Welcome to Tarot Thursdays! This week we will be exploring the Six 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

The Six of Cups is card number 41 in the deck and the sixth card of the Cups Suit in the Minor Arcana of the Tarot.

Let’s take a look at the following examples of Six 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

There are dramatic differences between these cards.

With the Mythic Tarot, the woman is sitting out with her cups by the sea holding some flowers. This suggests an internal emotional journey to me since water is the element of emotions and the act of sitting alone is introspection and reflection.

In the Dragon Tarot card, the image depicts a set of dragon long boat setting sail on a voyage. So this journey suggests an external emotional gesture of some kind. The dolphins in the water create a playful sense to the scene. This journey is one of goodwill. If it was intended for war, weapons would be visible on the boat, but I don’t see any.

The last two cards have images of children. In the Universal Tarot, these children are actively exchanging flowers. Meanwhile in the Tarot of Dreams, the children are only surrounded by flowers. The flowers indicate sweetness and children naturally denote innocence.

Overall, these cards share a message of peace.

---

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:

• GOOD WILL
• INNOCENCE
• CHILDHOOD

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:

• REUNION
• NOSTALGIA
• CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
• INNOCENCE

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

---

What this Card Means to Me

I do have peaceful memories from my childhood and they all involve nature and trees. Not sure what is so soothing about the sound of the wind softly rustling through the branches and leaves of a tree, but it is. And the smell of pine and cedar. Can’t beat that. The stress and the fighting seemed to fade away whenever we went camping. And when my dad retired from the military and moved us here with all these trees around, it offered me a place to go when ever I needed a break. It was a safe place. A quiet place. A place to breathe and just be. A place to put my heart at ease.

And in my writing is also good to keep in mind pacing. Things should not always be dark, heavy and gloomy every page. Nor should every paragraph from start to finish be moving at a break neck speeds. There needs to be moments of light and goodwill. There needs to be space to breathe. It is human nature to seek these moments, so we need to allow our characters to do the same before plunging them into greater depths or cranking up the pace.

The keyword I choose for this card is: GOODWILL.

---

Music Playlist

In this spirit of all this, these are the songs 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.

---

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