CARD OF THE WEEKEND: December 11-12, 2021

 

(top) Five of Chalices (Five of Cups)

from Afro-Brazilian Tarot

by Alice Santana with art by Giuseppe Palumbo

(bottom) Five of Cups

from Universal Waite Tarot, art by Pamela Colman Smith,

re-colored by Mary Hanson-Roberts

 

December 11-12, 2021: The cartoonish aesthetics of Giuseppe Palumbo's images for Afro-Brazilian Tarot might not be my favorite approach to Tarot art, but I appreciated the humor in his Five of Chalices (Cups). Here, an orange tabby takes a stroll across a table set with five tall white vessels, knocking one aside. Catlovers, for sure, look at this card and think, "Of course!"

So, in this moment, the traditional mournful sadness and disappointment associated with the Five of Cups (as imaged by Pamela Colman Smith for the classic Rider-Waite deck) morphs into something more like a minor annoyance mixed with a comical sense of the inevitability of the situation:

Look, it's an unguarded table topped with fine porcelain vessels arranged just so. It's a cat. Exactly what did you think might happen?

Cue the sudden shout of alarm soon followed by--I hope--helpless laughter!

So, here we see how an artist's personal conception of an archetypal Tarot image can open up new, potentially useful, transformative ways to perceive and interpret that image. It might not always be the apt interpretation, but look for signs that it might be, and remember that each Tarot archetype can contain a spectrum of many potentially applicable identities.

Working specifically with Afro-Brazilian Tarot's Five of Chalices today, anticipate at least one minor, petty nuisance or disappointment, possibly something that, on a subtle level, you might have expected--that is, if you had paid attention to the inherent nature of who or what you were dealing with. Whether you could have prevented this issue is almost not the point now. Instead, look at how you can handle it this time--and, if necessary, next time.

Understand--and, as some like to say, overstand--the game and its players. Get some perspective so you are no longer controlled by circumstances. Bring a sense of humor to the situation, too. All of this will give you an advantage you might not be aware of at first in the heat of the moment.

The chalice was toppled but not shattered. You can rework things, set them right. And, next time, you'll have a better idea of how to thwart that rascal cat!