Tarot of Ceremonial Magick

Weekly Card Prince of Cups

140508 Prince of Cups Ceremonial Magic
Tarot of Ceremonial Magick

My, we’re spending a lot of time with the Courts lately!   Last week we visited with the King of Swords; the week before that was Princess of Pentacles.  When that many court cards show up, it lets us know that we’re out in the world of other people more than usual.  Stop for a moment to see how your life has been affected by those around you, especially the intellectual authoritarian types and the youthful practical types.

140508 Knight of Cups RWS
Rider Waite Smith Tarot

This week, we’re meeting the Prince of Cups, also known as the Knight of Cups.  Here we have the element of air living in the world of water.  You’ve noticed, I’m sure, that air in water rapidly rises to the top.  And a big enough wind on the surface of the water can really stir things up.  Although air moves freely on its own, water slows it down or limits it into bubbles.

The attributes of the Prince of Cups grow out of that interaction of air with water.  He (or she – remember, the cards are gender neutral in our material world) is on a quest to fulfill his emotional desires.  He can get lost in the emotional content of any situation, losing sight of the bigger context.  Deep feelings can be stirred up when this Prince rides into your life.  As a representative of the airy world of ideas, he can lead you into situations where you’re more in love with love than with any real person or situation.  He encourages looking within.

There are two pictures that we can draw of this Prince.  One is of a sincere idealist who is in touch with his inner truth.  The other is of a self-absorbed Don Juan, riding roughshod over all in fulfillment of his emotion-based ambitions.  The keys that keep the Prince of Cups engaged with his successful, positive side are his emotional connections with others and his sincerity.

You’ve noticed additional symbolism on the Tarot of the Ceremonial Magick card.  (You’ve seen XXI World and King of Cups from this deck before.)  Lon Milo DuQuette designed these to include astrological references, as well as Enochian and Goetian Magickal connections.  The symbols that refer to the elemental correspondences are in the I Ching lines in the upper left and in the Tattwa symbol in the lower right.  The upper 3 lines and the blue circle signify air and the lower 3 lines and the crescent signify water.

Let the Prince of Cups lead you to a deeper understanding of your emotions this week.  Use your discoveries to connect with others in your life.

Here’s to those creative moments of Truth!

 




Self-discovery is a strong suit in the Tarot.  Let me know when you’re ready for a quest.

We’ve had another look at a few more of the Knight of Cups appearances.

Weekly Card XXI The World

131226 Ceremonial Magick world
Tarot of Ceremonial Magick

We’re within days of being at the completion of 2013, the XXI The World point of the year.

131226 RWS World
Rider Waite Smith Tarot

XXI The World, as a part of the Major Arcana, doesn’t just bring us to the end of the year with the ticking clock.  It gives us a chance to look deeply at the year and our process.  And that process brings us to . . . .

Paradise!

At XXI The World, we’ve made another step in the direction of our highest potential.  We’re living more fully in alignment with cosmic consciousness, enjoying the freedom of working within universal laws.

Those kinds of steps broaden our abilities to be at ease under any circumstances.  We wind up being in the flow, able to catch opportunities as they come.  We can have a happy dance with more of the world around us, anytime, anywhere.

Look back through the cards you’ve related to this year and see how they’ve led you to feel more at home with yourself.  And then map your current location . . . .

. . . . the intersection of Heaven and Earth!

May all the fulfillment of finding Home be yours in the new year!

We’ve had a few more views of XXI The World since this post.   Take a look at how Tarot transcends boundaries here.  And here we looked at how we grow into Paradise.

Here we looked at how we can have an impact on others.

 

 

If you’re looking for personal help with your tarot learning or for phone, email, or in-person tarot counseling, here‘s where to find me.

 

Weekly Card King of Cups

131205 Ceremonial Magick king-cups
Tarot of Ceremonial Magick

How fitting that the King of Cups would show up on St Nicholas Day eve!

131205 RWS King of Cups
Rider Waite Smith Tarot

King of Cups is the compassionate father, kind and generous.  As a ruler, he is the benevolent, cooperative authority.  The Rider Waite Smith deck even includes a ship, connecting to St Nicholas as the patron saint of sailors.

No, I’m not making a case for King of Cups being a representation of St Nicholas.  But St Nicholas is a good mnemonic for the King of Cups personality.

By now, you’ve probably noticed that the card from the Tarot of Ceremonial Magick is titled Knight of Cups.  And I keep talking about the King of Cups.

As if there weren’t enough complexity in Tarot, there are some decks that use Court ranks of Knight, Queen, Prince and Princess.   Ceremonial Magick is one; the Golden Dawn Tarots are others.  In that line up, the Knight is equivalent to the King in decks like the Rider Waite Smith. I’ll warn you that there’s some controversy over that assertion, but I work within that view.

So, to know whether the Knight is a Knight (air) or a King (fire), you need to know a little about your deck’s lineage.   Aeclectic Tarot is an excellent resource to find what you need to know.

As fire of water (Kings = fire, Cups = water), the King of Cups has the ingredients for creativity.  And his is the kind of creativity that leads to achievement.

So, he’s great news for artists who are looking to channel their emotions into something salable.

King of Cups also has lots of depth.  There’s attention to emotional content in there, connections to the subconscious and spiritual concerns.

You can ask yourself questions about all those aspects when King of Cups appears.  And there’s one more question you want to be sure to ask . . .

What will give the most pleasure, most consistently?

May lasting pleasure be yours!

 

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