Yesterday I pulled the Nine of Cups and Death from my Original Rider Waite Tarot and although I am sure I must have pulled the Nine of Cups more often this year, this time at the end of 2017, I remembered it was my card for this year paired up with the rune Perthro.
I was wondering what the Death card had to say about the Nine of Cups because it felt like these two cards were standing at the beginning of an unfinished story but when I tried to pull an outcome card it didn’t make any sense at all.
So next I wondered how Perthro could be tied to the death card. Perthro is the rune of mystery and it sometimes symbolizes the cauldron of transformation. So maybe this rune wasn’t meant to be the tenth cup as I thought in January but perhaps it was meant as a symbol for the cauldron in which we could transform our nine cups filled with our comfortable wishes and happy feelings into something more substantial and sustaining.
And then I asked myself again what the tenth cup could be and I looked at the Death card which suddenly reminded me of the Knight of Cups, who goes on a quest to find his soul’s purpose; his heart’s desire: He is searching the Holy Grail.
Mmm, I suppose this could be the Ace of Cups. So this knight leaves everything he holds dear behind to go on a quest for Love with a capital L. It is the kind of Love which is unconditional, compassionate and which multiplies the more you give it away. And so we arrive at the Ten of Cups. Empty handed but with a heart filled with Love and we come home to ourselves and our loved ones and everything we hold dear. Yes, all the things which we were able to leave behind at the beginning of our journey are represented in this card only now we are able to enjoy it with such a deep contentment and Love in our hearts. So sitting with our nine cups is great but if we want to experience them fully we have to let them go and leave our comfort zone to find out what Love is all about.
I've read somewhere that the river the Knight passes by is the same river in Death. And looking at these cards (as he had happiness and then watched it disintegrate), I can hear that Knight singing a U2 song: "But I still haven't found what I'm looking for." Like you so eloquently put it, it is in the giving that fills that final cup.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it is a lifelong quest because whenever we think we've "found it" we lose part of it again. But maybe that is what makes life so interesting
DeleteLovely post, well read. You must need a sling to help carry around your enormous brain :)
ReplyDeleteLOL,thank you. Maybe I'll borrow the Fool's knapsack :D
DeleteSome fascinating thoughts there, Ellen! I don't always have a great love for the Knight of Cups, and often see him as foolhardy: full of hope but without much common sense. In that regard, Death does look like him, but is a far fuller figure. Death feels love, but in a far less 'attached' way, just like your description of the Ace of Cups. He does the will of spirit, and carries souls to a place of contentment and rest, even if for just a while. That can be a very loving thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI can see why you are thinking of letting go or release for your words for next year :)
Hugs, Cx
For me these are more reversed meanings for the Knight of Cups.
DeleteYes learning to let go is a must for me.
Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnd indeed facinating.
DeleteYou're welcome 💕
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