What do we most need to know for the coming week?
In the RWS 7 of Cups, we see a man gazing at seven cups, each one holding a symbol that represents different dream or illusion. One way to read that card is to say that the man can’t make a choice — he is overwhelmed by potential, or by delight. Or maybe he is caught up in daydreaming or fantasizing. In any case, he is immobilized and takes no action.
I’ve reframed this image a bit to show the moment of choice. This fellow has chosen one of the cups and is taking a long, cool drink. Here’s what I wrote about it:
A man has chosen one dream out of many possible dreams, and is drinking it down. He has let go of dithering over this fantasy or that option and has made his choice. It's the moment of commitment for him. Perhaps he listened when a life coach encouraged him: “Say no to the good, in order to say Yes! to the great."
That quote is from Jack Canfield, the Chicken Soup guy. And what a profound statement it is.
I already know how it’s going to shake down in my life this week (I have plans, oh yes I have plans). I’m making room in my schedule for more art time, and for more of the kind of web design client that I want to attract. In order to do that, I have to release some of the clients and activities that are keeping me way too busy for way too small a reward.
How can you, dear Reader, say No to the good this week, in order to say Yes to the great?
I love your depiction of this card, Joanna. And it is exactly what I needed to hear/see this week, as I am practising making Decisions, whether Deep or Ditsy,.. Directly and Decisively without Dithering as I usually Do.
The 7 of cups has always been a picture of my weakness... you have made it a picture of my freedom from and victory over.. indecision.
Hallelujah! Judy
Posted by: judy | July 13, 2009 at 12:23 PM
you don't know me personally joanna. This card for me this week. My partner drowned in a very fast river on sunday. I was there, with our dog. Matt made a decision to live his life. He died in the river, a place that has been nearly as important to him as the woods. He died in such a way that I wasn't allowed to save him, though our dog and I dove in the river to save him. He chose a cup, and when he knew that his skills weren't a match for the river's skills, he drank. thank you for this card today joanna.
Posted by: megan | July 14, 2009 at 05:05 AM
DEAR JUDY, i am so sorry. i hope you will recover peacefully and give yourself the time that will be needed. Please accept my deepest sympathy for your loss.
Posted by: lauraoflondon | July 14, 2009 at 09:49 AM
Judy, so glad you got an Ah ha! moment here.
Megan, I can feel your heartbreak. I hope you have loving friends and family surrounding you during this time. I know what it's like to lose a son, though not a partner. May Goddess give you the strength to bear that which is unbearable. I will light a candle for you and for your partner. Blessed be.
Posted by: joanna | July 14, 2009 at 09:56 AM
Joanna my dear, I need to do something similar and am working on it - releasing from my life the things which do not enrich body or spirit, making room for more creative time and more time spent nurturing my connection with Gaia.
Posted by: kerrdelune (Cate) | July 16, 2009 at 08:21 AM
Dear Megan I do apologize for getting your name wrong i am sorry. And I too will light a candle for you.
Posted by: lauraoflondon | July 17, 2009 at 07:35 PM
Make a choice and embrace it fully. Allow no distraction; be in the moment.
I get so wrapped up in making the right choice that I don't make a choice...and that is always the wrong choice. Our time here on this Earth is just a moment; what we do with it does not matter but that the experience makes our individual experience better. Dithering about choice is not the way I choose to spend my life. The choice I make today may not be what I want tomorrow. Tomorrow I can make anther choice. But I do choose from now on to embrace my choices fully and without regret or ambivalence.
Posted by: DragonSong | July 21, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Yes, for me this is about making a significant choice with full commitment to follow through .....drinking deeply from the cup. The metaphor and ritual of drinking fully are powerful indeed.
Posted by: Quiet | July 21, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Joanna, I LOVE your interpretation and the empowering way you've transformed this card. I, as I'm sure many others around me, have also had issues with indecisiveness. There are so many cups to choose from, so many dreams, so many paths to take. But in not selecting one we remain stagnant, stuck.
I've often thought of this more as a crossroads. The only way to move forward is to select a path, and in doing so, give up the opportunities the other paths presented.
What I've found I need to tell myself is that, in choosing this path today, I move forward down this road. It changes who I am but there will be another crossroad in the future where I'll have the chance to choose a new path if this one doesn't suit me.
This man, in choosing to drink from that cup moves forward, effectively changing himself, but the six other cups are still on the table should he, somewhere down the line, decide to make a new choice.
When I read the seven of cups for others, it is usually less about their choice and more about listening to the signs that show the way. My preferred deck is the Mythic Tarot and in that deck the Seven of Cups shows seven cups floating amongst the clouds (your dreams and choices) the querent stands below on the cliffs of indecision but risen high in the sky beside the cups is her spiritual guide. It reminds us that the answers and direction we seek can usually be found in our faith.
Posted by: Serenity Bly | July 25, 2009 at 11:50 PM