MAAT Tarot Study Group-9 of Cups

juliecucciawatts

Week of the first quarter moon in Virgo

“The first quarter moon phase symbolizes the power of reconstruction. After foundations are destroyed rethinking and reconstruction of a situation is brought to the forefront.”

9 of Cups

Planetary ruler Mercury

The image for the 9 of Cups is a person sitting in a field blowing a ‘wish’ from a dandelion. In the distance you can see the results of all the wishes manifested in the field of yellow dandelions.

The woodland Indians called the foreign dandelion ‘white man's' footprints as it is an invasive species in North America. Brought in by early colonists, it seemed to magically appear where ever Europeans settled in the new world. The prolific dandelion had been a valued food source for European people since the Ice Age. Eaten as a salad and even made into wine, its value as a food is lost to urbanized humans. Some modern nutritionists are now bringing the health benefits of the misunderstood dandelion to light.

The symbolic point to this card is to be careful what you wish for as your intentions can become manifest and then you have to be responsible for the outcome. You may get more than you bargained for.


Traditional tarot meaning: be careful what you wish for


In a Reading: This card is a warning about being careful what you wish for, because you could get it. Sometimes getting what you want can be more than we bargained for.
 

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Mimers

I think the image for the 9 of cups is brilliant. As a child I would always be blowing the seeds of the dandelion and making my wish. Now, I am digging them up so they don't overtake my yard!

This card shows how easily what we wish for can be too much for us to handle and take over. On one hand the field of yellow is so beautiful but on the other it takes over and does not allow anything else to grow.

Beautiful card Julie!
 

SolSionnach

.....
 

annik

Strangely, this card makes me think of the cover of a french dictionary (the larousse). But I like the idea of this card!
 

juliecucciawatts

Well now I am going to have to google the larousse to see what you mean.
:)
Julie
 

juliecucciawatts

Ok I see it on the bottom of the book their logo is a person blowing a wish.
Julie
 

DaisyDragonfly

I love this card: there's a sense of freedom and contentment to it that is quite beautiful. Julia, I've read your words on it, and I like your take on the card.

When I came to study it, a slightly different aspect of the card emerged. It's no doubt to do with the time of my own life! But it was less about wishes manifesting and the consequences of that, and more about what one had to make them manifest.

I'm finding this to be an awesome storytelling deck - and storytelling is my wont - so here is the story that came out of this card.

9 of Cups

She woke earlier than she expected. With time to spare she ignored the pleadings of her stomach and went down through the kitchen, out into the garden, along the winding path and through to the little gate in the back wall.

Before she left, she glanced back at the house. Nobody was awake yet; nobody would miss her. There was nobody to stop her.

She unlatched the gate.

The morning was fair, the sun already bright. It would be a fine day; already, the Sun warmed her as she trod gently across the field, her bare feet tickled by the yawning dawn grass. All around her, the plants and the trees awoke and stretched out in appreciation of the morning's warm touch. Spirits lifted at the promise of the spring to come.

But not her. Not yet.

The clearing was just a few minutes away from her garden. It was enclosed by the outer edges of the forest and by the path that led there from her home. It was her place, her secret place.

It was heaven.

Blossoms budded on the squat cherry trees; mayflowers sent sweet scent. The grass was rich and lush: an underground stream meant that this glade was green, always. And everywhere were the dandelions.

Almost everywhere, she amended, settling down in her favourite spot. In the distance, beyond the blossoming trees, the dandelions made a bright carpet of captured sunshine. But closer to her, in front of her, there were clear gaps. Pathways, almost, through the yellow, though she couldn't imagine who else came here. She wasn't sure anybody else even knew about this place. She hoped nobody did.

She plucked a dandelion clock from nearby and held it up. This was a special place and, although it wasn't yet perfect, it soon would be. She could wait for the wind, but she didn't want to. Perfection - her dream - couldn't be left to something as capricious as the wind. If she wanted perfection, if she wanted her dream come true, she would have to take things into her own hands. She would do it again and again and again until she had precisely as she wanted. The wind could only help her dream, not own it.

Pursing her lips, she blew. The dandelion seeds fluttered free, twisting and curling in the still morning... but no. A sudden breeze lifted from nowhere and carried the dandelion seeds further away, towards the undecorated green paths. She smiled. Others didn't understand why she did what she did; others probably thought her crazy, obsessive. It didn't matter... neither did their opinions. All that mattered was that she understood... fortune helped those who firstly helped themselves. Wishes didn't come true by themselves: they sometimes needed a push.

And, knowing that, she reached for another dandelion clock.

******

There's an element of obsession to this, a search for perfection. The card indicates that the dream can come true... but that, once achieved, it isn't enough. The reality doesn't match the wish, so that the individual continues to search for their dream even though they have, to all extents and purposes, achieved it. I guess that's a version of Julie's warning. :)
 

juliecucciawatts

Wow! That is an intense interpretation and more so because it is valid
and so true. That is the thing about humans we are constantly striving.
Thanks for this added insight!
Julie