Minor — Cups

Ace of Cups

At the water's edge, a young woman discovers a Book half-submerged — and on its cover, the cup itself, drawn through the two traditions combined, Marseille and Rider-Waite brought together. The Ace of Cups is the call of the heart: what one seeks reveals itself before allowing itself to be taken — because it wants to be understood.

Symbolic reading

Where the Book of Wands was born from fire, the Book of Cups lies beneath water: the knowledge of the heart is not given, it is submerged — one must consent to descend and seek it. The light illuminates the Book, not her: the Book has a soul, a will — it does not merely show itself, it reveals itself, because it wants to be understood. Its cover bears the image of the cup in both languages of tarot at once: from the very first card, the DAL proclaims its lineage. Seen from behind, the heroine leaves us her place at the water's edge. The call has been sounded; answering it is another story.

Reversed reading

The call ignored or drowned: emotion repressed, a heart turning away from what it has seen — or plunging into the water without knowing how to swim.

• call
• heart
• revelation
• intuition
• depth
• promise