rachelcat
I didn't see an earlier thread, so here we go!
2 of Cups
2 = Force, balance
Cups = Emotions
Emotional attraction, equal relationship
Water pours from a salmon pink lotus high on a stem (held by another pink lotus on the surface of the water) in two forceful streams. The streams bounce off the heads of two heraldic dolphins (also pink, with yellow fins) that are twined around the stem. The streams then pour into two light gold cups with faceted sides and 4-lobed feet resting on the surface of the water. From each cup 5 streams overflow into the sea. The dolphins also spit out two small streams of water into the lower lotus. The sky is a cloudless blue and the surface of the water is blue-green, shading to green to yellow toward the horizon.
This is the Thoth card that most closely resembles a Marseille card. The Universal Marseille (recolored Burdel) has upper and lower flowers in the middle of the card and two pairs of dolphins (along with a completely different illustration in the bottom third of the card with the artist’s coat of arms, which is a crowned heart). Tarot Classic (provenance?) is similar, but doesn’t have the lower pair of dolphins, which are really the ones in the most similar configuration as the Thoth pair (bodies crossed and heads downward). I don’t really know what this is important, maybe to show solidarity/continuity with non-scenic minors?
Crowley says twos are the elements in their most harmonious condition, and that 2 of Wands and 2 of Cups are the elements in their best and highest form. (This confuses me because I always think of 6s as best and highest. Maybe 2s above and 6s below the abyss?)
He says the card is Love under Will, the harmony of male and female. I think this means Love as feminine/receptive and Will as masculine/active. Cups and 2s (father). This gives a deeper meaning to the idea of equal or harmonious relationship. Everything is as it should be, give and take are balanced. Crowley also says “purity” and “perfection.”
He says the symbolism of the dolphin is “Royal Art,” and dolphins are sacred to alchemy. Now if I’m thinking right, alchemy IS the royal art (as in the Art card). Which makes total sense—a minor correspondent to Art—2 cups, harmony of masc. and fem.
Venus in Cancer: Very conducive to Love, I would think. Crowley points out that Cancer is the home of the Moon and where Jupiter is exalted, so the card contains all three fortunate planets.
According to Banzhaf: “Complete love, romantic love, dreamy, profound desire for harmony, unification, and spiritual and physical exchange.”
In a reading: Love! The card everyone wants to get! True love, not in the way of single-minded obsession or pursuit, but focused on a true desire for closeness, harmony, and the wellbeing of the loved one. The card can also refer to self-love and harmonious emotions within. Perhaps not giving oneself away to a demanding lover but respecting oneself enough to wait for/want a more equal, loving relationship.
2 of Cups
2 = Force, balance
Cups = Emotions
Emotional attraction, equal relationship
Water pours from a salmon pink lotus high on a stem (held by another pink lotus on the surface of the water) in two forceful streams. The streams bounce off the heads of two heraldic dolphins (also pink, with yellow fins) that are twined around the stem. The streams then pour into two light gold cups with faceted sides and 4-lobed feet resting on the surface of the water. From each cup 5 streams overflow into the sea. The dolphins also spit out two small streams of water into the lower lotus. The sky is a cloudless blue and the surface of the water is blue-green, shading to green to yellow toward the horizon.
This is the Thoth card that most closely resembles a Marseille card. The Universal Marseille (recolored Burdel) has upper and lower flowers in the middle of the card and two pairs of dolphins (along with a completely different illustration in the bottom third of the card with the artist’s coat of arms, which is a crowned heart). Tarot Classic (provenance?) is similar, but doesn’t have the lower pair of dolphins, which are really the ones in the most similar configuration as the Thoth pair (bodies crossed and heads downward). I don’t really know what this is important, maybe to show solidarity/continuity with non-scenic minors?
Crowley says twos are the elements in their most harmonious condition, and that 2 of Wands and 2 of Cups are the elements in their best and highest form. (This confuses me because I always think of 6s as best and highest. Maybe 2s above and 6s below the abyss?)
He says the card is Love under Will, the harmony of male and female. I think this means Love as feminine/receptive and Will as masculine/active. Cups and 2s (father). This gives a deeper meaning to the idea of equal or harmonious relationship. Everything is as it should be, give and take are balanced. Crowley also says “purity” and “perfection.”
He says the symbolism of the dolphin is “Royal Art,” and dolphins are sacred to alchemy. Now if I’m thinking right, alchemy IS the royal art (as in the Art card). Which makes total sense—a minor correspondent to Art—2 cups, harmony of masc. and fem.
Venus in Cancer: Very conducive to Love, I would think. Crowley points out that Cancer is the home of the Moon and where Jupiter is exalted, so the card contains all three fortunate planets.
According to Banzhaf: “Complete love, romantic love, dreamy, profound desire for harmony, unification, and spiritual and physical exchange.”
In a reading: Love! The card everyone wants to get! True love, not in the way of single-minded obsession or pursuit, but focused on a true desire for closeness, harmony, and the wellbeing of the loved one. The card can also refer to self-love and harmonious emotions within. Perhaps not giving oneself away to a demanding lover but respecting oneself enough to wait for/want a more equal, loving relationship.