Card of the Month

The Four of Cups

This card has been very versatile for me over the years. It definitely has a bit of the romantic in it. The name Luxury in the Thoth deck speaks to a rich dream of fulfillment at a climactic point. It can simply mean the fresh flush of new love at its height.

The number four represents order and law, but in the suit of water, stability is not so easily obtained. The cups are golden and overflowing, but stacked in a way that can be easily toppled, like a house of cards. Therefore it is good not to expect too much at this point, but to enjoy what is. It could mean 'great fun, but just one of those things', or it could fall and spill into the 5 of Cups, go thru the test of disappointment and misunderstanding, and reach the balance and harmony of the 6.

This can only happen thru honesty between people who are willing to risk bursting the bubble of romanticism and speak up when words or actions are offensive, inappropriate, or hurtful. This takes the courage to trust love and build lines of communication that will act as bridges to walk across when things fall apart.

In other circumstances this card can mean that emotions are out of sorts (Moon of Cancer), because an old dream is dying and a new one is being born. For the new vision to actualize, it is necessary to admit the completion or failure of the old, and release the grief of this ending. Only then can the soul's present intent emerge with conscious clarity.

Often this card represents the inability to go past the romantic dream.. When this card appears in the past, it often indicates that the individual refuses to go thru the tests of time to form a truly strong and working relationship. Thus, when difficulties arise, the individual will abandon ship or attempt to return to the days of wine and roses. This stops short of actually facing the challenges or learning the powerful and evolutionary lessons an authentic relationship offers.

This card definitely reveals the limitations of the cultural mindset of the Hollywood romantic, happily ever after, version of love.

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