Exploring the Ace of Cups

Welcome to Tarot Thursdays! This week we will be exploring the Ace of Cups and how it can be used as a prompt or brainstorming in our writing.

Tarot is an interesting thing. It’s based upon symbolism and metaphors through imagery. With these images the subconscious mind is tapped into through the story provided. Not everyone gets the same thing from a piece of art. Each piece will influence each person in a slightly different way.

Introduction of the Card

We are starting this series with the Ace of Cups and in the Orphalese Tarot desktop program that I use for my randomized writing challenges, this card is numbered 36 so that’s where we’re going to begin counting in the deck. It is the first card of the Cups Suit in the Minor Arcana of the Tarot.

Let’s take a look at the following examples of Ace of Cups below.

Card Examples

Notice the similarities between them and take note of their differences. Do any of these move you more than the others? Take your time and allow these cards to tell you their story.

My Analysis of These Cards

In every one of these cards, a single cup is being offered. Of these cards, only the Dragon Tarot card is depicted in ice. The rest are landscapes of fluid water. In all of these, they represent a gift to me.

Themes of the Card

Each card has a set of keywords associated with it that serve as themes for its image. These keywords will vary somewhat depending on who you ask.

According to the Learning the Tarot website, the keywords associated with the card are:

EMOTIONAL FORCE
INTUITION
INTIMACY
LOVE

You can learn more about what this site has to say about this card here.

According to the Biddy Tarot website, the keywords associated with the card are:

LOVE
COMPASSION
CREATIVITY
OVERWHELMING EMOTION

You can learn more about what this site has to say about this card here.

What this Card Means to Me

Like all the Aces, this card is the budding energy of its suit and it is a gift from within. Here we can feel the swelling tide of our heart within us. While it encourages us to embrace what we feel, we must be mindful not to be pulled under the current.

The key phrase I’m choosing for this card is GIFT OF THE HEART.

Music Playlist

In this spirit of all this, this is the music I have picked out for this card.

The Writing Exercise

This exercise is a free write. Permit yourself to write whatever comes to mind based upon the theme of this card. Choose a keyword or key phrase and run with it to see what you come up with.

In terms of storytelling, this doesn’t have to be romance. This could be a gesture of kindness. A person with a generous heart. It could be a kingdom centered upon compassion (think Care Bears and My Little Pony for example). A child gives their mother a flower at the end of a long day to make the smile. Or you could write about the absence of these things. What happens when it lost or stolen? What’s it like to never experience it?

I would love it if you linked or pinged back what you wrote so I could see where you went with this.

Happy writing!

Mythic Tarot by Liz Greene (Author), Juliet Sharman-Burke (Author), Tricia Newell (Illustrator) © 1989
Dragon Tarot by Terry Donaldson (Author), Peter Pracownik (Author) © 1996
Universal Tarot by Lo Scarabeo (Author), R. De Angelis (Illustrator), A. E. Waite (Designer) © 2001
Tarot of Dreams by Ciro Marchetti (Author), Lee Bursten (Author) © 2015