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And now we get to one of my many favourite cards in this deck: the Seven Cups. This is Granny at her sweetest, with her most loving smile over the top of her glasses.
In some ways, this card reminds me of the extra Major Arcana card in the MRP Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot, "The Tarot Reader" card. The choices that the Seven Cups often exemplifies are expressed in divination tools: Granny has at her disposal a Tarot deck (showing the Seven Cups - Tarot within Tarot), a crystal ball for scrying, a candle flame also for scrying and a scattering of runestones in front of her. She looks lovingly out at us, clad in her Pilgrim's hat, the purple shawl of the sacred and the black ribbon of Crone-wisdom, whilst the little gargoyle worked in the gold of her candlestick looks adoringly up at her. The softness of the heart is reflected in her pink tablecloth, mystery in her grey/purple wall colour. And there is nothing but warmth in the bright aura or nimbus of that candle!
To me personally, this card feels a lot like Temperance (see the first post in this blog): I have the sense of a lot of love being beamed my way every time I see it. I love it when it comes up, it makes me feel ridiculously happy.
Despite the apparent stillness of the image, there are clues that plenty is happening: wax is running down the candle in a couple of places which is remarkably hard to do with most modern candles, and this is a quintessentially modern deck. Also, the corks of her tribal identification with the Australian ethos that dangle from her hat, are not hanging still but are bouncing wildly. Everything suggests movement, activity behind the stillness.
Because this is what making choices is about. It is about sitting still but moving about wildly in your mind from place to place, alternative to alternative, considering what may work out well and what may work out less well.
Whenever this card comes up, I counsel clients that it is time they sat down like Granny, with their choices arrayed in front of them, and consider them carefully before committing themselves irrevokably to a single path forwards into the future. Some of the options they have will lead nowhere much, and not a lot will change. Some are dead-ends, bringing whatever is happening to a complete stop. Some will have positive outcomes, and some will have actively negative outcomes. So this card denotes being careful, being considered when planning your next move.
Many people consider that the main card of choice in the Tarot is "The Lovers". And so it is - for a certain kind of choice. The Lovers is the on-off switch for the Tarot: you need to choose between yes and no, left or right, this one or that one. It is a two-way choice. By contrast, the Seven Cups tells you that there is more than black-and-white in your world: there are any number of greys as well. You have more choices than you think, and you need to make yourself aware of what they all are before you can make a fully informed choice.
So sit down and think about your situation. When you finally have some mental clarity there, that will be the moment to move forward, and not before.
In some ways, this card reminds me of the extra Major Arcana card in the MRP Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot, "The Tarot Reader" card. The choices that the Seven Cups often exemplifies are expressed in divination tools: Granny has at her disposal a Tarot deck (showing the Seven Cups - Tarot within Tarot), a crystal ball for scrying, a candle flame also for scrying and a scattering of runestones in front of her. She looks lovingly out at us, clad in her Pilgrim's hat, the purple shawl of the sacred and the black ribbon of Crone-wisdom, whilst the little gargoyle worked in the gold of her candlestick looks adoringly up at her. The softness of the heart is reflected in her pink tablecloth, mystery in her grey/purple wall colour. And there is nothing but warmth in the bright aura or nimbus of that candle!
To me personally, this card feels a lot like Temperance (see the first post in this blog): I have the sense of a lot of love being beamed my way every time I see it. I love it when it comes up, it makes me feel ridiculously happy.
Despite the apparent stillness of the image, there are clues that plenty is happening: wax is running down the candle in a couple of places which is remarkably hard to do with most modern candles, and this is a quintessentially modern deck. Also, the corks of her tribal identification with the Australian ethos that dangle from her hat, are not hanging still but are bouncing wildly. Everything suggests movement, activity behind the stillness.
Because this is what making choices is about. It is about sitting still but moving about wildly in your mind from place to place, alternative to alternative, considering what may work out well and what may work out less well.
Whenever this card comes up, I counsel clients that it is time they sat down like Granny, with their choices arrayed in front of them, and consider them carefully before committing themselves irrevokably to a single path forwards into the future. Some of the options they have will lead nowhere much, and not a lot will change. Some are dead-ends, bringing whatever is happening to a complete stop. Some will have positive outcomes, and some will have actively negative outcomes. So this card denotes being careful, being considered when planning your next move.
Many people consider that the main card of choice in the Tarot is "The Lovers". And so it is - for a certain kind of choice. The Lovers is the on-off switch for the Tarot: you need to choose between yes and no, left or right, this one or that one. It is a two-way choice. By contrast, the Seven Cups tells you that there is more than black-and-white in your world: there are any number of greys as well. You have more choices than you think, and you need to make yourself aware of what they all are before you can make a fully informed choice.
So sit down and think about your situation. When you finally have some mental clarity there, that will be the moment to move forward, and not before.
