Sketchbook - Nine of Cups

I drew this card and the Ten, back to back, while traveling on an airplane to Arizona for a family visit. Funny how the lesser Cups cards usually seem to refer to romance and the greater ones to family relationships. Perhaps it's because love has to be thinner and more aqueous in order to flow freely toward new people -- in streams as opposed to channels, pools or gulfs.

For the Nine I wanted to show how emotional expression could flow from many different points of access and unite in a common cause, whether it be familial or horticultural. Each cup gathers and re-routes its own small amount of condensation or rainfall, an insignificant effort made great when you appreciate the scale of the entire network. Working in concert to distribute life- and love-giving attention where it is needed most, this ungainly construction illustrates the benefit of granting others access to the tender parts of ourselves which are still growing.

Previously On Arcanalogue: The Nine Of Cups

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"The Finish Line Is In Sight..."

Here we are again, at the final card in a run of 78 posts. As you probably know, my cards are posted in no particular order -- whatever I come across, I write about. The last few are so hard to find subjects for because the card options are so limited; I've been agonizing over the Nine of Cups for days now, trawling MetaFilter and other sites with a desperate, predatory eye. And then I have to be extra scrutinous of what I pick, to keep myself from forcing comparisons just to get it all over with.

What a relief when my eyes beheld a project which turned a notoriously crooked side-street in San Francisco into a life-sized Candyland board, upon which children from various youth charities were invited to play and feast! As an adult who's played numerous (regular-sized) games of Candyland with children, I'm surprised and sad to note how much my adult brain recoils from the simplicity of a game I cherished when I was four. And the board has changed a lot over the years, too. There's simply no way to have a Candyland experience that will live up to your memory of the game -- until today, when Lombard Street became temporarily paved with colored squares that led children and adults to the cake and treats waiting at the finish line.

Through games, even those that seem silly and pointless, kids learn that if winning is possible in make-believe challenges, then it's possible in real ones (and vice versa). The Nine of Cups perfectly illustrates that rush of giddiness you feel when the finish line is just steps away. You're finally arriving at the point you set out for so long ago. In this way, I think the entire suit of Cups represents the journey that the Moon card takes us on through the underworld of our unconscious, and thus in the Nine we see the dawn finally breaking.

My favorite Nine of Cups card is this one from the Victoria Regina deck. This lady has the breathless, rather simple look of someone who is purely enjoying life and not thinking too hard about any of it. I envy her. As we've seen, there will be plenty of time later to turn our eyes to the future and decide which trials await us next. For now though, isn't it enough to just enjoy the last moments of the game we're playing, while we're actually still on the board?

Think of that moment when you're playing a game with friends and someone finally wins. There is that strange satisfaction that falls over people as they start putting the pieces away and cleaning up their mess; it's like waking up from a pleasant dream. I am excluding, of course, the numerous games of RISK and Monopoly that end with shouting and hurled statuettes. But even then, there is that moment where our brains transition from their game modes back to reality. For a while, we were not ourselves, or perhaps we were a part of ourselves that doesn't get to come out and play very often. In that moment before the conscious mind fully re-asserts itself, we are effortless. At the end of a good Tarot reading you will feel the exact same sensation.

Growing up means being in charge of finding and savoring these moments for yourself -- they are not provided for you by others as generously and miraculously as they were when you were tiny. I can't think of a better note to end this cycle of cards on. For me, the game is over. For you reading this, the good news is that you can still win... if you play your cards right. [Via]

Previously On Arcanalogue: The Nine of Cups

Summary only...

Nine of Cups

1. Happiness
2. Inner peace
3. Controlling the emotions.

-- David Allen Hulse, The Western Mysteries

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Nine of Cups

While America has had an unnaturally calm hurricane season, areas of Vietnam are experiencing the worst flooding in decades after recent heavy rains. The news says another typhoon is on the way, which can only increase the rapidly rising death toll. However, the photos and video streaming out of Vietnam show an incredible amount of optimism, with many going on about business as normally as possible under the intense conditions. Some, like the engaged couple above, seem to barely notice the high water; for the time being, their faith and comfort in each other and the support of their families are enough to sustain them.

The bliss of the Nine of Cups itself occupies its own sort of eye in the storm. Balance is restored despite the excesses, delusions, and disappointments that have piled up in the Seven and Eight, and one's ability to love and care for oneself and others seem to have only been strengthened by those trials. On the other side of it is the Ten, which may test the limits of that blessing -- but we'll deal with that when we come to it, right? The Nine gives you permission to celebrate what you've overcome and to dream of a future in which you'll continue to thrive, come what may. It's worth noting that we do this by using what we've learned, not by pretending the bad times never happened. [Via]

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