Suit of cups

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Suit of cups
1JJ Tarot - Cups 02.jpg
Two of Cups from the 1JJ Tarot deck
Deck Minor Arcana

The suit of cups is one of four suits of tarot which, collectively, make up the Minor Arcana. They are sometimes referred to as goblets and chalices.[ citation needed ] Like the other suits of the Minor Arcana, it contains fourteen cards: ace (one), two through ten, page, knight, queen and king. Historically, the suit represented the First Estate (the Clergy). Tarot cards were originally designed for card play and are still used throughout much of Europe to play various Tarot card games. [1] However, in English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes. In modern card games, the equivalent suits (depending on deck type and origin) are Hearts or Cups. [1] [2]

Contents

Divinatory and occult meanings

In tarot, the element of cups is water, and the suit of cups pertains to situations and events of an emotional nature – in contradistinction to physical (suit of coins), or mindful (suit of swords), or creative natures (suit of wands). [3] [4] As such, when the tarot is used in divination, many cups signify an emotionally focus for the reading. Additionally, cups were the symbol of the clergy in feudal times, and thus cup cards can also be interpreted as having to do with spiritual or religious matters.

Contemporary understandings of the Minor Arcana are largely defined by the illustrations of Pamela Colman Smith and the writings of A. E. Waite found as part of the Rider–Waite Tarot, the most popular tarot deck amongst English speakers, and its companion book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot . [5]

Cards in the suit of Cups

Card images in the Rider–Waite tarot deck

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Dummett, Michael (1980). The Game of Tarot. Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd. ISBN   0-7156-1014-7.
  2. Huson, Paul, (2004) Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage, Vermont: Destiny Books, ISBN   0-89281-190-0 Mystical Origins of the Tarot Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Burger, Evelin; Fiebig, Johannes (2004). Tarot Basics. New York: Sterling. p. 76. ISBN   1402730403.
  4. Tarantino, P.C. (2007). Tarot for the New Aeon. Pebble Beach, CA: Alternative Insights. pp. 245–246. ISBN   0976618400.
  5. "The Pictorial Key to the Tarot". House of White Tarot Museum & Research Library. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  6. 1 2 "Learning the Tarot - An On-Line Course". www.learntarot.com. Retrieved 2024-02-27.