Hello, everyone, and welcome to the fourth installment of the new column for the HIMM Tarot Reader: the Card of the Week!
The Card of the Week is a column that is intended to serve as a resource for people beginning a relationship with the Tarot, as well as for those who just have an appreciation and enthusiasm for the Tarot, wanting to understand the process an intuitive uses to read the cards (I explain to clients that every Tarot reader approaches and reads the cards differently, and explain my process).
the Tell-Me Tarot Deck, U. S. Games, 2008.
I am continuing to use my go-to deck for this column, The Tell-Me Tarot Deck. The cards in this deck have the meanings written at the bottom of the cards, which I think can be useful to a beginner Tarot consultant.
Once again, I am asking the question that has become the standard for the column: “What does the Tarot wish to share with us for the column this week?”
This week, the card drawn a card from the Minor Arcana, the 5 of Cups. Some of you may recall that last week’s card was also from the Minor Arcana, and also from the suit of Cups. The Minor Arcana speaks to our everyday way of living; Cups is the suit that is connected to our hearts, our feelings, emotions, and all manner of relationships. This is what is on the card:
Five of Cups-Melancholy (-): You feel depressed as you focus on the negative.
Recognize the positive aspects and you will feel better.
There is one thing I’d like to mention, with regard to the Minor Arcana, for those of you considering to take up the study of Tarot; it is a bit of advice I like to give to my students and
the 5 of Cups, from the Tarot de Marseiiles--an example of a non-scenic, pip card
budding readers. There are two types of Minor Arcana decks when considering purchasing a deck. One type is what we called Pip cards, or non-scenic cards. Using our card for the week, a non-scenic 5 of Cups will just have five cups arranged on the card, and the reader is left to determine what that arrangement might mean. The other type (and the one I recommend) is what is known as scenic cards. If you look at our 5 of Cups from the Tell-Me Tarot Deck, you will see an illustration, something going on in the picture. This makes reading the card much easier, as there is more visual information to gather.
And since we are talking about pictures, let’s take a look at what’s going on in the picture on our card this week. In the picture, a man gazes at a table that has three overturned cups, their contents spilling all over the tablecloth. He has one hand on the table, and the other against his head, as if he is upset that he could not save the contents of the cups. Meanwhile, behind him, sunlight shines through an open window, onto a shelf that is holding two more cups the man seems to not notice.
Just as the card states, the man is focusing on the negative, which is what has been lost from the cups. I interpret this to mean that something has been lost, and it cannot be recovered (the spillage). The man is wasting his energy focusing on this loss, because that won’t get it back. It’s gone and he can’t change it. So, a question to consider, with this card, is What have you lost that you can’t get back? Remember, too, that Cups rule the emotions, so consider the emotions that might be attached to this. Typically, it’s sadness, pain, hurt, disappointment, regret or remorse. When this card comes up, an individual may be mourning or grieving some kind of loss, unable to really let it go, which would be something connected to the past.
Focus on what you have, not on what you no longer possess
There is another aspect of this card to consider. What about the cups on the shelf? This can imply that there is something else the man still possesses, and he would realize it, if only he changed his focus. The message here is to look at what one still has instead on what is gone. The past is the past, and that can’t be changed; there is still the present (and the future) to consider. It’s all a matter of what we focus on, where we place our attention. Are we going to focus on the past or the present and the possibility of the future? We get to decide.
As always, I like to present some affirmations for your consideration for the week:
- I release the things I cannot change.
- I am changing my focus from the negative to the positive.
- I learn from the past, and then let it go.
- I no longer hold on to the past.
- I embrace the present, and all it has to offer.
- I am grateful for what I have in life.
- I no longer cry over spilled milk.
- What I focus on, I get more of.
The question I leave you with, to consider for the week, is: What are you placing your focus/attention on, the negative or the positive? Either way, you’re going to get more of it.
If you enjoyed viewing the 5 of Cups card from the Tell-Me Tarot, you can gain more information about the deck at amazon.com.
See you next week with another card of the week!
Helping you to shift your focus,
James
life of HIMM 