm reaching. Although the lone adult with his back to the children bothers me. It implies that some social interaction that might not be sanctioned by society is in danger of taking place here. After all the boy is older and should know better. Why is he alone with a little girl? She is too young to be on the same level of companionship as a boy his age would normally seek out. Boys usually dislike and avoid the company of females for quite awhile until later adolescence. He could also be watching her for someone, but even then his friendliness seems too overt and unaccustomed to the situation. If she is his sister there is also usually hostility rather than friendship present in that relationship.
To me the boy's/(dwarf some suggest?) red hand is due to exposure to the elements, as the rest of the boy's skin and the little girl's as well seem flushed from the cold.

Anyway, who knows. It made me look more deeply into the card
than I normally would.