Lesson 5 - The numbered cards 1-10 of the Suit of Cups

Just to remind you, the Minor Arcana cards generally refer to practical issues and the more everyday or mundane events in our lives.

The 56 Minor Arcana cards can be used separately for a reading or within the full Tarot deck.

Cups

The second suit of the Minor Arcana is the Cups.

This suit is associated with the element Water, the cup represents our ability to contain and manage our emotions and feelings. The cup can be empty or full and its contents can be an elixir or a poison.

Cups represent the emotional elements and spiritual experience in our lives, affairs of the heart, love and relationships.

Positive attitudes associated with this suit are creativity, contentment, love, compassion, understanding and happiness.

Negative attitudes associated with Cups are lust, jealousy, hate and sadness.

For all of the Minor Arcana suits I will simply be focusing on the key words and values associated with each of the numbered cards.

Take out from your deck the numbered cards 1-10 of Cups and keep the remaining cards wrapped in your cloth.

Like you have done in previous lessons, focus on the first card, the Ace of Cups, and try to memorise some of the key words associated with the card. Make notes of any words or symbols you get from the card before moving onto the next one. Do this until you have completed all 10 cards.

Ace of Cups

- Water
- positive: contentment, faithfulness, creativity
- negative: barreness, lost love, despair

2 of Cups

- Love
- positive: partnership, love, understanding
- negative: separation, divorce, betrayal

3 of Cups

- Abundance
- positive: fertility, happiness, creativity
- negative: sex without love, self obsession, exploitation

4 of Cups

- Blended Pleasure
- positive: re-evaluation, familiarity
- negative: fatigue, overindulgence, depression

5 of Cups

- Loss in pleasure
- positive: reassessment
- negative: worry, futility, sense of loss, bad luck

6 of Cups

- Pleasure
- positive: harmony, happy memories, the past shaping the future
- negative: nostalgia and inability to face reality

7 of Cups

- Illusionary success
- positive: imagination, choice, aspirations
- negative: self-delusion, deception in matters of love

8 of Cups

- Abandoned success
- positive: change, breaking of ties, development
- negative: restlessness, dissatisfaction, unrealistic goals

9 of Cups

- Material happiness
- positive: emotional stability, kindliness, happiness
- negative: complacency, vanity, finding fault in others

10 of Cups

- Perpetual success
- positive: commitment, peace, love
- negative: antisocial behaviour, disruption of routine

Practical Exercise for this week

Now extract the Major Arcana from your deck and then add the 10 cards of the Wands suit and the 10 cards of the Cups suit, shuffle well and pick 3 cards, and yes you've guessed it!! Practice the 3 card reading with these extra cards, and again write your reading in your notebook.

Until next week,

Alison

Click Here to Visit the Forum to Discuss:

what the suit of Cups represents in a reading, perhaps focusing on a card or cards you are drawn to or have difficulty with.

For this weeks multiple choice test, click on the link below:

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