EXPLORING THE FOUR OF CUPS

TODAY'S CARD is THE FOUR OF CUPS.  This first version below is from a deck I just recently re-familiarized myself with when updating my Tarot deck collection inventory.  I've not ever been fond of round decks.  However, I do really like many of the illustrations in this one, The Circle of Life Tarot:

This next card below is from my newest deck, one I've wanted for a while.  I've had a particular taste for "darker" themed decks over the past few years (though this is not my only taste, by any means).  And I usually find, as I have with this new deck, that it takes a few complete viewings to really get next to decks like The Bohemian Gothic Tarot, and the one from which the below Four of Cups comes, The Deviant Moon Tarot.  (And this deck is resonating very well for me as I study it, especially the suit of Wands):

FOR COMPARISON, here's the Four of Cups in the Rider/Waite/Smith deck (RWS):

THE FOUR OF CUPS: My favorite meaning for this card is a question from an old Four of Cups post of mine: Are you afraid of going overboard if you let this gift into your life?  And, I'll now add, how often are we able to recognize the gift that life is always offering?  We ... nay I'll own this, I get so focused on other things that like that figure in the RWS Four of Cups above, I'm too often not even aware of the gift that waits only on my acceptance.  I should also note that years back this card popped up frequently, nudging me to get off my butt and do something with all my mulling over and wool gathering, as I would groan yet again in recognition.  I haven't been getting this card very much for years now.  Though I wonder if that indicates I'm actually thinking less and doing more or if the Four of Cups just gave up and is offering its cup to someone else. :-)

MEANINGS/INSIGHTS/READINGS FOR THE FOUR OF CUPS, SOME LESS COMMON OR EVEN QUIRKY -- Please note: The below is not intended to be an exhaustive exploration of this card; a quick google will produce a wider variety of takes should you not be familiar with it. (Given my heavy reliance on projection of my feelings and experiences onto the cards, I recognize that I may very well reveal more about myself here than I do about any particular card. However, this is exactly my point: I use the cards as a path to self-discovery and healing. I hope what I post here that comes out of that process will be useful in some way to other seekers.):

Risky, emotionally prompted behavior. You might get away with it again, but you may not. Like going off a diet that is then very hard to get back on, if at all.

Watch that you aren't getting "drunk" on your imagination and/or emotions. That what you think you see and understand is actually happening.

You are -- or need to be -- getting better at knowing what is yours to take on (literally or emotionally) and what is someone else's responsibility.

"[Delusion] is doing the same thing over and over, hoping for different results." (The expression actually starts with the word "Insanity," I've changed that to fit my sense of this card.)

A tendency to give up when motivation flags. Recall why you're doing this and keep going.

Don't be rushed or guilted into doing this any sooner than you can or want to.

Until you own the bit of perverse pleasure you take in this suffering, you'll not be able to go beyond it. And will just keep re-creating it. This odd pleasure is not the only one available to you. Own it, then let it go.

Someone is withholding the truth from you about this, because of some contribution of their own to it all of which they're not exactly proud.

You may be made an offer that feels way too good to be true. Check it out very thoroughly and especially honor your intuitions.

Watch the tendency to give others the reactions they expect from you.  Especially in negative ways.

Hold off a bit on responding to this situation. Things may change in a day or two. In any case, giving yourself time before responding will put you in better emotional space from which to respond.

What can you do about it? Not much. It may just hang there puzzling and/or annoying you for a while yet.

Take the time to pay full attention to details.

Yes, you could do this. But be sure you really want to. Your plate is already rather full.

Focus on what you need and/or want to be doing, not on what you fear.

All those projects and commitments can hang fire for now. This is a time that requires deep inner work.

Can indicate a person who needs to spend a great deal of time alone in their creative efforts.

Can indicate someone's interest and/or belief in psychokinesis.

If possible, go someplace and sit quietly alone (like a park or restaurant) and see what comes to you. Either literally or in your mind.

Time to take a break. Breathe. Relax. Enjoy your own company and that of nature.

You remember love, right? Why not try sipping from love's light cup?

Those last two Four of Cups comments put me in mind of the song "Nature Boy" as sung by Nat King Cole. The relevant lyrics here: "...the greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return." The nature connection is clear in the RWS card version. And that single cup being offered echoes The Ace of Cups in most decks, which can be read to represent love.

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'til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot, in whatever ways it comes to you in your life,





[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under "View my complete profile")**** SEE ALSO: United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS) (charter member); Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry; Roswila's Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka); Trying to Hold A Box of Light for digital photos only.