78 Weeks: Nine Cups

To find out what these threads refer to, please seeThe link above provides suggested dates and links to all threads for this study.

Some amongst us may be working through the deck in a different order, and using different decks.

For more general comments or questions about the 78 weeks, please post in the thread linked above.

Enjoy!

the nine of cups

satisfaction. whatever that may be; the pain of another, the affections of a beautifull woman. ive said elsewhere that when we are satisfied completely, thats when the worst part of us comes out. making a good impression.
reversed, its basicly making an ass of yourself. dissatisfaction.

9 of Cups

For this week's meditation and study on the 9 of Cups, I used a few decks being Universal Waite (which I decided I don't really like the image on this card with the smug little man sitting in front of his cups - but that's just me ) I also used the Thoth (Happiness) and Sharman-Caselli.

From my notes when working on my own 9 of Cups:

A woman sitting in a beautiful and colourful garden, obviously relaxed and taking pleasure in her surroundings. Spread out around are her 9 cups filled to the brim, that she has taken joy and care in filling from the water source in her luxurious garden. She is contented, stretching sensually and enjoying her nakedness in the sunlight. Enjoying life as it is at the moment in her time and place - appreciating the beauty around her, and the happiness within and with herself.

CreativeFire

I like Creative Fire's interpretation, but it is so close to the 9 of pentacles. I use the universal Waite deck mostly and one of the things I see in it is someone who has a lot to offer. WHere and how it goes from there is up to the querent and the other cards.

Francesca

Still using my 6 different versions of the Tarot of Marseilles.

My RWS upbringing taught me that the 9 of Cups is about contentment. Oddly enough, I can find contentment in the Marseilles, but it seems rather limiting.

Here we have a 3x3 grid of cups. There are two separate growths consisting of 4 leaves and 2 flowers. These growths fill the space between the cups on the grid as if to embrace them.

My numerology tells me the keywords for 9 are human understanding and completion. When I put this together with keywords for cups of emotions and spirituality, I get the idea of satisfaction with something well done and yes, contentment. I also think about true love for others.

I attach my version of the card:

The 9 of cups strikes me as one of the cards that is most strongly marked in the cartomancy tradition, with a meaning that is so well rooted that it comes through regardless of what deck or what interpretive tradition you're coming from.

Nine is three by three, the virtues of three tripled in the sphere of the Moon. The Moon is compatible with the themes of love and emotion that are the subject matter of Cups, and thus all works together to reinforce the traditional meaning: the "wish" card. It represents all that your heart desires.

Nine of Cups - Revelations Tarot

First impressions
Power !

From the book
Upright
He basks in the contentment of personal fulfilment. His radiance comes from inside him, and everything seems to dance around the song of his heart.
Contentment, physical health, and success will grace your life. This card favors positive vibes all around you. Dreams will come true and life will be enjoyed.
Relationships, too, will be fulfilling as emotions will flow easily, including love, trust, and friendship. Satisfaction in one's job and career will be reached, along with a better level of camaraderie with your workmates and management.

Reversed
Caution is advised. Avoid becoming complacent, for success may go to your head and could impair your judgment.
The reverse warns against feeling invincible and encourages expressions of some humility. Sure the time has come to bask in your own brilliance and enjoy the spoils, but complacency in considering your future and what is to come will only hold you back. Do not take your achievements for granted, and be aware of how the rest of the world may perceive you. Your success may only be in your mind.
The reverse of this card encourages further development And exploration after a peak has been reached. Working toward new personal bests and endeavoring to better oneself will be the next challenges you will face in the workplace or competitive field. In relationships, the honeymoon may be coming to an end, so it will be time to reinvest more effort and time into development.

Images and Symbolism
The merman rejoices effortlessly in his brilliance. He has reached a personal and emotional contentment within himself. The fish circle harmoniously around him, reflecting his happiness.
The reverse merman has a smug look on his face. He is unaware of the eels that dance around him, waiting to tear him apart at the next opportunity.
Color: color of the oceans, orange, blues; associated with Pisces.

Traditional meanings
Upright:
Emotional stability and contentment. Inner security, goodwill, kindness, generosity of spirit, an affectionate nature.
Reversed:
Complacency, vanity, sentimentality.

My impressions:
Upright
A rather conceited looking merman with hair almost like a crown around his head, spreads his hands open at waist level. In front of him a circle of 8 cups with a ninth in the centre. Around his head a circle of feathery-tailed fish. There is tremendous energy here.

Reversed
A merman with folded arms looks resigned. He seems to be quietly giving up. There are fish swimming around his head too, but he doesn’t see them.

My take
I suspect the upright merman is intended to be a positive image – and the book suggests this is so – but he does look very conceited to me. He has it all, and everyone is revolving around him. And that is what he expects. I feel this says more that pride comes before a fall. While again – I disagree with the book on the reverse image, which I see as oblivious rather than smug. There is danger here too - but it comes from not paying attention, and keeping a detached distance from things. Maybe the folded arms suggest the smugness mentioned in the book – but I don’t; feel it that way at all. This is a very negative card in both its aspects, to my mind.

All the cards from this deck can be viewed here.

Nine of Cups (Rider Waite Tarot)

First Impressions
A lot of people kind of dislike this card, with the fat, smug man sitting in the middle of a horseshoe table as if showing off the nine goblets arranged there. They say he's smug, self-satisfied, greedy - hogging the cups for himself and not sharing. Nah-nah, look what I have!

But I've never seen it like that. Yes, the man is a bit of a show-off, isn't he? But to my way of thinking it is more that he is justifiably proud of them, and just wants us to see it, like the way we mount trophies and certificates on our walls.

Much has been made too, of the fact that he's all by himself. But that's a common theme in the Rider Waite's Nines. Makes sense, linked to the Hermit as it is. And that he's beefy, fat. I see him as rotund, Rabelaisian, jolly. He's a happy man, content and comfortable. Even his clothing fits that, with his long striped nightshirt and red turbanlike cap. He's got his arms folded, but rather than come across as closed off, it indicates satisfaction and self-containment to me.

They've always called this the "wish card" of the Minor Arcana, on a par with the Star of the Major Arcana. That it corresponds to wishes and desires fulfilled. There's not a whole lot in the image to suggest this (I love the Whimsical Tarot's take on this card, with the winking genie issuing in a stream of smoke from a lamp), but I see what it means. You're happy, satisfied, because you have everything you could desire, you've nothing left to wish for, to long for, to want.

So when I see this card come up in a reading or a draw, my first impression is "oh, good." I usually take it to mean that whatever it is that is asked, the outcome will be as hoped.

Creator's Notes
Again, short and to the point where Minors are concerned:

Waite said:

A goodly personage has feasted to his heart's content, and abundant refreshment of wine is on the arched counter behind him, seeming to indicate that the future is also assured. The picture offers the material side only, but there are other aspects.

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I guess what he means by that last bit is how the man typifies physical satiety - he's eaten and drunk and now he's full and happy - but being the Cups suit there are other aspects of it all, on the spiritual and emotional side.

Others' Interpretations
Waite said:

Waite said:

Divinatory Meanings: Concord, contentment, physical bien-être; also victory, success, advantage; satisfaction for the Querent or person for whom the consultation is made. Reversed: Truth, loyalty, liberty; but the readings vary and include mistakes, imperfections, etc.

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Symbols and Attributes
The title for this card, according to the Golden Dawn, is Lord of Material Happiness. Interesting to take note of that: Material Happiness. Despite the emotional, intuitive, spiritual nature of the Watery Cups, this card is about a more Pentacle-ish and physical (some might say lowbrow) interpretation - being full and sated and comfortable.

Astrologically this card is associated with Pisces, which is again ruled by the Moon. And that's all I got

The main symbol to note in this card is the man himself. He's a hefty man, which I take to mean what it did in the medieval sense, when abundance of flesh meant abundance of wealth, of food. He's fat and sleek and comfortably dressed because he doesn't have to bust his back and get his work clothes on to put gruel on the table, or toil in the vegetable patch for some scrubby carrots to keep from starvation. He has plenty, and it shows. It's usually concluded that he is a merchant; why a merchant in particular, I don't know, other than that a merchant makes plenty of money without having to over-exert himself or get his hands dirty. He's sitting comfortably and has his arms crossed. If you use your imagination you can see a lemniscate form to his arms, the sideways-8 that we see over the heads of the maiden in Strength and also the Magician. To me it underlines the fact that like the capable and confident Magician, this guy has his life under control. He has the power, and he knows it. It was pointed out before too (was it Thomson?) that his arms are crossed over his heart and solar plexus chakras. As if his happiness is in fact more a matter of pride, of "ego" satisfaction rather than true happiness.

The table is set tall and thin, draped with a cloth, and nothing is on it but the nine cups. We can't see what's in the cups if anything, or if there's anything under the cloth. But it's a strange setup, really. Like it really is for display purposes rather than one you'd expect your friends to belly up to and join you for a glass ... or two. The horseshoe arches around behind, and we can assume to the sides of, the man, as if hemming him in. Certainly in such a way that there is no backward motion, no reflection, no past. This is a man who lives in the present.

The cloth is blue, the blue of emotions and spirituality. But there's no blue on the man, just white, and red on his hat (for passions, I would take it for indulgence). So I think he does not hold spirituality very close to him, for all that it is around him. And what's underneath that cloth, if we were to go down on our knees and peek? Would it reveal his true feelings, what is truly of value to the man? Or the effort that went into obtaining these cups, this prosperity? Because right now all we see, all he allows us to see, is the outward achievement. The well-fed exterior and the nine shiny trophies. Reminds me of what they say about ducks: look calm and still on the surface, but paddle like hell underneath. Are we not permitted to see beyond that surface? Or is there nothing? Is this a man who is concerned with keeping up appearances?

The background of this card is a uniform bright yellow. Yellow again. Sigh. But in this case I do think it fits. Yellow is a happy, bright and confident colour. The colour of the Sun. A colour that serves to underline the man's happy and assured nature, his confidence that there will always be plenty.

Nines in the Tarot and numerology are cards of completion, success and fulfillment. But they are also cards about doing this alone. They are linked to the Hermit, the ninth card in the Major Arcana, and so they also reflect the solitary nature of this archetype. So the man in the Nine of Cups is successful, placid, full, comfortable. But alone. Is this by choice? His expression seems to suggest that yes, he is content. I see a lot of similarities between the Nine of Cups and Nine of Pentacles - solitary comfort and enjoyment in both.

Now me, I'm quite a solitary type and very comfortable on my own. But many more social types than I would argue that he can't be truly happy without someone with whom (whom? who? which? I suck at grammar!) to share this happiness. In Pictures From the Heart: A Tarot Dictionary, Sandra A. Thomson says:

Thomson said:

Jung said that when people live their lives as if there is a higher plan, no matter how they define it, it seems to result in a new level of tranquility. So perhaps the "nine completion" here is the recognition of that tranquility.

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An interesting point. Physical comfort leads to tranquility. A very Cups-like sentiment.

And what about that whole thing of the "wish card"? I see it as what happens after the Star. You wish upon a star, the Star being the card of tawdry hope. And now? Well, your wish has come true, hasn't it? No wonder the man looks so satisfied. I would too.

My Interpretation
I never did see this card as smug and unlikeable, and my looking more into the symbolism hasn't changed that. I do see it as the most ... Earthy, the most physically-concerned of the Cups, but that isn't a bad thing. I'm a big fan of creature comforts! So this man is well-fed, has presumably worked hard for what he has, and by God, now he's going to enjoy it, and be damned to those who naysay him for it.

To me this card is the best link between the elements of Earth and Water, the suits of Pentacles and Cups. The Nine of Pentacles illustrates the comforts, this card the satisfaction one derives from them.

So in a reading I would see this card as representing satisfaction, enjoyment of what you have accomplished. Nobody needs to see what you had to do to get where you are. It's not for anyone but yourself. It's a comfortable, content card.

Yes definitely satisfaction and wellbeing in the 9 cups, but a feeling not to get too caught up in the happiness by doing nothing more, perhaps feeling so self satisfied you would stay lonely by not sharing with another. Or, being so fat cat lazy you remain emotionally centred in your own world.
Don't mean to sound negative, but always two sides or zillions more to a card.

Thoth

Card name: Nine of Cups

First impressions
Nine cups, three rows of three – a square – as also in maths ! They are purple and look like glass. Over each hangs a golden lotus, pouring out water which overflows all the way down. Their stalks are brilliant red. The background is blue. Sigils of Jupiter and Pisces.

From the Book of Thoth

THE FOUR NINES These cards are attributed to Yesod. After the double excursion into misfortune, the current returns to the middle pillar. This Sephira is the seat of the great crystallization of Energy. But it takes place very far down the Tree, at the apex of the third descending triangle, and a flat triangle at that. There is little help from low, unbalanced spheres like Netzach and Hod. What saves Yesod is the direct ray from Tiphareth; this Sephira is in the direct line of succession. Each of these cards gives the full impact of the elemental force, but in its most material sense; that is, of the idea of the force, for Yesod is still in Yetzirah, the formative world. Zoroaster says:
"The number Nine is sacred, and attains the summit of perfection." Egypt and Rome, also, had Nine Major Deities.
The Nine of Cups is called Happiness. This is a peculiarly good card, because happiness, as the word implies, is so much a matter of luck: the card is ruled by Jupiter, and Jupiter is Fortune.
In all these watery cards, there is a certain element of illusion; they begin by Love, and love is the greatest and most deadly of the illusions. The sign of Pisces is the refinement, the fading away of this instinct, which, begun with dreadful hunger and carried on with passion, has now become "a dream within a dream".
The card is ruled by Jupiter. Jupiter in Pisces is indeed good fortune, but only in the sense of complete satiety. The fullest satisfaction is merely the matrix of a further putrefaction; there is no such thing as absolute rest. A cottage in the country with the roses all around it? No, there is nothing permanent in this; there is no rest from the Universe. Change guarantees stability. Stability guarantees change.
HAPPINESS
NINE OF CUPS
HAPPINESS
NINE OF CUPS
The Number Nine, Yesod, in the suit of Water, restores the stability lost by the excursions of Netzach and Hod from the Middle Pillar. It is also the number of the Moon, thus strengthening the idea of Water.
In this card is the pageant of the culmination and perfection of the original force of Water.
The Ruler is Jupiter in Pisces. This influence is more than sympathetic; it is a definite benediction, for Jupiter is the planet of Chesed which represents Water in its highest material manifestation, and Pisces brings out the placid qualities of Water.
In the symbol are nine cups perfectly arranged in a square; all are filled and overflowing with Water. It is the most complete and most beneficent aspect of the force of Water.
The Geomantic Figure Laetitia is ruled by Jupiter in Pisces. For its meaning consult the "Handbook of Geomancy" (Equinox Vol I, No.2). Laetitia, Joy, gladness, is one of the best and most powerful of the sixteen figures; for the Solar, Lunar, and Mercurial symbols are, at the best, ambiguous and treacherously ambivalent; those of Venus portend rather relief than positive beneficence; Saturn and Mars are seen at their worst; and even the stable-companion of Laetitia, Acquisitio, has its unpleasant aspects, and even its dangers. But the consonance of Laetitia with this card amounts to little less than an identity; the wine is poured by Ganymede himself, unstinted vintage of true nectar of the Gods, brimful and running over, an ordered banquet of delight, True Wisdom self-fulfilled in Perfect Happiness.

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Images and Symbolism
Frieda Harris says in her essays:

Nine of Cups = Happiness. Yesod in the suit of Water. Jupiter in Pisces.
The nine Cups are perfectly arranged in a square. They are filled and overflowing with water. This is the most beneficent aspect of water.

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Also:

Nine of Cups = Happiness. Jupiter in Pisces.
The nine cups are perfectly arranged, they overflow but thus is an ordered possessive aspect of love partaking of a ritual.

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Snuffin points out that the violet of the cups is the colour of Yesod and Jupiter in Briah. I kind of wish I understood all that. Their arrangement is very stable – and he adds that such a configuration – a square – is associated with manifestation. The sky’s blue is apparently also the colour of Jupiter in Briah, which indicates the expansive nature of the planet.
Banzhaf says that Jupiter in Pisces is the expression of spiritual love and masculine devotion to the feminine emotions. He also suggests that the ocean below has all colours flowing together, symbolising the deepest desires and longing. That would fit with the Wish Card thing ! Pity it doesn’t actually LOOK that way to me.
DuQuette says this is one of the best cards in the deck, and takes us back to the stability of the middle pillar. He actually picks on my major reservation about the art (see below) and says that Frieda has “pumped up the Golden Dawn Model” by having the water “gushing under pressure.” He says this is voluptuous and surreal, Victorian clutter (see also below !)

Meaning (cribbed from Wasserman)
Complete success. Pleasure and happiness. Physical well-being. Happiness almost perfect but perhaps temporary. Ill-dignified: Danger of vanity, self-praise, conceit and overindulgence.

DuQuette
Complete success, pleasure and happiness, wishes fulfilled. Complete and perfect realization of pleasure and happiness, almost perfect; self-praise, vanity, conceit, much talking if self, yet kind and lovable, and may be self-denying therewith. High-minded, not easily satisfied with small and limited ideas. Apt to be maligned through too much self-assumption. A good and generous, but sometimes foolish nature.

Traditional meanings – From Thirteen’s book of meanings:

NINES
Nine is a number of completion (so is Ten, but we'll get to that). It is the number when everything that's been learned or accomplished is integrated, and we can see it all as one, as the truth.
Like the Hermit, who connects to the nines, these are cards where we return to ourselves, as only we, ourselves, have more to teach us. We look at what we've done, earned, gained, and we think about what more we might do to make our lives (or the suit) complete. We shine a light on all we've accomplished to discover what might still be missing.
Nines are among the most powerful cards, usually granting the querent what it is they, like the Hermit, are seeking.
Nine of Cups
An innkeeper sits before nine cups set out for guests. This is considered one of the best cards of the minors, the "wish" card. Keep in mind, however, that this card is not Alladin's magic lantern granting you that new car or winning lottery number. It is about our wish for emotional fulfillment.
In some mystical systems it's thought that what you put out will return back to you threefold. Or, as Shakespeare put it, the more love you give to others, the more you have, for "both are infinite." (Romeo & Juliet, II,ii). This is something of the meaning of this card. The more love and good emotions that you put out into the universe, the more come back to you until you have a feast of good wishes. Think of it like walking into an inn and finding that the innkeeper has already filled his chalices with the best wine for you and your friends.
The reader can predict for the querent satisfaction in family, friends and relationships, joy and camaraderie. They will feel creative and happy. In addition, this card could be a prediction of a great dinner, an amazing party or just a wonderful night at the local pub.

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(I include Thirteen’s meanings here, but the way, as while someone else was adding them to her Thoth posts, I found them enlightening in context, even though the descriptions are way different !)
My impressions (appearance of the card):
This card actually reminds me a bit of the kind of china cabinet I REALLY hate…. Which rather ties in with happiness as the kind of people who seem to have them are usually cheery little old ladies… And DuQuette even says it is “Victorian clutter” !
But to be serious - I am also bugged by the way the water is overflowing. It wouldn’t do it like that. That’s not like Frieda. It would fall vertically. It looks as if something has burst. The water at the bottom – the sea of Binah again, I assume – is glassy clear and reflecting. That suggests clarity to me, too.
The idea of this nine as the WISH card SO doesn’t work with this one !

My take (what I make of it/what I might see in a reading where I drew it)
Stability; things working as they should and as you would like. But be careful not to get complacent and maybe even boastful about it all, or you stand to lose it all. That bursting water – like a spilt pipe – is something to watch for. Don’t take too much.