Tarot Talk

I think it is time for us to talk about the Aces, those unique members of the Pip cards. Aces are different from the other Minors, as they are seen as being the seeds of their suit and element, rather than the manifestation of their suit and element. Aces are not material, and there is no evidence that they exist or affect us, because they don’t. Aces are tendencies that are the foundation of the manifestations of their suit; the Ace of Cups, our card for this month, is not Water, but a tendency to become Water! Let’s begin our process of breaking down this Ace.

The Ace of Cups is a Minor Arcana card, so we know right away that the message offered by this card will most likely be more immediate in nature, or will most likely be connected to more day-to-day issues. Notice right away that I am qualifying many of my statements with “most likely” or “usually”; as readers and interpreters and students of the Tarot we do need to remember that every message, no matter how insignificant or mundane on the surface, can also possibly be a symptom of a deeper or wider issue. Nothing in the Minor Arcana is in any way minor in nature.

The easiest way to get a decent understanding of a Minor Arcana card is to examine its number, or in the case of Court Cards, its rank, and to examine its suit. In this case, we are dealing with the number 1, and the suit of Cups. These two ingredients could actually give you enough information about this one card to offer a useful interpretation.

Let’s look at the number 1 first. I see the number 1 as representing two concepts: position and potential. Position is most commonly represented by the point or period. The point is a one-dimensional shape; all we know about it is its position. We don’t know what it can do or how it can affect us, we only know where it is. Potential is neither good nor bad because it has not yet moved or manifested or acted. Potential is fertility without the catalyst that begins growth.

So, just by looking at the number of our card, we already know that the Ace of Cups is going to present a concept rather than an experience. Aces present energy just as it is preparing to manifest, kind of like the moment just before the Big Bang happened in our Universe, or the time in your lungs between an exhale and an inhale.

The suit of Cups corresponds with the element of Water. Many Tarot decks use images of cups and water on their Minor Arcana Cups cards, and that will make it easy to connect with the symbolism of this suit. A nice place to begin is with the element of Water itself.

In its natural state, Water is cool and wet. When amassed, it has weight, and it tends to gather or pool at the lowest place. Because of this tendency, Water creates its own roadways or channels, and it prefers to use those already-in-place channels if it can. Water is used for cleaning and purifying, and Water can be a carrier for other substances. For instance, we can dissolve salt or sugar into warm Water, and use that concoction for other things. A body of Water can be calm and deep, or it can be dangerously churning and filled with powerful currents.

You can see just by examining the paragraph above just how easy it is to connect the element of Water to our feelings and emotions, and indeed, feelings and emotions are the main correspondences of the element of Water, and the suit of Cups. Emotions flow and have currents and eddies, a powerful wave of emotions can be cleansing, emotions can be hot and expanding or they can be bubbling upward, like steam, or cold and contracting and heavy, like ice, and our emotions can affect our physical bodies (which contain a lot of Water) and our health. Often, tears appear when we feel things strongly through sadness or joy or anger, as physical manifestations of those emotions.

Water also represents the Inner Voice and the subconscious. If we were to sit beside a lake on a calm, clear day, we can understand this connection. As we look out on the surface of the lake, we will see a reflection of the trees and hills, and even the clouds and the sky, on its surface. If we step closer and look down, we will see an image of our face and upper body, just as if we were looking into a mirror. If we were to step into that lake and keep moving away from the shore, we will discover the hidden depths of that lake, not visible from the surface. We can’t tell how deep the center of that lake will be by looking at it from the shore; it might be shallow and easy to cross, or it might be deep and dark and cold, the home of mysterious creatures. To many of us, the subconscious is deep and dark and frightening, and a body of Water makes a perfect metaphor for the hidden segments of the Self.

We know now that the Ace of Cups tells of a potential for experiencing strong emotions or a deep connection to the Inner Voice and the subconscious. These emotions and this connection to the inner landscape have not happened yet; all that exists is the possibility for them to happen. We are off to a good start, and we have lots more information to consider.

The traditional image of the Ace of Cups shows a Cup being held by a hand that is reaching out of a cloud, showing that the Ace is the first and purest manifestation of its suit, so pure that we can’t affect it yet. Often there is water overflowing from the Cup, and usually there is water to be found elsewhere in the image, sometimes with lotuses or water lilies floating on the surface, representing the fertility of the suit. The sky is usually clear and blue, representing the clarity and purity of the potential being offered, not yet muddied by manifestations or expectations or actions. Often there are doves or cherubs, or other representations of emotions and love. The Legacy of the Divine Ace of Cups shows two koi, symbols of love and affection, swimming in the Cup of Water.

The Ace of Cups has, as do all of the Tarot cards, an astrological connection as well, which can help us to add even more depth and texture to our readings. The Ace of Cups represents three sun signs: Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius, or the season of Fall.

Libra is about balance and partnerships, and about a focus on other people rather than just on the self.
Libras are most happy when they are paired up with another, and they are good at partnerships of all kinds. Balance is important to Libras, too, and they don’t like conflict. Libra corresponds with the planet Venus and with the element of Air. They use the intellect and their ability to communicate to form those partnerships and to maintain harmony.

Scorpio is about beginnings and endings, and about understanding the deep, dark secrets of the self. Scorpios stick to the plan (Scorpio is a Fixed Sign, after all); they are intense and passionate, even if they appear quiet on the surface. Scorpio corresponds with Mars and Pluto, and with the element of Water. They are motivated and penetrating, and they are very good at hiding their emotions. Still waters run deep, and Scorpios love hard, and love forever.

Sagittarius is about knowledge achieved by traveling the world and talking to everyone. They can be seen as enthusiastic consumers of information, and sitting for hours talking of philosophy or religion is their idea of heaven. Sagittarius corresponds with Jupiter, and the element of Fire. They enjoy physical activity as much as they enjoy learning about the world around them.

This means the Ace of Cups is about the potential for experiencing connections, intense and passionate feelings, the pleasures of the senses, and an enjoyment of experiencing the world around us.

Each of the 78 cards in a Tarot deck also has a home on the Tree of Life of the Qabalah; all of the Aces correspond to the sephira (or sphere) of Kether. Kether (or Crown) is the first sephira at the top of the Tree of Life. It is the top sephira of the Pillar of Balance, the center or trunk of the Tree, and is considered to be the cause of manifestation; not manifestation itself, mind you, but the catalyst that begins the process of manifestation. Nothing actually exists yet within Kether, but the Source of All awakens within Kether. However, it does not know itself yet because there is no other form from which it can view itself. Once again, we are speaking about the “point” or “position” without any dimension or manifestation.

That is quite a bit of information, all attained by breaking our card down to its basic ingredients. Not so complicated after all!

So the Ace of Cups tells of the potential to experience deep emotions, a connection to our Inner Voice, and a connection to those around us. The Llewellyn Welsh Ace of Cups represents nourishment, joy, and protection, and it tells of the beginning of a blessed and fruitful phase of life. The Rider-Waite Ace of Cups tells of the true heart, abundance, joy, and fertility. The Thoth Tarot Ace of Cups represents pure spirit, and the element of Water in its most secret and original form. The Shadowscapes Tarot Companion describes the Ace of Cups as that first tiny ripple that forms as a drop of water falls on the still surface of a lake; soon those ripples will grow and spread to the far reaches of the lake, but for now, we are dealing with the first stirrings of energy. The Magdalene Legacy Tarot Ace of Cups tells of the beginning of good things in home, hearth and family. The Ace of Cups is often seen as representing the Holy Grail, and indeed, here is the Cup of the Sacred Feminine, paired with the Lance or Rod of the Sacred Masculine found on the Ace of Wands.

In a sense, we could say that like The Fool, which journeys through the Major Arcana cards and thus, contains them all, our Ace of Cups contains each of the Minor Arcana and Court Cups cards. Within the Ace, these other Cups cards are potential only, without joy or sorrow, light or shadow.

The Ace of Cups does not guarantee happiness or love, but it does guarantee that we will have a chance to work in order to bring those things into our lives. The Ace of Cups does not promise spiritual initiation, but it does promise an awakening to our own Inner Voice and the messages of our intuition. It is up to us to make use of the promises of the Ace of Cups!