78 Weeks: Three Cups

jmd

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!
 

cartarum

three of cups

this three is about completion. occasaionally its about union. but the women are toasting to the end of a journey, heralding the completion of an event. in playing cards, its basicly the same, but can be substituted in place of the world.
 

Major Tom

Caught up

I'm still using 6 different versions of the Tarot of Marseilles for my studies.

What strikes me most about the 3 of Cups is how much it seems a direct outcome from the 2 of Cups. My RWS upbringing taught me that the 3 of Cups is about celebrations but this Marseilles card seems to imply so much more than that. In the Three the love expressed through the opposites of the Two finds expression.

I attach my version:
 

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ihcoyc

Interesting, how in the pattern the vegetation seems to spring from the two cups below to cradle and offer its buds to the third cup that has been placed above it. The vegetation itself is cup shaped. This is one of the more evocative of the pips.
 

CreativeFire

3 of Cups

Again I have used the Universal Waite card for study and inspiration for my own version of this card.

Universal Waite

The image on this card is of three ladies - in robes of white, red and yellow, holding three cups aloft in a gesture of celebration, in a garden with fruits and flowers.

To me this card is not only about celebration but also of friendship and enjoying a sharing of company and emotions in a caring environment.

**

In my version of this card I have used an image of three ladies, however they are not holding their cups in the air, but working together distributing water from their urns. This is representative of the sharing of emotions together as a group and working together as friends. It also makes me think of celebration, but from personal experience of the time before a gathering where everyone is working together and enjoying time talking and sharing whilst preparing the feast. Lots of laughter and talking, often more memorable and open than later at the party festivities. :)

I have also incorporated flowers in this card (roses) of white, red and yellow which relates back to the Universal Waite colour of the ladies robes.


CreativeFire
 

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Francesca

The RW 3's all indicate a working together. I usually read them as a kind of team effort of more than 2 peoole or influences, all integral. The 3 of Cups shows the three women dancing a dance. If one of them were absent, the dance wouldn't work out. Also, they are an egalitarian group (unlike the group in the 3 of Pentacles). They evoke for me the best of the Women's Spirituality Movement with their grace and togetherness.

Francesca
 

tmgrl2

In general:
The triangle: union of two and the product of love and joining The first geometric shape. It points toward the heavens and has a solid base. As it is above, so it is below. The beginnings of a pyramid with a four that has the square base with the four elements.

I am looking at the Hadar:

The two at the base, with the product at the top. The lovely "heart-shape formed by the floral vines rising up to surround the "birthed" cup with love.

The four is hinted at in the triangle moving towards a pyramid (four lines in the top section of each cup). Four "offshoots on each side arising from the lower center flower (eight if we add them)

Also, the card hints at "five." There are five yellow petals in the lower open flower with five "burning red points of passion nestling within the vine...the rose to come? Five radiating lines spreading below the blue ring of the spiritual around the handle of the cup?

The base of the cups....two black sections with a golden one in the middle...from putrefaction to the Great Work?
Does this mean there are three more on the sides not seen, hinting at six?


The interior of each cup filled with the red of passion and creativity and emotion, the fire of creativity and the fire of the spirit of the trinity.

Eight offshoots of the vine on each side...plus the yellow three-pointed bud at the bottom with the flowering one just above it + ten.

Then, glance at the dots forming a pyramid in only the top cup's base. Twelve in all.

There is much work to be done and with the three elements we are on the way .....

terri
 

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rcb30872

Radiant Rider-Waite

Three of Cups

LWB

Maidens in a garden ground with cups uplifted as if pledging one another.
Divinatory Meaning
The conclusion of any matter in plenty, perfection and merriment, happy issue, victory, fulfilment, solace and healing.

My Impression
It is a time of celebration and to get together with friends and loved ones. It could indicate that something has been achieved that is worthy of celebration, or it could be something that you may normally celebrate for such as a birthday, a wedding, an engagement or even an anniversary of some kind. Since this is a celebration and it is of cups, which indicates it is of an emotional nature, meaning that it is something that would make you h appy, or that you are happy.

The fruit athat are on the ground are still on the plants, meaning that whatever it is, it is still growing. It is not of a final completion, but a completion of sorts, possibly initial completion. So, then this indicates that you are able to see the fruits of your labour, which yes, is enough cause for celebration.

The colours of the dresses that the women are wearing also gives an indication of something. One woman is wearing white, which usually points at purity, innocence and spirituality. Another is wearing red, which usually points at passion, energy and can also be a colour of warning, danger and caution. The other woman is wearing yellow, which I look at as being related to the solar plexus charkra, which is usually associated with expression, and whatever else, not quite sure. So, the colours together could be one of two things werhe you have acted on something that is of a spiritual nature, in which there could be a balance between spiritual inspiration and earthly passion. On another completely different track it could be a case of a warning as someone may be doing something underhanded and tha tyou may be innocent, perhaps even naive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Golden Tarot of Klimt

3 of Chalices

LWB

Celebration, healing, love affairs and pleasing of the senses.

My Impression
The two women in the card actually look alike, but one has long hair and the other one has shorter hair. They are facing each other, the one on the left has her gaze downwards and the other one is actually looking at the other one directly. So, the one on the left looks a bit sad and whatever else, so the other woman can be looking at her, as if in a mirror. Indicating that the sense that the gaze is turned inwards to help to discover and heal the reason for the sadness.

But other than htat, there is a sense that there is something growing, which has initially blossomed into something. The background is green, indicating that it something new, and there could be flowers indicating that something has blossomed from that. And this can also be seen in the gold border which shows something of a similar theme. Since the women are holding the cups up above their heads indicates that is cause for celebration as if they are toasting something.
 

gregory

Three of Cups - Revelations Tarot

First impressions
This looks like they are having fun – but they aren’t entirely…..

From the book
Upright

They celebrate with joy and merriment. They hold their cups up high and spin endlessly in laughter.
It is time for celebration. Here, parties will not be rare, joyous events will be around the corner, and it will not be long before a smile will stretch across your face. Good health and a stable mind will also be evident.
Socially, this card reflects upon the environment you are in. Friends and work colleagues will be happier, and families will have joyous occasions to celebrate (possibly births or marriages). Frivolity and dressing up will be prerequisites for the atmosphere that will be dancing around you.

Reversed
He loses control and has drunk too much. He spins with them, but cannot hold on for long.
Here we find the loss of control that can only be associated with overindulging oneself. There is gluttony and sloth to be experienced, followed by indigestion and excessive consumption of liquids. Drunken debauchery will reign over all celebrations, taking the alcoholic in us that one step further. You may also find yourself overpleasuring your senses with unnecessary toys and gifts or flirting dangerously with strangers.
The atmosphere that surrounds you will be loud and excessive. The workplace may seem counterproductive as jokes and jibes take over. Office humor and gossip may divert any focus from colleagues' overindulgence. Families may be disrupted from entertaining others instead of taking care of their own.

Images and Symbolism
This card represents an enjoyment of happy emotions to their fullest. Here the merpeople are celebrating and having fun.
The background on the bottom of this card is littered with bottles, indicating an overindulgence in celebration. The excessiveness can take its toll, as indicated by the merman who cannot even keep his eyes open.
Color: pastels and blues, associated with Cancer.

Traditional meanings
Upright:

Enjoyment of the fruits of love. Maternity, comfort, felicity, the healing of ills. Happy partnership.

Reversed:
Unbridled passion, sensuality, exploitation of feelings.

My impressions:
Upright
A party in progress, in shades of purple. Three merpeople whirling in a circle, each with a cup. All are laughing. There are empty (?) bottles all over the sea bottom. A crab seems to be running away.

Reversed
The placing of the rubbish on the seabed is such that in the reversed image it is much more noticeable; the party takes on a more negative, orgiastic aspect. All the cups are now upside down – the wine in them wasted.

My take
Parties are fine – but not to be overdone, basically. The two images aren’t that different in essence, but looking at the same “story” from different directions means that we see it quite differently. There are two sides to everything – and the flip side here is that of overdoing it ! Celebrations are positive; overindulgence is not and will lead to disaster. A warning, then, to be moderate, not to waste the good things in life.

All the cards from this deck can be viewed here.
 

gregory

Card name: Three of Cups

First impressions

This card has a LOT of lotus blossoms – three rising from the water below – one of which bears another – this and the two others coming from the water bear cups that look to me jewelled but Frieda says they are pomegranates. Overhanging are four more lotus blossoms whose stems come out from the base of the lotus at the bottom centre of the card – two overarching ones pour water into the cup at the top, which overflows on to the other two lotus flowers, which in turn let water fall into the lower cups – which overflow into the water. The cup at the top also has a direct overflow into the water at the bottom. The blooms are golden yellow; the water almost black, and the sky (on my card !) is greenish.

From the Book of Thoth

THE FOUR THREES

These cards are referred to Binah; in each of them is expressed the symbolism of Understanding. The idea has become fertilized; the triangle has been formulated. In each case, the idea is of a certain stability which can never be upset, but from which a child can issue.

The Three of Wands is accordingly the Lord of Virtue. The idea of will and dominion has become interpreted in Character.
The Three of Cups is called the Lord of Abundance. The idea of love has come to fruition; but this is now sufficiently far down the Tree to introduce a very definite differentiation between the suits, which was not previously possible.

The idea of division, of mutability, the idea of the airy quality of things, manifests itself in the Three of Swords, the Lord of Sorrow. Here one is reminded of the darkness of Binah, of the mourning of Isis; but this is not any vulgar sorrow dependent upon any individual disappointment or discontent. It is Weltschmerz, the universal sorrow; it is the quality of melancholy.
The Three of Pentacles, in a similar manner, exhibits the result of the idea of Earth, of the crystallization of forces; and so the Three of Pentacles is called the Lord of Work. Something has definitely been done.

ABUNDANCE THREE OF CUPS

This card refers to Binah in the suit of Water. This is the card of Demeter or Persephone. The Cups are pomegranates: they are filled bountifully to overflowing from a single lotus, arising from the dark calm sea characteristic of Binah. There is here the fulifilment of the Will of Love in abounding joy. It is the spiritual basis of fertility.

The card is referred to the influence of Mercury in Cancer; this carries further the above thesis. Mercury is the Will or Word of the All-Father; here its influence descends upon the most receptive of the Signs.

At the same time, the combination of these forms of energy brings in the possibility of somewhat mysterious ideas. Binah, the Great Sea, is the Moon in one aspect, but Saturn in another; and Mercury, besides being the Word or Will of the All-One, is the guide of the souls of the Dead. This card requires great subtlety of interpretation.

The pomegranate was the fruit which Persephone ate in the realms of Pluto, thereby enabling him to hold her in the lower world, even after the most powerful influence had been brought to bear. The lesson seems to be that the good things of life, although enjoyed, should be distrusted.
Images and Symbolism
Frieda Harris says in her essays:
Three of Cups = Abundance. Binah in the suit of Water. Mercury in Cancer.
The Cups are pomegranates, bountifully overflowing in a calm sea, typifying the fulfilment of the Will to Love.
Also:
Three of Cups = Abundance. Mercury in Cancer. Binah.
The pomegranate cups are filled by wreathed lotuses to show the happy fruition of love.
Snuffin says the cups are ADORNED with pomegranates. That makes more sense. These refer to the Persephone/Demeter myth, where Persephone has to spend the winter in Hades, and brings Sprint and warmth with her, with her mother’s rejoicing when she returns to earth each spring. The eight lotuses are a reference to Mercury - this is good to know as 8 anything on a three card was confusing me ! Mercury it was who carried a message asking for Persephone’s release – and 8 refers to Mercury. Eight is also the number of months of the year that Persephone was allowed to live on the earth.
The yellow of the flowers suggests the Sun – which comes back every spring; the red of the pomegranates refers to Aries, the sign for the beginning of Spring.
A total of seven streams flow from the cups – a reference to Venus, and to Demeter and Persephone’s love for one another.
Banzhaf has the cup at the top showing the abundance of fulfilled love, overflowing its pove into the two below. “The idea of love has come to fruition”.

Meaning (cribbed from Wasserman)
Abundance. Spiritual basis of fertility. Plenty. Hospitality. Pleasure. Sensuality. Passive success. Love. Kindness. Bounty. The good things of life, while they are to be enjoyed, are transient and therefore cannot be relied on. (I am assuming this last is the ill-dignified meaning ?)
DuQuette
Plenty, hospitality. eating and drinking, pleasure, dancing, new clothes, merriment.
Abundance, plenty, success, pleasure, sensuality, passive success, good luck and fortune; love, gladness, kindness, liberality.

Traditional meanings – From Thirteen’s book of meanings:
Three of Cups
Three maidens with three overflowing cups celebrate. The creation here, springing from the investment of emotion, is "family" meaning either family members that you're reunited with, or a young friendship with people who are like family.
In the Rider-Waite deck autumnal fruit surrounds our three ladies, suggesting that they are celebrating the abundance of the harvest to sustain them through lean times. Or, perhaps, this relates to the great, Elysian mysteries, which celebrated the return of Persephone from the underworld and, with her, the return of abundant grain and fruit. Either way, they interlock arms as they lift their cups, toasting each other, united in joy and love.
This card can signify parties, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, birthdays or a holiday dinner. What it signals most strongly, however, is being with those who are emotionally in tune with you and you with them. If this card comes up regarding a question about a new relationship, it usually means that you're either discussing it with friends/family, or introducing this new person to friends/family. You're taking the next step in strengthening your emotional bond with the person. That is to say, you're feeling serious enough about them to let them meet those who are important to you-and let those who are important to you meet them.
My impressions (appearance of the card):
I find it very cluttered; abundance is one thing, but to me it really feels over the top. Partly this is the pomegranate cups, I think. I am also not sure just why the sea is so very dark – Banzhaf refers to the “dark calm sea of Binah” – but why almost black ? It feels almost more like excess to me.

My take (what I make of it/what I might see in a reading where I drew it)
I think it is a message of having more than you could possibly want here - share it out a bit or it will completely overwhelm you, and you may end up in the darkness of excess…