Beyond the Shuffle: Tarot, Life & Everything In Between

Journey of the Cups

• Adrienne Amari • Season 1 • Episode 17

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How do you feel about your emotions? Do you feel them our or would you rather bury them, deep inside you?

The Suit of Cups is all about our emotions - how we feel, how we deal with our feelings, how we connect to the people and world around us, and how we listen to our intuition. 

Come through the journey of the Cups with me, and hopefully you'll gain an insight or two into this receptive, watery suit.

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SPEAKER_00

How do you feel about your emotions? Are they something that you love to live in and experience readily, or something that you often rather just shove back down inside you? Hi there, and welcome to Beyond the Shuffle, a podcast where we explore this wild ride of the human experience through the lens of tarot. I'm Adrian Amari, your host, guide, and seeker of the joie de vivre. So settle in, open your mind, and let's go beyond the shuffle. Now, in last week's episode, we focused on the Suit of Swords, the trials and tribulations of the mental realm, our perception, the way we think, and the words that we use. In this week's episode, we're going to dive in to the beautiful, receptive, but emotionally turbulent Suit of Cups. Now, the Suit of Cups is often seen as the suit of emotion, of feelings, of happiness, of love, but of also sadness and disappointment. They relate to how our soul feels, how we connect with other people in our lives, how we relate through those feelings and through those connections. It's the longing and the yearning for joy and happiness and the joie de vivre. And it's also seen as the suit of intuition. And it's interesting because I have seen the wands representative of intuition. And for me, I see the cups as that gentle intuitive feeling, and the wands more as that gut instinct, because in my mind they feel like different things. So of course, take that or leave that as you will, but that's how I'm approaching this. So let's go through the journey of the Suit of Cups, and we'll start at the very beginning, the ace. Now, in the Ace of Cups, our cup runneth over. You can see that there is water flowing and spilling out from the cup. It is a card that encourages us to open, to connect with our soul, and to find those feelings, emotions, that love that exists in the world around us. Maybe we look at this cup and we see the holy grail, but it's the reminder that it's all there for our taking. Whether it's connection we're looking for, it's intuition we want to tap into, it's emotions that we want to feel, it's all there for us. And a lot of the time the cups can also indicate creativity, but it's not creativity for production's sake. But I find a lot of the time when creativity comes up in the suit of cups, it's asking us to create for the joy of creation, for the catharsis, for the expression of emotion that comes through the act of creating something. And with the ace, that door is just wide open and it's asking us to be here, to be present, and to feel. It can represent new connections coming into our life, but most importantly, it tells us to be open to receiving them. Now, the suit of cups in general is a passive suit, which means it's a receptive suit. And I think we can all agree that it's when we turn off the receiving of those emotions is when things get stuck. And we will definitely get into more of that later, but we start with the ace, the opening of the heart, and the beginning of flow. And from there we move into the two of cups. So the door is open and we have stepped right through it. We learn how to connect authentically to somebody, to be vulnerable, to communicate openly, to share part of our inner world with somebody who is outside of it. There is balance and duality. And every time I see the two of cups, especially in something like a love or relationship reading, I always think, ah, these people know how to give and take. So if there's a day when one partner can only give 20%, the other partner is there to make up the 80. And when we look at the two of cups, we see that mutual sharing, that mutual respect and support. And what a lovely place that is to be and a wonderful energy to sit in. I feel like it's also necessary to point out that the Two of Cups does not have to be romantic. We can have those authentic connections with many different types of people at different levels and in different ways, and they are all valid. And this leads so beautifully into the three of cups, where we see these three beautiful women dancing and they look so joyous and so happy. Because the three of cups is that joy of connection and love and friendship and support and happiness. And one thing you'll notice in the Three of Cups, in most versions, I should say, of the Three of Cups, is that the women are all different. So they're not clones of one another. They're not trying to be the same as one another. It is those friendships and those people in your life who see you and celebrate you exactly for who you are, no more and no less. And there's an abundance that comes with having those kinds of friendships and having that kind of support in your life. The ability to laugh together, to share and to cry together, to support one another and to create together. It can so much be about the celebration of being alive and the celebration of being able to just feel. And every time I see this card, I always think, oh, it's the eat, drink, and be merry card, because that just sticks out in my mind, but it so much exemplifies what exactly is going on in the Three of Cups. And so far, our journey is really nice. We've been open, we've connected, we felt support and community. And then we reach the four where our emotions can run dry. We can feel numb and stagnated, like we're just going through the same old routine and we're not really feeling anything new. Sometimes it comes up when we want to numb our feelings. We don't want to feel anything because we're in a bout of sadness. We've lost connection. And so we sit, maybe by the tree, maybe by the river, maybe we're a little bit sulky or bored or apathetic. And sometimes I believe we do need this state. We need this moment where we feel nothing from time to time. But the problem is that we can get stuck in that emotion or lack thereof. And that's not a healthy place to be in, because we can see in the card that there is a cup being offered. And the cup being offered so very much mirrors that ace. Your cup runneth over. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to take it and allow it and receive it into your life? Or are you going to sit and sulk by the river? It's the reminder to not close ourselves off to opportunities as they arise. And the opportunities that this Four of Cups talks about is the opportunity to connect, to be creative, to listen to your intuition and to feel. Now, what happens if we don't take the cup and we just sit and we stew? Well, then we get to the five of cups. And we'll see that fives in the minor arcana are never the most fun times because the five of swords that we talked about last week is that tension and that conflict. And the five of cups, well, he just looks sad. You can see the cloaked figure standing forlornly at the cups that are spilt. And the five of cups is that regret, that disappointment, that loss, that coulda woulda, shoulda. But you know what? No amount of staring at that spilt milk is going to do anything. It's not going to bring it back, it's not going to recollect it in your cup. But we also can't pretend that the feelings don't exist. And I think a lot of the time people like to gloss over the necessary grieving aspect of the Five of Cups, because the Five of Cups is the encouragement to grieve, to go through the emotion, especially the difficult ones. And I know that grieve can sound like a heavy word, like we're grieving something like a gargantuan loss. And sure, it can be, but sometimes we're just grieving the loss of potential, the loss of an idea, the loss of a dream. And if we don't make space to reconcile and to grieve and to suffer our way through some of that emotion, then we do get quite stuck there. And what's really cool is that you'll see a bridge in the back of the card, and that shows that there has to be some kind of journey or transition. So it's not just a wake up and get over it, it's a go through it. Go through it and then realize what you still have standing because you'll see in the picture that there are still two cups standing strong. So not all is lost, but sometimes we have to go through the loss to see what we still have. And this can oftentimes catapult us back into the Six of Cups. And the Six of Cups is often seen as a card of the past of nostalgia. But sixes are a reprieve, they're a way to heal. And sometimes we have to go back to our past to heal our present. It can be a look at the past through more tender, more experienced eyes. It can be a reconnection to the past. Maybe you get back into a hobby that you loved doing that you miss, or you reach out to that friend you haven't talked to in years that you used to spill everything to. And more recently, I'm finding the Six of Cups is a really great card for simplification, for going back into the simple joys of life. Like if you think about it, when you're a kid, things feel so simple, so easy. There's so much flow. And then we learn and we grow up and we get responsibilities and we forget to connect to those simple pleasures and those simple moments of happiness. And there can be a bit of an innocence in doing that. Of course, the warning is we don't want to get stuck there. We don't want to view the past through rose-tinted glasses, but as a way to heal and as a way to rejuvenate, 100% reconnect. So after the six, we feel better, we feel stronger. And then we hit the seven of cups. And that's when our system kind of gets overloaded again. We get into that state of overwhelm. It might feel like there are too many things to choose from, too many emotions to feel, too many paths to go down. Our wires get crossed. We can easily fall into a state of fantasy or dare I say delusion. It's an up and down, the inflation and the deflation of the potential and the what ifs? What if I take that path? And you'll see in all of the cups offers a different treasure. But all might not be what it seems. So where is our emotion getting in the way of our judgment? Where is our imagination running wild? Where are we having shiny object syndrome? And the biggest question is how can we navigate that? Now, because the Suit of Cups is that suit of emotion and intuition, I always say navigate that through trusting your heart. We're not always going to know if the path we follow is the best path, if the cup that we open is going to have gold or a dragon, if it's going to bring abundance and security or loss and grief. And despite the kind of chaotic feeling and the overwhelm in the Seven of Cups, I do feel like there's a gentleness to it. We can see how confused the silhouette in the Seven of Cups looks. But if you imagine existing in that state of confusion and emotional overwhelm forever, you'd be pretty tired. So at some point, we just have to pull up our socks and make a decision on which path we want to follow. Whether it's imagination, whether it's Dululu or fantasy, we still have to make a choice to go forward. And oftentimes it is that heart-led choice that will get us through. And as we continue our journey, we reach the Eight of Cups. And this card tells us that something isn't working. It's stagnating us, it's keeping us stuck, and we're pouring energy and emotion into fixing this thing that will never be fixed the way that we want it to be. So we can continue to leak that energy and love and attention into it, or we can choose to walk away. And the reason why we don't just get up and walk away so easily is because there are emotions attached, there are heartstrings, and usually with the Eight of Cups, it comes with feelings of guilt and shame. We think if we just try a little harder, we can fix it. But the reality of the situation is no, we can't. And sometimes it's best to withdraw, to walk away, to leave what no longer serves you, to disconnect, and not from your emotions, but from the emotional drain that you're experiencing. And a lot of the time when we get to this point is because we have a better path to follow. So with the Eight of Cups, it's like we have to move on because there are bigger, better, brighter things out there for us. And that's where we need to put our love and our attention and our energy and our heart. And on a very mundane, everyday level, sometimes the eight of cups can just be get out of your head and go take a walk. Get some fresh air in your lungs and experience the joy of being alive, being outdoors and going in a different direction. Because so much of the time that can jumpstart that freshness that we all need in our lives from time to time, especially when things get stale, and that's part of life. But the wonderful thing is, once we choose us, once we choose to feel, to walk away, to deal with it, well then we reach happiness or a sense of contentment and satisfaction. We finally feel like we have enough. And that feeling may not last forever. Well, in fact, we all know it won't last forever, but we can enjoy it while it's there. We feel satisfied with where we are and who we are. And what I really like about the Nine of Cups is that we're not happy and satisfied and content because of the external factors in our life. We're content from the inside, alone on our own, in who we are. And a lot of people call the nine of cups the wish fulfillment card. I say a lot of people like I haven't, and I totally have as well. But I think the thing about wishes is that there's always more, and it often is something outside of us. And the nine of cups is something that comes from within because again, it's that solitary experience of it. But with the nine, we know how to be happy. We know what contentment feels like, and it tells us to bask in that even just for a little while. And then we reach the ten where we see the rainbow and the happy family. And that's our reminder that happiness is there. It exists in our life. We have love and support and joy all around us. It's a card where we feel that harmony and that inner peace, where we feel connected to the people in our lives, and we want to share that joy with them. It's a vastly different ending from the Ten of Swords, where we had pain and struggle and disappointment and failure. The Ten of Cups is that successful completion. But we do have to remember that happiness isn't a destination. It's not a place we reach and then we're all done. We don't necessarily go there to stay. And I think it's interesting because the Ten of Cups is something that a lot of people yearn for, and we're willing to go through that up and down emotional journey of happiness, support, love, sadness, grief, sorrow to see if we can get to that culmination point where everything is settled and we feel happy. But how can we appreciate happiness in our lives if we don't sometimes have the downswings? Because really, emotions are a spectrum. And to be human is to feel the whole wide range of them. And it's funny because going through these cards one by one like this, I'm like, oh, I don't really talk about intuition a whole lot of times. But I think so much of the time our intuition is that quiet little feeling that sits maybe in the pit of our stomach or at the back of our throat. And when we try to ignore or suppress these emotions, our intuition keeps trying to chip away at us, telling us, hey, we have to pay attention to this. Hey, we have to feel this. And throughout the Five of Cups, we can see different ways to feel, to experience emotions, to find catharsis, from celebrating achievements with loved ones and friends, to reconnecting to things that bring us joy, to walking away from that which no longer serves us. And I probably should have said this at the beginning, but of course, the Suit of Cups is represented by the element of water. And much like the water ebbs and flows, so does how we feel. We can have those still quiet, calm days, like early mornings on a lake. Or we can have those days that are like a raging ocean storm. But we have to remember that so much of the time it's our emotions that cause actions because thoughts lead to emotions, and emotions lead to actions. So allowing ourselves to feel, allowing ourselves to deal with the feelings, helps us make better choices and take better actions. So I'd like to leave you with a little bit of an exercise. Grab a tarot deck, find an app that allows you to do a card pull, send me a message or ask a friend. But I want you to ask, what emotion do I need to lean more into right now? And I want you to pull a card until you get one that falls between the ace and the ten of cups. And then I'd like you to sit with it for even just a minute and see what comes up. And if you'd like to share, I'm always here and ready to listen. I am offering free Tarot Talk Sessions, which is a 15-minute session where we can connect and get one of your questions about Tarot answered. So whether you need help interpreting a card, you're getting stuck in a spread, or you just have a question on your mind that you need to get out, you can book a tarot talk call. Find more information about that at adrianamari.com. And if tarot's your jam and you want to really get back into your practice or connect more deeply with the cards, join me in the tarot lab. It's my membership program where there are all sorts of things going on, from practice sessions to master classes to office hours, and even a brand new book club. Information about all of that and more at Adrian Amari.com/slash the Tarot Lab. I hope you enjoyed this journey through the Suit of Cups. We have two more suits left, so that's we're going to do for the next couple of weeks. But if you're enjoying this podcast, please give it a like, a subscribe, a follow, whatever it's called, wherever you are. And don't forget to join me next week on Beyond the Shuffle.