By Sarah Taylor
The presence of the Six of Swords at the centre of this week’s spread indicates that the oppressive forces of the Eight and Nine of Swords in the past few readings have eased, and a new experience is emerging. This experience is informed and contained by two very different states, which are acting as ‘ushers’, as it were: the Three of Cups and The High Priestess, which frame a journey from one place to another.
The Three of Cups, part of the minor arcana, describes community and heart-based inclusiveness more than any other card in the tarot deck. It embodies celebration, fecundity, love among (moreso than “between”) people.
As a minor arcana card, its focus is on our everyday interactions. We live out the Three of Cups when we come together in a joint cause that has at its basis a love of self and others. It is supportive and stable — look at the configuration of the three figures and the cups they hold above them. There is a symmetry to the card that implies balance.
Three is also a sacred number: think of the significance of three in fairy tales — three wishes, for example — and in the Holy Trinity. Here, three is not a crowd. It is a dance of co-operation and magic.
When we are in the Three of Cups, we are very much in and of the world in which we live. We feel a part of things; we pick up on the rhythm of the movement of others, of love, of soul.