Crystal Tarot - Chalices

[Diana]

Here are some thoughts thrown down without much thought, but they are what came to me when I came to continue this thread.

So we look at the Ace. There's everything there that you can wish for. A whole beautiful city to wander through. But what will you visit first? The castle? The market? Go to the movies? The bookshops? Will you just wander through the streets admiring the architecture? Will you enrol at the University for some courses? Will you go to the park? It's up to you. The whole world is at your feet. But you need to have some kind of focus otherwise you'll end up doing everything and nothing. Choose a goal and go for it. But choose it with your heart..... like a butterfly, light upon the flower that smells the sweetest to you... and you will pollinate that flower and spread much joy.

As to the Two of Cups: Don't ignore the Moon and Sun on the cups. Here we have the usual duality of the twos. Duality, but at the same time completeness, but what would the day be without the night, and what would the night be without the day? The male and the female aspects are very strong here. You need to draw on them both in order to achieve something with this card.

The Three of Cups: One can see the geometrical figure of the Triangle here. The Trinity. Everything in this card points upwards.... one wants to go higher and higher and higher.

The Four of Cups: I hope you noticed the eagle in the Egg. The Eagle is very important in the Fours (the Emperor and the Eagle go together.) The Eagle sees everything. He's the King of the Skies. And the Emperor is the King of the Earth.

The Five of Cups: You saw of course that the flying creatures are at the top, and the plants are well-rooted in the ground.

The Six of Cups: See how the colours change? From a deep lush summer green to an Autumn golden corn colour? You can do some harvesting now for the winter.

The Seven of Cups: From Autumn we have reached Summer again - and what a summer!

The Eight of Cups: Autumn again. Everything is in perfect balance - the world is in perfect equilibrium.

The Nine of Cups: What is important here is what you see first when you turn over the card. Do you see first the square that the four cups make on either side? Or do you see the triangle of the top three cups? Or do you see the two cups on their sides? Or do you see the cup standing proud in the middle? That can give you a clue as to what you need to stop and think about. Because nines always ask you stop for a while.

The Ten of Cups: Don't throw it all away. Tread gently with love. Ever so tenderly, turn that tipped cup upright, so it is in the position of the cup that is underneath the two top ones. And then the cycle will be completed.

The Court Cards will be better studied together - the Pages, the Knights, the Queens and the Kings in four different threads.

 

[Jewel-ry]

Diana,

You have very good vision and such a way with words. I am truly indebted to you. Thank-you. You have inspired me to study this deck further. When I started to look at the suit in the light of the numbers it did make a little more sense. I can add a little but I'm not sure if its any use:

Looking again at the cups I can now see that the two appears to have a light half and a dark half, which ties in nicely with your moon/sun, night/day, duality aspect.

The three does have seeds in it synonomous with growth and as you say 'higher and higher'. Three is the card of the Empress and growth, creativity, expansion.

I can see a door in the four. The LWB mentions rising up from desolation. Going through the door!! There is wheat and fruit in this card which could tie in with harvest or as you mentioned the emperor who has a strong tie to the earth.

In the five, I can see a sense of freedom but with struggle (darker brown centre, is this an eye?).

In the six I can see your harvest. My mind wondered to the RW and a thread I read about whether the boy was giving or receiving the flowers and in this card you could (with a stretch of the imagination) say the top three cups are 'receiving' and the bottom three 'giving'.

Is the seven a breakthrough as its sandwiched between the 6 and the 8 which are more muted in colour? .....I know I'm rambling now, this gets harder the further along you go!!

In the eight, I see balance and harvest.

The nine, I like the way you said that what is important is what you first see. That will make me more aware of this card and its meaning (LWB - 'to be what others see')

I felt like I needed to add what I could although I accept its probably not much. I think ramblings are good they make you look at the card!

J.

 

[Diana]

jewel-ry: Wonderful "ramblings", as you call them! I hadn't noticed the difference of colours in the Twos. It even gives a slight optical illusion that the right cup is bigger than the left one, but I measured them and they're exactly the same size. But of course, there we have the light and the dark!

I hadn't noticed the door in the Four! And on the left we have the Autumn colours with some corn growing, and on the right we have fruit, as you mention. Such a reassuring card! Perhaps it is also telling us to count our blessings.

I don't think it's an eye in the Five, but maybe you're right. I see more three concentric circles, perhaps our world and the other planets? Man (microcosm) (five is the number of man) in the Universe (macrocosm).

Oh yes, I love what you said about the Six! Wonderful. The top cups are receiving and the bottom cups are giving! (Although I still think that RWS meanings should be discarded). But at the same time, these two sets of cups are not really looking at each other - as if they are each living in their own little world, perhaps not aware of each other.

(You're right again when you say it gets harder as we go along! ).

I love also what you say about the Breakthrough in the Seven. The sudden contrast in the colour scheme is really quite startling.

The eight is truly the most peaceful card, I find.

The nine: I didn't know the LWB said this. I don't know if I kept the Little White Book. Thanks for sharing this.

I hope more people will join in this discussion. Perhaps we should be shoved over to the Study Groups if we continue our chat.

 

[Jewel-ry]

Hi Diana,

Yes its great to have someone to 'ramble' to. Lets hope some others join in here.....

J

 

[Jewel-ry]

Hi Diana, Aoife and anyone else,

Am thinking of 'rambling' about the swords now. Shall I start a new thread and shall I go to the Study Group to do it??

J

 

[Kaz]

jewel-ry, i would love to see you in the studygroups general forum !
this thread might be moved there then as well, for keeping everything together.

 

[Jewel-ry]

OK Kaz will do. Thanks

J

 

[Alta]

Diana asked me to move this thread to Study groups as it has moved far beyond being a 'decks' thread. Will do. Marion

 

[goddesscarlie]

wow, Diana, Jewel-ry, you have really opened my eyes here. Thank you! I'm seeing more and more in the cards and I am having a better understanding to reading them.

Some of my own ramblings:

On the ace down the bottom, the background sort of looks like an eye to me. THis could be 'opening the eye' or an awakening perhaps?

In the two - I love the duality, the dark and light, the moon and sun, the feminine and the masculine. I can't help but think of the RWS meaning a little bit, I see two people here connected emotionally.

The egg shape in the three reminds me of a jewel. Something precious. The butterfly to me seems to be flying out of the cups - it's free!

In the five I definatly see another eye - the iris and pupil of the eye.Extreme close up - extreme insight?

eight is a beautiful card full of symetry and ballance.

Everytime I look at the seven, nine and ten cards, the first thing I notice is the eye on the top right cup. I see eyes everywhere in the cup cards, but in these cups in particular there is unmistakibly an eye.