Seaking of Rider Waite symbols (another one hehe)

Lady Morgana

could it be that the W means the element water which is actually the element the cups are based on. Well just a suggestion
 

Strange2

The W could be an upside down M, and/or vice versa. As others indicated, the W could stand for "Water". Interestingly, the Hebrew letter "Mem" means "Water"... more M / W interplay.

Mem is also associated with the 23rd path on the Tree of Life, the path of the Hanged Man. Again, more "upside down" symbolism.

The Ace of Cups is often depicted as the Holy Grail, the cup from which Jesus drank Wine at the Last Supper, and which caught his blood when he was sacrificed on the cross. Another "cross"-reference to the Hanged Man.

Very enlightening how these symbols flow into one another...
 

VGimlet

The dove was also sacred to Zeus, symbolized love to Aphrodite, and re-birth to Athena. I found a lot of pre-Christian dove symbolism out there, most of it positive.
 

Liliana

I think strange2 just convinced me to stick it in there, now i have to decide if i want to add an angel as well or not,decisions decisions :) the dove will be there too, as well as other symbols, non traditonal ones, but I want it to be a surprise hehe, Im into heavy symbolism :)
 

Niove

Alan says 'M'

In Alan Oken's Pocket Guide To The Tarot, he says that, "The letter on the cup is an upside-down 'M,' indicating that 'matter' is ready to receive the blessings from heaven."

He also writes that the dove placing the wafer into the cup translates to "the loving compassion of the Divine Heart enters into our emotional life, raising it up."

I suppose you could call this insight Christian? Hope this helps Liliana.
 

Liliana

Yes that helps a lot, being the first meaning posted from a published book, not that I think a published person is any more valid than others hehe
 

lunar_rabbit

Each one of the suits represents an element, too

Pentacles = Earth
Swords = Fire
Wands = Air
Cups = Water

So, it makes sense to me that the W would mean water. Although, it doesn't look exactly like a W to me. Looks more like a symbol of some sort.
 

Maan

Maybe it is a rune. There is one that looks like a M
i believe it meens humanity.
 

Malachite

The runic symbol for humanity looks different...
The runic symbol that looks like that represents the female active principle...

It could be a contraction of the egyptian hieroglyphic for water...it represents the 'N' here...http://members.aol.com/egyptnew/hiero.html

water links to cups, but the shape is a little different, i agree...
 

paradoxx

23 ways about it

W could mean water but lets go a little more estoric here.

w is the 23 letter of our modern english alphabet. Psi is the 23rd letter of the greek alphabet. Psi as in psychic energy and psychology. so the ace of cups coudl represent psychic energy or the need for psych therapy or anything doing with the mind and spirit.

there is no standard 23rd major arcania and thus the 23rd card of the tarot deck could be any of the minor aces. so this card coudl represent the continuation of major life events as represented by the majors.

23 is a powerful number that relates to all religions and non-religous ideas. just search for 23 in a search engine and you will get soem interesting websites. this card could represent synchronisity in everyday life.

M is the 13th letter of the alphabet. M as in Man, W as in Woman. depending on if the card is reversed or not it could represent a gender.

jsut a few thoughts.