Exploring the Seven of Cups

Welcome to Tarot Thursdays! This week we will be exploring the Seven 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 Seven of Cups is card number 42 in the deck and the seventh card of the Cups Suit in the Minor Arcana of the Tarot.

Let’s take a look at the following examples of Seven 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 this set of cards, all but one are mostly the same. With the Mythic Tarot, we can see how the woman appears to be asking for help. I’m pretty sure it’s Aphrodite here that’s she’s pleading to. In response, the goddess is pointing to the cups as if to say she must choose one of them. In the rest of these cards, each of these cups has something different inside of them to choose from. It’s as if to say that life has many options.

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:

WISHFUL THINKING
OPTIONS
DISSIPATION

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:

FANTASY
ILLUSION
WISHFUL THINKING
CHOICES
IMAGINATION

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

What this Card Means to Me

Sometimes in life we are overwhelmed with choices and we don’t know what to do. Other times we feel like we have none at first until we take our time and get a little creative with our thinking. Either way, we often wish it was easier for us but we always have the choice and we have been gifted with the power to make the choice. Even if the only choices we have available are give up or just do the thing, it’s still a choice to make.

Many stories ride on this power to choose. Take the classic story, “The Lady, or the Tiger?” where the young man must choose between one of two doors. If he open’s the correct door, he will find his true love’s rival. If he open’s the wrong door, he’s stuck with the starving man-eating tiger. But he isn’t the one choosing the door, he’s lover is and the story ends before the reader discovers what’s behind the door. So which door did she choose for him to open?

The keyword I choose for this card is: OPTIONS.

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