The card I pulled today was the 6 of cups. I call it the nostalgia card, and I used to think that it wasn't too important, and possibly even a bit negative, when it appeared in a tarot reading. I used to believe that this card indicated a romantic and illusory idea of the past, a dream of life as a child that is lost or no longer a part of the present.
I think of people who mourn for the "good old days". When I think of my good old days, my mind returns to my life as a kid or a teenager, and I realize that what I long for is the lack of responsibility I had then. I didn't have to worry about having a job, making money, providing for dependents, or putting food on the table. My folks took care of all of that. Those were good days, for sure, but along with no real responsiblity came a lack of personal power. When I lived with my folks, I had to abide by their rules. When I moved out, I became a freer, more powerful person who assumed responsibility for my own life choices.
Would I really like to trade the life I've created for myself with dependency? No, of course not. With all the mess and complications of adulthood, the rewards of independance are rich. This being the case, what does the 6 of Cups signify for me now? How have my ideas for it changed? The events in Haiti combined with the stresses and changes that our poor economy has brought to our country, has caused me to look at this card more deeply.
I think that this card speaks of refuge. It encourages us to find the feeling place of our greatest happiness, and to look for that feeling place in the life we're living now. It even hints at how to do that. It tells us that when we give of ourselves to others we will find the joy we are seeking. Let's look at this card's specific symbology and see how we get there.
The cups are a sign of emotion, so we are asked to be emotionally honest. The white daffodile specifys the emotions that are our truest source of happiness, the ones that we can give unstintingly for the most rewards. They are: regard, unrequited love, and joy. The buildings symbolize security, thus the cards are hinting that the security we seek depends upon how solidly we build our lives upon the attributes of our best selves. I think the qualities of our "best selves" are perfectly defined by Buddah's 6 paramitas, the "perfections" or virtues: generosity, self-discipline, patience, effort or energy/determination, concentration or insight/mindfulness, and compassion.
So how does this all dovetail into finding refuge from the stressful place in which we find ourselves at the beginning of 2010? This card seems to indicate that giving to others what we ourselves want is only way to get what we want back: a life of effortless joy and peace. In truth, our shelter from the stressful storm of this time is not to wish for the mystical past, but to create a path towards a more compassionate future.
Somewhere, the bible says "cast your bread upon the waters and it will return to you sevenfold". At this time of scarcity and fear, we are asked to be generous. Sometimes we think that when we give what we have we will loose what we've gained. The card, with its 5 cups available even as the boy shares one with his companion, tells us that we are richer then we know, and that we have much to gain by giving. If we can't give material things, we can give our hearts, our compassion, a listening ear and a helping hand. When we give to others, we give ourselves the richest gift: the gift of an open heart.
Finding Method in the Madness:
