Exploring the Page of Cups

Welcome to Tarot Thursdays! This week we will be exploring the Page 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 Page of Cups is card number 46 in the deck, the eleventh card of the Cups Suit, and the first card of Cups’ Court in the Minor Arcana of the Tarot.

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

Each of these depicts a youth. I believe it is intended to represent the beginning of the heart’s journey in learning how to love and be loved since this is where all children start.

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:

BE EMOTIONAL
BE INTUITIVE
BE INTIMATE
BE LOVING

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:

A MESSENGER
CREATIVE BEGINNINGS
SYNCHRONICITY

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

What this Card Means to Me

Pages as a whole represent children and the young at heart. They also represent a promise. As we’ve seen from the Ace of Cups to the Ten of Cups, there has been an emotional journey of trials in the heart in learning what we want and how to get there. The promise that the page offers is that if we accept the gifts of the heart and endure these trials, we will grow and expand emotionally. We need to be willing to be childlike in the sense of learning instinctively with faith. If we do nothing, then nothing happens.

Our characters need to be dynamic as well. They too need to undergo similar emotional journeys in order for their stories to matter.

The key phrase I choose for this card is: PROMISE OF THE HEART.

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