By Sarah Taylor
Look at the two outer cards in this week’s spread. It is as if the staffs held by the figures of the punter in the Six of Swords and The Hermit form the boundaries that enclose a particular experience to which our attention is being further drawn by the light from The Hermit’s lantern. The colours in the backdrops to the Six of Swords and The Hermit are also muted, while the card that they flank is colour-full, save for a small section that is significant for its being grey.
The focal card, by virtue of these observations and its position at centre, is the Six of Cups. But what does the Six of Cups mean in this instance, and how do we identify its appearance in our lives?
Starting at left, the Six of Swords describes the movement from one state to another. This can be a physical journey (although not always by any means), but even if it is, it will have as its foundation a change in how we view things — the leaving behind of an old paradigm and the movement into a new one that is yet to take shape fully. Destination unknown. Except here we have an insight into that destination in the Six of Cups — numerical counterpart, yes, but one that is qualitatively and experientially different.
Swords are thoughts and beliefs; Cups are feelings and the unconscious (which is often revealed to us through our feelings). Thus, we move from a state of thought-based existence to one that is feeling based, and where we have a greater access to the unconscious.
In the Six of Swords, the seated figures’ view is impeded by the swords that stand, point down, in the bow of the punt. In this way, the card is similar to the Eight of Swords: both reflect the ability of our thoughts to obfuscate.