The Tarot is a form of divination using archetypal imagery to delve into the psyche. Archetypes have meaning to us all and any image will have some meaning to the seeker. Just like the interpretation of dreams, it is more important what the dream (or card) makes you personally feel (afraid, relieved, rushed etc.) than the actual story of the dream or image.
Josephine, the mother of my MC Alice Towne, reads tarot cards. In DISTILLATION she does a reading for her daughter - which took me a lot of time to do. When I started my novel I never thought I'd be doing tarot readings for imaginary characters, but it was insightful for me and for Alice, I think.
I grew up with a traditional with a Universal Waite Tarot deck in my own household. I played with it often, examining the images and imagining their stories. Although I do not claim to be a true cartomancer, I know my way around a deck. So, I thought it might be fun to add a little divination to my blogging repertoire.
So, here is the card for today: The Seven of Cups - pulled from a shuffled deck - cut with the left hand.
Cups is a generally positive suit. This card depicts a figure gazing at an array of full cups. It is an indicator of imaginative purpose, of possibility, and of potential realization. Each of the cups may contain something desired or something feared, and the figure is in contemplation of those possibilites. The cups sit on a cloud, rather than at the end of a road or in a distant landscape, which means the object of the seeker's imagination is not yet a reality. Attainment of something desired is not guarenteed, but the possibility is there. It indicates that there is yet a choice the seeker must make, or a path he or she must take to bring what is wanted to fruition. I see this image as a reflection of wishing, of wanting, and of inaction.
If I am the seeker, this means I must stop looking at the imagined possibilities and get back on the road in order to actually make any possibility a reality. If applied to my writing - this means I need to get writing and stop waiting, something I have been struggling to do.
If you are the seeker what does this image mean to you?
I used to read Tarot for others. I have 6 decks. Of course, I haven't done it in forever. Part of another life.
ReplyDelete7 of Cups -- yes, the dream is attainable but it's up in the air right now.
And yes, I need to get writing and stop waiting for the other queries to come back.