Six of Cups

spinningspider

What a difference going from five cups to six cups makes in the Robin Wood deck!! Almost as if in a pleasant fairytale dream, the "Six of Cups" features two, beautiful children, surrounded by five large cups overflowing with flowers, standing happily on a path near to a lovely, thatched-roof home. The sixth cup of flowers is smaller than the other cups on the card and is shown being gifted by the taller, older boy to the smaller, younger girl. I particularly like how Robin mentioned in her book that the Six of Cups represent "home and childhood," but from a decidedly nostalgic perspective. I doubt many adults, on looking back in their memories regarding their own childhood, would find a whole lot of scenes truly similar to the one pictured in the Six of Cups. I'll speak for myself and say that while I loved my growing-up years and have many delightful memories sprinkled throughout, all was not quite as rosy as that which is depicted on this card. But that's as it should be and from what I can tell, just what Robin intended. This is a card that helps you remember the good times. There are plenty of Tarot cards that lean toward the dark side of situations...this doesn't appear to me to be one of them...at least not generally in its upright position. The Six of Cups speaks of blissful innocence, giving without expecting anything in return, sharing, freedom from corruption, feeling young or young at heart, feeling safe and loved, caring and being cared for, honorable intentions, simple goodness, gentleness, thoughtfulness and all that is positive regarding interactions between people.

If the Six of Cups came up in a reading reversed, perhaps the querent or person asked about is living too much in a dreamlike, fairytale world; wearing rose-colored glasses and not seeing the reality of a situation, especially one that has already happened or one that they wish for. Maybe they really ARE waiting for a Knight in Shining Armor to whisk them away, despite the odds of this not happening. Possibly the past is too painful to accept, and therefore the querent would rather only remember the good times; extinguishing from memory anything that upsets their utopian vision of what's happened. Reversed, the Six of Cups could actually be about a relationship...where one or both of the participants are kidding themselves about the true nature of the other and of the relationship itself...IF there IS even a relationship at all. Since Cups, in general, often deal with emotions, a reversed showing of the Six of Cups could mean that the emotions presented are not what they should be...perhaps too much, too little or not appropriate for the situation; maybe all has truly gotten out of hand and respect for each other has been left in the dust (ie. lots of fighting and bickering; emotional coldness; numbness; etc...)

Conversely, upright the Six of Cups could also be about a relationship. It matters not to me as a reader that the figures drawn are children...they could easily represent adults, or be of the same gender, etc. Upright, if indeed about a relationship, this would be a very positive card to show up in a reading...as it depicts a loving, respectful, even affectionate connection between two people...which could be simply platonic (ie. between siblings, co-workers, friends, etc.) or something much deeper.

The day presented in the Six of Cups looks to be gorgeous...sun shining, the bluest of skies, a dove of peace resting on the roof...sure beats the stormy skies of many other Tarot cards. If this card came up in one of my own readings, especially if it fell in a future slot in a spread, I might be tempted to regard it as a welcome, even promising, sign of a good, heartwarming, comforting situation(s) or relationship with someone else.