3 of Cups - the card of Persephone

BrightEye

I originally posted this under 'Using the cards' but I thought this is perhaps the more appropriate forum since it's all about the Thoth deck.

The 3 of Cups has come up in quite a lot of readings for me for quite some time and I've always been puzzled by its meaning because it means so many different things in different decks.

Recently I have been thinking along the following lines: The Thoth deck shows 3 cups made out of pomegranates. Crowley calls it the card of Persephone because Persephone eats a pomegranate seed when she is in the underworld to where Hades has abducted her, and that act of eating the food of the dead ties her to Hades. The Tarot of Reflections actually shows a pregnant Persephone sitting under a pomegranate tree (so I think at least).

The grief-stricken Demeter follows her daughter into the underworld and demands that she joins her in the upper world for a certain time of the year. Demeter's wish is granted. When P. is in the underworld, we have winter.

Now the 3 of Cups is linked to the Empress (who is also often shown as pregnant) through the number 3. The Empress being associated with the cycle of the seasons and the nurturing mother aspect is Demeter, goddess of nature and agriculture. I think Crowley even makes an explicit link btw Empress and Demeter.

The RWS-style tarots often show 3 women. In a previous thread I was wondering whether it's significant that there are only women in the card, and thinking along those lines I think it might be. It's about nurturing a friendship/ relationship between women. Reading it like this the card is beginning to make sense to me (obviously only in my very private universe). I'm interested to hear what others think about this reading.
 

Aeon418

BrightEye said:
The RWS-style tarots often show 3 women. In a previous thread I was wondering whether it's significant that there are only women in the card, and thinking along those lines I think it might be. It's about nurturing a friendship/ relationship between women. Reading it like this the card is beginning to make sense to me (obviously only in my very private universe). I'm interested to hear what others think about this reading.
To limit this cards interpretation to women alone seems a little narrow to me. The exclusive use of women to illustrate Waite's 3 of Cups is merely pointing out that the energies represented by this card are of the feminine/receptive kind, i.e. drawing inwards as opposed to projecting outwards.
 

catlin

Very interesting observation, BrightEye.

I think there is a female aspect to the 3 of cards but I would not too strongly fix it on an "women only" aspect.

I am a person who tries to see things in a balanced way, so I'd see 3 of cups as a kind of "interaction" between ppl, gender is only secondary in it.
 

BrightEye

Yes, I agree with both of you. The women only aspect applies to 'my own private universe' as I said in the initial post, my own observations and how the card relates to me at the moment. Although I must say I'm uneasy with the 'traditional' ways of gendering the cards, i.e. cups=receptive=feminine, wands=active=masculine.
 

Aeon418

BrightEye said:
Although I must say I'm uneasy with the 'traditional' ways of gendering the cards, i.e. cups=receptive=feminine, wands=active=masculine.
It would be wrong if we were to say that Wands = Men and Cups = Women. The masculine-wands/feminine-cups correspondence is only meant to represent a certain kind of energy that is present in both sexes. Using a gender theme makes it easy for us get our heads round it because it's very straight forward and direct and everyone can understand it. The mistake of course is to interpret the symbolism literally.

Back on topic....

The link with Persephone and her yearly return to the underworld may be a warning not to become too attached. Enjoy Persephone's "Abundance" now, while it's here in this moment. But if you cling to it you're heading for the 3 of Swords. :(
 

BrightEye

I know what you mean, Aeon, re gender and men as well as women having masculine and feminine energy. I just don't like this binary way of thinking. But as you say: this is how we get our heads around the subject.

Now re 3 of Cups sliding into 3 of Swords: that's an interesting thought with regard to the Persephone story. How did you work that one out? Please tell me more!
 

Aeon418

BrightEye said:
Now re 3 of Cups sliding into 3 of Swords: that's an interesting thought with regard to the Persephone story. How did you work that one out? Please tell me more!
The Hades - Persephone myth is a story about the "changing" cycle of the seasons. When Persephone was with her mother, Demeter, the earth was full of life (spring and summer). But because Hades gave Persephone a pomegranate (as used by Crowley in the Thoth) she has to return to the underworld every year (winter).

The 3 of Cups represents the time when Persephone and Demeter are together and the earth is in "Abundance". But spring and summer don't last forever. You can't stop autumn and winter arriving no matter how hard you try. Eventually Persephone has to return to the underworld. If you try to hold onto the 3 of Cups and make it last forever you're attempting the impossible. If you hold onto it the 3 of Cups will naturally transform into the 3 of Swords. Every party comes to an end. The good times never last.
You can either accept this as the way of the world and natural change, or inflict "Sorrow" on yourself by longing for yesterday.

The 3 of Cups is a card of the good times. Grab it with both hands and enjoy every single minute. But don't be sad when it comes to a natural end. :)

Waite's use of the image of three women may be a link to the cycle of the moon?
 

BrightEye

interesting story

The sorrow of the 3 of Swords is Persephone's as well as Demeter's. Walter Pater says that loss and separation are integral parts to the Persephone-Demeter story. He calls her Our Lady of the Sorrows of the ancient world, griefstricken at the loss of her daughter. And she refuses to let go, rebels against it, but ultimately loses. I suppose it's a coming-of-age story in a way.
 

ravenest

Aeon418 said:
. If you hold onto it the 3 of Cups will naturally transform into the 3 of Swords. Every party comes to an end. The good times never last.
You can either accept this as the way of the world and natural change, or inflict "Sorrow" on yourself by longing for yesterday.

Although I abhore the Persephone myth I like this idea and it explains to me another aspect of why I always saw 3S (Sorrow) as a result of expectation.
 

rachelcat

Hello! Here's my IDS!

3 = manifestation
Cups = emotions
Expressing feelings, art as self-expression, relationships

3 red cups covered with spheres sit on and are being filled with light yellow lotuses. The water roots out of the lotuses and overflows the cups with strong force in straight streams. The sea is deep blue and the sky is a cloudless light blue.

Crowley says the cups are pomegranates. But they must be made from the inside of pomegranates. I don’t think the outside of pomegranates are bumpy. The feet of the cups resemble the tops of the fruit where the flower was attached.

The pomegranate is a symbol of abundance and fertility, but also a symbol of ties to death and the underworld. Because Persephone ate of the pomegranate of the underworld, she must return there every year. The story itself links fertility with death and the underworld. Crowley mentions that Mercury is the psychopomp who leads souls to the underworld. (The card is Mercury in Cancer.) The number 3, Binah as Saturn, is also related to endings and death. Crowley says that the underworld/death connection means “that the good things in life, although enjoyed, should be distrusted.” I don’t really see that for this card—that seems more for 7 and 10 of Cups. I see it more as life always includes death. And spiritual experiences.

The dark blue sea refers to Binah, the Great Sea, the mother of all.

Mercury in Cancer: “Expressiveness that is full of feeling and rich in images. A good storyteller and poet.” Here the expression function of Mercury is linked with form-creating Binah.

In a reading: You are in for a time of creativity, abundance, and friendship. Don’t be afraid to talk to someone about your feelings—they will be receptive and it may make you closer.