3 Takes on the 4 of Cups

I hadn’t done a one-card pull in a while, opting to do spreads instead to get answers to my personal questions. So yesterday (6/15), I decided to pull one card to get some insight into what’s going on in my life right now.

I chose the Osho Zen tarot deck, a Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) “clone” slanted toward the teachings of the Indian mystic, Osho Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. I figured it would give me a deeper, more spiritual understanding of some problematic circumstances I have been experiencing and hopefully what to do about them. Yes, you CAN get all of that from just one card.

Don’t get me wrong. I learned the tarot using the RWS deck, and I encourage beginners to start with that deck because all of the clones out there are based on this deck. Once you have a basic understanding of the RWS, you’ll have an easier time using other 78-card decks.

And perhaps “clone” isn’t the best word to describe these decks because clone implies an “exact copy.” I use the term here to describe any 78-card deck with a major and minor arcana based on the symbolism and meanings of the original RWS deck but whose images and meanings aren’t an exact match to those of the RWS but come pretty close. Read on to see what I mean.

OSHO ZEN 4 OF CUPS

The card I pulled in search of some insight and guidance was the 4 of Cups. Actually, it kind of fell out of the deck while I was shuffling, so I figured it was the card that would answer my question. And as soon as I saw its imagery, I knew immediately what I needed to do to get some relief from the mostly negative thoughts buzzing around in my head about my predicament. And the phrase, “Turning In” makes it pretty clear what this 4 of Cups is about.

Despite the fact that I’ve been meditating for some time now, I still can get caught up in the mental chatter of the “monkey mind” that sometimes just won’t shut up! I’d also been telling myself for a while now that I need to add a second meditation session to the one I do every morning, or at the very least, take time out during the day to be quiet and still, especially when the “voices in my head” are shouting at me from every direction. The Osho Zen 4 of Cups is letting me know that if I quiet my mind and turn within, those voices will die down and a solution has a better chance of making itself known.

This got me thinking about how this version of the card differs from the traditional RWS 4 of Cups. And that lead me to look at one other deck to see how this card is represented.

RWS 4 OF CUPS

The RWS 4 of Cups, taken from my Radiant Rider-Waite -Smith deck is saying basically the same thing as its Osho Zen counterpart. But, in my mind, it’s more focused on the dissatisfaction one is feeling around a situation and on the problem, so much so that the person depicted, with arms AND legs crossed, can’t see that a solution (the hand with the cup emerging from a cloud) is available.

But this particular 4 of Cups doesn’t tell me HOW I can drag my attention away from the problem to focus on the solution like the Osho Zen version does. On the other hand, perhaps a person getting this card in a reading needs to be shown just how closed off he or she is to accepting the gift of a way out of the problematic situation that the universe is offering.

LE TAROT KITARO 4 OF CUPS

This is my “French deck,” one I purchased back in the 1990s on a whim because everything from the little white book to the names of the cards, is in French, a language I studied in high school and college.

What surprised me about this deck when I delved more deeply into it is that, despite the somewhat simplistic images, each card comes with the most wonderfully positive and optimistic affirmation written on it. Even the Devil card in this deck is “cute,” looking more like Puff the Magic Dragon than a scary Devil.

Le Tarot Kitaro Quatre de Coupes is at the opposite end of the “dissatisfaction-satisfaction” spectrum, in that the individual has turned the three cups of dissatisfaction face down and is totally focused on the fourth cup. Like its Osho Zen counterpart, this card tells you exactly what you need to do — stop focusing on what you don’t want and focus on what you do want. The affirmation for the Kitaro 4 of Cups bears this out:

Je desire utiliser d’avantage toutes mes capacites. Je fix un nouveau but dans mon esprit.

“I want to use to advantage all of my strengths. I (therefore) set a new goal in my heart (mind, spirit).”

That’s a rough translation, but you get the point. The focus here is totally on moving forward and letting go of what no longer serves. Perhaps in quieting the mind in meditation as the Osho Zen card advises, this person has received guidance and knows exactly what to do to move forward.

In fact, the three cards read as a spread tell me what the problem is (RWS), what I need to do to resolve it (Osho Zen), and the next step to take on my journey (Kitaro).

And this is why I collect tarot decks.

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June 26, 2018September 11, 2020

“Scary” Cards in the Tarot Deck

Certain tarot cards are guaranteed to show up in books, movies, and TV shows that have a tarot card reading scene. These cards are Death, the Devil, and the Tower. More often than not, they are used to foretell the coming of evil, physical death, and destruction respectively.

Not only is this an overused cliché that, quite frankly, I’m tired of seeing, it doesn’t convey the unique ability of these major arcana cards to teach important life lessons.

I want to dispel these inaccuracies and explain why you don’t need to be afraid if one or more of them should appear in your tarot card reading.

Death

The Death card shows a skeletal figure arrayed in black armor, mounted on a white steed. He holds a pennant in his left hand that depicts a white flower against a black background. The steed is stepping over a King and moving toward a child, a woman and the Pope himself. In the background, the sun appears to be rising behind two towers.

The message? No one escapes death, no matter how noble or anointed, but dawn always follows darkness.

There’s a lot more going on in this card (e.g. the graveyard on the shore of a river; the boat sailing down the river; the cliffs on the other side of the river), but the card’s main symbolism is all about the inevitability of death and the rebirth that occurs afterwards.

The death this card represents, however, does not have to be physical death and usually doesn’t. It’s letting you know that something in your life needs to “die” in order for something new to emerge. You can delay this death but you can’t stop it, so you might as well cooperate with it and let go of whatever no longer serves you.

Death is an integral part of life and shouldn’t be feared (easier said than done, right?) We have simply to look at nature to discover this natural cycle of life — from the new sprout that emerges in the spring, to its flowering over the summer, followed by the release of petals in the fall and its death during winter, only to re-emerge in the spring.

The Devil

This is definitely a scary card if you don’t understand what it symbolizes. It’s also the reason some people believe the tarot to be evil or the work of the devil. It shows a grotesque figure sporting wings and horns. The upper half of his body is human while the lower half consists of furred legs and clawed feet. He’s perched atop a black pillar to which are chained a nude man and woman.

Remember that the Christian devil used to be an angel, but was cast out of heaven. In this card, he represents the absence of a spiritual foundation and total focus on the earthly plane. When you have no spiritual foundation, you look to the physical world for support and love. This can often lead to addictive and/or abusive relationships with people or even substances.

The Devil is a reminder that the relationship isn’t healthy and needs to be changed or abandoned in favor of one that’s based on love and compassion toward self and others.

The Tower

The Tower depicts a burning structure being struck by lightning and two people tumbling to the ground. The base of the Tower is cracked and crumbling. The crown that was once perched on top has been flung away, along with the two people headed for the ground.

It’s a pretty destructive scene and may very well represent some kind of physical destruction. However, symbolically, it represents the existence of a weak foundation or structure in your life – a set of circumstances or even a mindset – that can no longer support you. It’s time for needed change, but you’ve been resisting it, even though, on some level, you know it’s necessary. As a result, circumstances arrange themselves to force the change, and it feels like a rug being pulled out from under your feet. And the longer you resist, the worse the destruction can get.

On the upside, when the old structures are released, new ideas, points of view, and circumstances emerge that would not have been possible because those old structures kept you from seeing them. You’re surprised and delighted and realize that things aren’t as bad as you once thought they were. It’s been a difficult journey, but it will pass, and the more you cooperate with this change, the quicker that passage will be.

Not So Scary After All

The primary message of these cards is to let go of what no longer serves you so that you can move forward toward a new life of promise and opportunity.

If they should come up in your reading, let it be an opportunity to discover what needs to change and how this change will benefit you in the long run.

June 25, 2018September 11, 2020

What Is the Tarot and Why Does It Work?

Death and the 10 of Swords from my Radiant tarot deck

The tarot has long suffered the slings and arrows of society’s misinformed views about what it is and how it works. It has been variously described as “mumbo jumbo,” fake, not real, a scam, and the work of the devil – not particularly positive views.

To make my point, not long ago, I had a relative who, when she learned I read tarot cards, cautioned me to “watch out for evil spirits.”

Explaining how this unfavorable view of the tarot came about and why it persists is the subject of another blog post –although I suppose cards like Death or the 10 of Swords have the potential to make some people a bit uncomfortable .

I can say that this viewpoint is starting to move in the opposite direction as we broaden our understanding of this powerful tool, as well as our beliefs about the nature of reality and what’s “real.”

I’d like to describe, from this new perspective, what the tarot is, the best kind of information it provides, and why I believe it works.

One Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words

The deck of 78 tarot cards symbolizes in picture form aspects of modern human existence that EVERYBODY experiences.

The tarot reader uses this symbol system to help you understand what’s going on in your specific life experience at one level removed from day-to-day existence.

You’re taking a step back in order to understand the underlying dynamics at work in your situation.

A tarot reading catapults you above the surface details of your day-to-day life so you can view it from a broader perspective. This expanded perspective gives you a better understanding of what’s going on and what you need to do to achieve your goals.

When I studied linguistics in college, I learned that languages have a deep structure and a surface structure. The deep structure is like a blueprint or a computer program that we are all born with. It includes the main ingredients needed to generate an infinite number of languages.

In the same vein, the tarot describes the deep structure of life. Each card represents a unique aspect of that structure that can be expressed in a multitude of ways on the surface of life.

As such, it is a symbolic language that the tarot reader uses to give you a deeper understanding of what’s going on at the surface of your life.

A Magical Process?

But why does the tarot reading actually work? How do you get cards to show up that relate to your specific situation?

First, you need to ask a “good” question. If you’re looking for understanding and insight about the underlying (deep structure) causes of a situation, you need to ask your question in a way that brings this information to the surface.

The tarot card reader can help you do this. Here are some examples of the kinds of questions that will access the information you’re looking for:

Why is this happening to me?
What can I do to improve this situation?
What are the obstacles keeping me from moving forward?
How can I create this specific reality?

Second, in describing your situation to the reader, she’ll be able to create a spread that provides not only insight and understanding about the situation and why it may be problematic, but suggestions for what to do next in order to move forward.

Here’s where the magic occurs.

The tarot reader will typically shuffle the cards to “randomize” the deck, to make sure the cards are in random order. The randomized deck is like a CD containing information that can be accessed and retrieved.

The way to access that information is to ask a question and have a spread that, when the cards are added to it, provides the answer.

Now it’s your turn to shuffle. Or the reader may shuffle the cards for you if you’re receiving a phone or online reading. In either case, you/the reader are focusing your undivided attention on you, your question, and the desire for information that will answer it — all while shuffling the cards.

The act of shuffling while focusing accesses or attracts the perfect cards for each position in the spread that will answer your question. The reader can now interpret the cards and show you how they apply to your specific situation. This gives you a better understanding of what’s going on and how to move forward.

But, but …

Now I know you’re going to ask, “But HOW does that happen? What are the mechanics behind this process?

In order to understand why it works, you have to move from the view of reality based in Newtonian physics, where matter is a real thing, to quantum physics where everything is energy.

Image via Flickr by NASA Goddard Photos and Videos

With energy, you “attract” what you focus your attention on. Focusing on you, your question, and the spread attracts the cards needed for each position in the spread that will result in an answer to your question and the tarot card reader’s ability to accurately interpret the cards that show up.

Next you’re going to ask, “But how does this attraction work?” The mechanics of this process take place at the deep-structure level of reality. We don’t get to see it. But because this method of reality creation is now an established scientific fact , all we need to do is trust it in the same way we trust that gravity is going to keep us on the ground.

This explanation may not satisfy everyone, but I’m comfortable with it for now. However, like everything in life, I’m open to new information that will help me understand why tarot card readings work.

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