Wednesday, Fourth Week in Lent
I did not understand my card yesterday, the Five of Cups from the Sacred Rose Tarot.
I had pulled the card in response to the passage about the disciples in a rocky boat in a storm. They are frightened. Then Jesus comes to them over the water (looking like a ghost) and immediately the boat reaches the shore. I asked in what form Jesus comes to me. At the end of the entry I said that I would dream about it.
I dreamt last night about my grandmother from mother’s side, and there were guinea pigs in the dream. My grandmother lost her husband while she was still young. So she knew what mourning was. I do not know if it helped her, but she loved flowers and plants and in the dream I was at a window till in my grandmothers house with many plants on it. There is a flower on the card, a rose, which is a symbol of hope that corresponds with my dream. The guinea pigs in the dream were probably my thing - we have them as pets, and I can associate them with little cats I’ve dreamt about a few times- but maybe they are not only mine. My grandmother always had a dog and loved it. Maybe the dog was a comfort to her, just as the plants and flowers. So, I in a way dreamt about the card: mourning, growth (green clothes, rose) hope, and comfort.
When I woke up and saw the card again -not understanding my dream yet- I viewed the woman on the card as a giver of fate, showing me: “These cups that I empty are not there for you any more, but the other one with the rose is.” I was not totally satisfied with that, because the story is about saving people in a crises, the story is not meant as a harsh and difficult message. Besides that, Jesus is not someone who determines ones’ fate. So no…
My husband -who is working on a Good Friday service- emphasized the new life that comes from death/sacrifice. That is story of Jesus’ life. I only saw just now that the blue water from one of the cups streams to the standing cup with the flower in it. So yes, that is valid and true, new life stems from death. That is something Jesus shows me in times of crisis. But -although it is true and it is also a theme on this card- I feel resistance to this interpretation; it stifles and suffocates me. - That physical bit is extremely interesting, but I let it go. It should be a card of rescue.
The interpretation in the comments that Jesus appears to me showing what can be refilled and blossom and shows what nurtures me is more appealing to me. Only, Five of Cups is a card of loss, and often people who pull it do not feel comforted or see hope. It is this way with me too. Looking at the card I do not feel the comfort of the rose and the green clothes of growth. I see the sacrifice of the substance in the cups, the angry face of the (ghostlike!) figure, the wild hair. But when I look at my life right now, today there is a blossom and there is comfort. Other nice things take the place of the loss shown in the Eight of Pentacles and some earlier cards. They give me work… but maybe not so much.
I had pulled the card in response to the passage about the disciples in a rocky boat in a storm. They are frightened. Then Jesus comes to them over the water (looking like a ghost) and immediately the boat reaches the shore. I asked in what form Jesus comes to me. At the end of the entry I said that I would dream about it.
I dreamt last night about my grandmother from mother’s side, and there were guinea pigs in the dream. My grandmother lost her husband while she was still young. So she knew what mourning was. I do not know if it helped her, but she loved flowers and plants and in the dream I was at a window till in my grandmothers house with many plants on it. There is a flower on the card, a rose, which is a symbol of hope that corresponds with my dream. The guinea pigs in the dream were probably my thing - we have them as pets, and I can associate them with little cats I’ve dreamt about a few times- but maybe they are not only mine. My grandmother always had a dog and loved it. Maybe the dog was a comfort to her, just as the plants and flowers. So, I in a way dreamt about the card: mourning, growth (green clothes, rose) hope, and comfort.
When I woke up and saw the card again -not understanding my dream yet- I viewed the woman on the card as a giver of fate, showing me: “These cups that I empty are not there for you any more, but the other one with the rose is.” I was not totally satisfied with that, because the story is about saving people in a crises, the story is not meant as a harsh and difficult message. Besides that, Jesus is not someone who determines ones’ fate. So no…
My husband -who is working on a Good Friday service- emphasized the new life that comes from death/sacrifice. That is story of Jesus’ life. I only saw just now that the blue water from one of the cups streams to the standing cup with the flower in it. So yes, that is valid and true, new life stems from death. That is something Jesus shows me in times of crisis. But -although it is true and it is also a theme on this card- I feel resistance to this interpretation; it stifles and suffocates me. - That physical bit is extremely interesting, but I let it go. It should be a card of rescue.
The interpretation in the comments that Jesus appears to me showing what can be refilled and blossom and shows what nurtures me is more appealing to me. Only, Five of Cups is a card of loss, and often people who pull it do not feel comforted or see hope. It is this way with me too. Looking at the card I do not feel the comfort of the rose and the green clothes of growth. I see the sacrifice of the substance in the cups, the angry face of the (ghostlike!) figure, the wild hair. But when I look at my life right now, today there is a blossom and there is comfort. Other nice things take the place of the loss shown in the Eight of Pentacles and some earlier cards. They give me work… but maybe not so much.