The guy in the 6 of cups

summerbutterfly

I just noticed today that there is a man walking away in the left middle border in the RWS deck. What is he doing there ? Is it a sign to walk away from the past ? I know many consider that the 6 of cups means dwelling too much in the past, but for me it speaks of innocent, almost tender love. THe kind you don't want to walk away from....
 

Richard

summerbutterfly said:
I just noticed today that there is a man walking away in the left middle border in the RWS deck. What is he doing there ? Is it a sign to walk away from the past ? I know many consider that the 6 of cups means dwelling too much in the past, but for me it speaks of innocent, almost tender love. THe kind you don't want to walk away from....
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Good Grief! My favorite deck for 40+ years, and I never noticed that guy in the background! Like you, I think that the card is very positive, depicting a sort of innocent, unconditional love. One of my favorite cards, actually. Strange that I never noticed that guy walking away.
 

Grizabella

No card always means the same thing. It means different things at different times. The way it works for me, if I suddenly noticed that little detail on the 6 of Cups card, the fact that it entered my mind at just that time could very well mean it was saying "walk away" or whatever else my mind tossed up at me. We notice things like that because that's how the cards are trying to "talk" to us.

I wish I could make a sign for every new reader to hang on the wall that said, "No card always means the same thing every time."

Listen to the little voice in the back of your head that's trying to talk to you. In order to do that, you can't be coming to the cards with a preconceived notion of what you want them to say or with the idea you have to tell the sitter (or yourself) what they want to hear. You have to come with an open, still mind so you can "hear" what the cards are trying to tell you, whether good or bad.
 

rwcarter

For other things you may have missed in the Rider Waite, look here.
 

summerbutterfly

Grizabella said:
No card always means the same thing. It means different things at different times. The way it works for me, if I suddenly noticed that little detail on the 6 of Cups card, the fact that it entered my mind at just that time could very well mean it was saying "walk away" or whatever else my mind tossed up at me. We notice things like that because that's how the cards are trying to "talk" to us.

I wish I could make a sign for every new reader to hang on the wall that said, "No card always means the same thing every time."

Listen to the little voice in the back of your head that's trying to talk to you. In order to do that, you can't be coming to the cards with a preconceived notion of what you want them to say or with the idea you have to tell the sitter (or yourself) what they want to hear. You have to come with an open, still mind so you can "hear" what the cards are trying to tell you, whether good or bad.
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thanks, grizabella. actually I wasn't doing a reading but comparing cards from two decks. Amanda had done a reading for me using the tarot of the new vision and she had mentioned that the cards are slightly different from the RWS. I looked up the card to see what it looked like and it was a couple looking down at the children in the RWS. So this card reaffirmed my notion of true love for the 6 of cups. Then when I looked at the RWS, I noticed the little guy.

It might be that my guides led me to those cards. I just need to sit down and see what it applies to. Thanks !!!
 

Richard

Anyone may do readings anyway they like, but the design of the RWS cards is not amorphous with respect to the intended meaning. The Minor cards illustrate the Book T titles. In this case, 6 of Cups = Sun in Scorpio = Pleasure. The guard cannot be walking away from personal pleasure, as he is not involved in the event depicted in the card. Obviously, he is merely refraining from poking his nose into the magic taking place between the two children. Of course, if a reader wishes to change the meaning intended by the author of a deck, that is their perfect right. My personal respect for the authors of the RWS may account for the fact that I would never consider using it merely as a prop for intuitive fortune-telling.

ETA. Anyhow, this forum is not primarily about fortune-telling. According to the Tarot History and Iconography description, it is officially the "Study of the symbolism and detail of the original Rider-Waite Tarot."
 

bogiesan

LRichard said:
Anyone may do readings anyway they like, but the design of the RWS cards is not amorphous with respect to the intended meaning. The Minor cards illustrate the Book T titles. In this case, 6 of Cups = Sun in Scorpio = Pleasure.
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Lr, you could save me hours of research (that I shoudl find interesting but needlessly tedious) by pointing me toward a resource for your Book T assertion. It is a topic I'd like to add to my Waite-Smith arcana.
 

firecatpickles

My understanding was that it is a busy marketplace and he's a customer in the background.
 

summerbutterfly

Fire Cat said:
My understanding was that it is a busy marketplace and he's a customer in the background.
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Thanks, fire cat. When I saw the figure it made me think of how so many readers on this sight interpret the 6, as though you are dwelling too much on the past and need to wlak away from it. But to me, the six is what the main characters are all about, innocent love, may be a past life connection, but not walking away from it all.....
 

rwcarter

You can find a number of already indexed threads on the 6 Cups in post 16 of the RWS Forum Index.
 
the emperor's armor University Books RWS on ebay ($19.95 plus shipping)