CARDS OF THE WEEKEND: May 28-29, 2022

 

Queen of Cups and Five of Cups

Revelations Tarot

by Zach Wong

May 28-29, 2022: As you can see from the sample images above, Zach Wong's Revelations Tarot (reviewed here might prove interesting for folks who regularly enjoy the option of reading cards that come up reversed. In the reverse of the Revelations cards, Wong gives us an entirely different central figure with whom to commune and consult. 

For example, at the center of his Hanged Man card, you'll find two Hanged Men, very different in sartorial color scheme and positions of the arms, cleverly interlocked by their legs. It's one of the most intriguing depictions of this archetype that I've seen:

The Hanged Man

Revelations Tarot

by Zach Wong

Given that Tarot's classic Hanged Man, himself, is flipped upside down, the implications can be fascinating when this Major Arcana card comes up reversed. And now, here's Wong's card--already providing us with a separate figure in its reversal. Exactly which world are we inhabiting at any given moment?

Whew! Heady stuff.

Anyway, the Hanged One might be another story for another day. This weekend, we're concentrating on two of Wong's Cups cards--Queen of Cups and Five of Cups.

I'm particularly drawn to the idea that, throughout the deck, Wong's figures may be one and the same being, external and internal, conscious and subconscious, and the like. This gives me a lot of stories I can tell. Or perhaps, how can we see one as the companion and ally of the other? They need not be positive-negative and antagonistic to each other.

For this weekend, the realm of Water is key. So, focus on emotions, sensitivity, close relationships, and/or creativity. The intuitive, empathic, insightful Queen brings profound, 360°, multi-dimensional knowledge of the element of Water and all it symbolizes. You want to go to her with any questions or needs in these areas.

The Five of Cups, as you will remember from the classic Rider-Waite-Colman imagery, represents disappointment, regret, and grief at loss but with a note of hope for the future (the two goblets that, out of view of the mourning figure, remain upright). So, take a look at Wong's card. When it's upright, you'll notice that three goblets have fallen out of the figure's control. The card's remaining two goblets are firmly in the grasp of the reverse figure's hands.

This weekend will allow time to be in your feelings--or attend to the joy or development or healing of a relationship or a creative project. That time spent will be an essential part of a longer process but should be respected even if, at the moment, it appears to be a small investment. It's important.

What you might not be able to see, at this time, the Queen of Cups can see. (Note the gem at the Third Eye chakra of each of the Queen figures.) She asks you to release what must be released and contribute what you can to a future she has already envisioned.

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Do you have a particular Tarot or other oracle card that you'd like to me explore and write about in the hummingwitch way?

Just email a good, clear jpg photo of your card to:

hummingwitch@gmail.com

I'll incorporate its message, one way or another, into one of these posts. Let me know if you'd prefer your submission to be anonymous.

Thanks!

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Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY/WEEK/WEEKEND posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2022/03/catch-up-with-any-featured-card-you.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: February 7, 2022

 

Five of Cups

Spiral Tarot

by Kay Steventon

 

February 7, 2022: Here's another example of a Tarot card that seems to tell a different story than the one we're used to from decks that model themselves more closely after Pamela Colman Smith imagery.

Our friend here, in Kay Steventon's Spiral Tarot Five of Cups, does not appear to be the familiar grieving party so much as a person acted upon by--or, plausibly, one acting upon--a situation in upheaval and flux. Is she at the mercy of this drastic change? Or, for worse or better, was she the cause of it?

The card does nicely emphasize the gleaming goblets that remain for her enjoyment once she's able to gather herself and turn away from whatever upset has occurred. So, that much remains clear.

I like the way the ambivalence of this image makes me think of her possible agency in the cause and aftereffect of the change. So, my counsel today is to make your move in light of your own agency. You may cause something dramatic and disruptive to occur but, baby, believe me, you can ride those waves! You can! Do it!

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Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 19, 2022

 

Five of Cups

(above) Universal Waite Tarot (Pamela Colman Smith, recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts)

(below) Oriens Animal Tarot (Ambi Sun)

 

January 19, 2022: Periods of disappointment, regret, emptiness, and grieving come as natural parts of life.

Against a featureless, colorless, joyless sky, Pamela Colman Smith's classic Five of Cups offers an image of sorrowful resignation and reflection after loss. Though three goblets have tumbled, spilling precious contents, the river--life--though seemingly distant, flows on. Two shining goblets stand ready behind the shrouded figure. A future, though not initially recognized as such, is already within reach.

For the modern Oriens Animal Tarot, Ambi Sun's art re-imagines an ongoing, dynamic process that unites past, present and future. A small but representative "plague" of locusts munches on intertwined stems of ivy, this plant a symbol of forever-ness. A pair of crystal goblets has been turned upside down. Another goblet is now in the process of toppling. The final two--for now, at least--rest upright on their bases.

Tarot's Five of Cups offers us space to contemplate impermanence, release our clinging attachment to that which changes, and come to terms with the natural ebb and flow of all life and our place within it.

Even in times of plenty and satisfaction, practicing letting go can relieve the pain of expectations that things will always stay just the way we want and demand them to be.

Give the grief you're carrying its time, and know that joy will surely have its time as well.

******

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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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!