Cards that really seem out of place?

RubinMarshak

I just bought a Rider deck and decided to look through it. I'm still learning things about tarot in general, and I'm no expert, but when I looked at the 5 of cups among the rest of the cups, it really seemed out of place. For one thing, as far as I can tell, it's the only card where cups are tipped over. And, for another thing, it's the only card that really, really looks gloomy out of the cups.

I was just wondering if anyone knows why it is that the 5 of cups was chosen to look so gloomy and out of place. Also, I'd like to know what other cards really seem out of place?
 

nicky

well, I'm not sure what you mean by out of place, but if you mean the rest of the suit looks 'happy' and the 5 does not, the 7 is pretty 'unhappy' looking as well...

The five is often a hard place to be in any suit.
 

Kenshin Gordon

The problem isn't with the card itself, but rather with the way you intercept it. Try to find a different meaning within it suiting the point you're using it for(or the reading itself).
 

Fabiannemo

Interresting that you find it out of place. I think it makes perfect sense and follows the 4oC rather well.

All of the 5's in each suit are that way, really. Like nicky touched upon, 5 is an unstable number and presents conflict and unbalance. So when you pair that energy with the energy in a suit, you're bound to feel "out of sorts."

I wonder if the card is speaking to you on a subconscious level.

When i feel 'drawn' to a card for no apparent reason i step back and think about what it means to me and ask myself if there's something i need to take a look at in my life or the lives of those close to me... or you really just don't like it. ha.
 

Wild West Barbie

5 Cups

Hi Rubin M, the 5 cups would look out of place if you think of love & emotions (cups) as always being rosy & happy. But life is not like that. 5's are trouble - combine that with feelings/love = trouble in love, that's why the card means a broken heart and emotional disappointment. Wild West Barbie
 

WinterRose

Here's something that might help - take the whole suit, and lay it out in order. Then look at the story behind the whole suit.

Ace: All Aces represent beginnings, and new starts.

Two of Cups: The beginning of a relationship. This card also signifies the possible beginning of a partnership, the meeting of two people who may become partners in future.

Three of Cups: The 3 of Cups signifies the celebration of a marriage, or perhaps the birth of a child. It's worth following the story of this card in terms of Eros and Psyche, the story of the lovers. We've had Eros and Psyche meet in the Two of Cups, and marry in this card. Just as the marriage of Eros and Psyche is but an beginning to a more complex story, this card symbolizes a beginning but there is more to be revealed and more to be experienced.

Four of Cups: A turning point in the story is encountered in this card. It is said that Psyche, who had all she wanted, was lonely for company in the beautiful palace because her husband visited her only at night. She asked her husband if he could bring her sisters here. He consented and Psyche sister's were brought to her magnificent palace. Consumed with jealous and envy at their sister's comfortable position, they sowed the seeds of discord, doubt and fear in her heart. Psyche, as seen in the pervious card, had never doubted what or who her loving husband was, but she does now, as her sister tell her that her husband must be a hideous monster of some kind, why else would he come only at night and not allow Psyche to see him? Traditionally, this card signifies discontent with the present situation.

Five of Cups: Here we come to it. The seeds that Psyche's sisters have sown in her heart overwhelmed her to such an extent that it drives Psyche to light a lamp at night when her husband was asleep so that she could glimpse his face. To her surprise, her husband is not at all the monster she feared but a handsome youth. In this moment, she stumbled and pricked herself with one of the Arrow's of Eros, causing herself to fall in love with this youth but unfortunately, her hand which held the lamp shook, causing the hot oil to fall onto the youth's shoulder. Eros awoke at once, reproached Psyche for her faithlessness, and fled from the palace. Psyche tried to follow but in vain for once he was out of sight, he vanished. As he vanished, the magnificent palace vanished with him. The fallen cups on the card represent what one has lost but the standing cups symbolize that there is hope and that all is not lost, if only we take note of it and not mourn the loss we experienced. Psyche still has hope.

Six of Cups: Psyche starts to wonder over the world, searching for her lost love. Psyche realizes what she has done, she was wounded the son of an immortal, the immortal who was jealous of her no less (Aphrodite), and wished her dead. She ponders on the past and the happy times she and her husband had together, however fleeting. She looks to the past, where all the sweet memories are, to give her hope and courage to perservere in her mission, to find her lost love. Traditionally, this card relates to past, the return of an old friend, a gift from a childhood accquaintance or simply recalling it, just as Psyche is doing now.

Seven of Cups: Finally, Psyche seeks and find the Goddess Aphrodite, Ero's mother and begs her forgiveness in wounding her son. She offers to serve the Goddess so that she may redeem herself. Aphrodite agreed and set her numerous tasks, many of which were impossible to accomplish by a single mortal alone but Psyche's plight moved creatures of Nature, such as insects, animals and plants and they helped her to accomplish her tasks. On seeing this, Aphrodite set ever harder tasks but always, Psyche perservered with the help of the creatures of Nature. The seven of cups can be summed up in a popular saying "Building castles in the air". Psyche's 'castle' is to see her husband Eros again but this is as good as a dream for Aphrodite, who already had a grudge against Psyche who, furthur more, wounded her son. No doubt, Aphrodite intends to either crush Psyche's spirit so that she gives on wanting to see her husband, or assigns her tasks so impossible so that she may never complete them and never see her husband. Hence, at this point of time, Psyche's wish to see her husband is very much a castle in the air.

Eight of Cups: It is said that Aphrodite set Psyche many hard tasks in order to make amends and Psyche fulfilled them all. Not pleased at her success for Aphrodite hoped that she would fail and suffer the consequences, she finally devised a task that no creature of nature would be able to help her with, to descend into the Underworld and fetch something from there. This was Psyche's final task. If she could complete it, Psyche would be reunited with her husband. Psyche did as she was commanded, resigned to her Fate once again, for she knew that no creature alive may enter the Underworld and ever hope to see the light of day again.
This card represents the abandonment of the worldly for the spritual - the descent into the Underworld.

Nine of Cups: Here, Psyche is at last reunited with Eros who still loves her. Eros, on hearing how his love was made to descend into the Underworld at his mother's command, implored Zeus to rescue her. This Zeus did, and he soothed Aphrodite's anger and jealousy so that she would not stand in the way of the lovers. Her anger soothed by Zeus, Aphrodite allowed her son to be reunited with the women he loves.
The phrase "A wish comes true" sums up the meaning of this card and the scene for Psyche's fondest wishes has been granted, to be reunited with her love.

Ten of Cups: The tenth card of any of the numbered Minor Arcanna always represents a conclusion and here, it represents the conclusion of the eventful love story. Psyche is at last able to join her beloved among the Gods of Olympus.
 

Rosanne

You are quite right- it is the only card with cups tipped over. The other thing is that the figure is dressed in black- so with a great deal of gray sky, head bowed and no face it does indeed look gloomy.
The Golden Dawn calls it the Lord of Loss in Pleasure.
So there is sequence.....
2..Lord of Love
3..Lord of Abundance
4..Lord of Blended Pleasure
5..Lord of Loss in Pleasure
6..Lord of Pleasure
7..Lord of Illusory Success (Another sad card or gloomy I guess)
8..Lord of Abandoned Success
9..Lord of Material Happiness
10.Lord of Perfected Success
See the pattern and how it relates to the image?
Your eye picked correctly.
~Rosanne
 

prettypiscesmom

thanks winter rose

Love how you told the story.......

I've just recently started doing that for my tarot journal..... I'm printing this out and adding it...

xoxoxo,
 

chrissydogz

if the young man we see in the 4 of cups would have just taken the 4th cup that was being offered to him the scene we see in the 5 of cups would have never happend. i think what these 2 cards teach us is that we cant always handle things on our own,sometimes letting others help can be out best option. the figure in the 5 of cups is feeling like he/she has failed and that everything he/she has done and worked so hard on all went to waste. ever hear the song mcarthur park?,it goes like this.

"someone left my cake out in the rain"

"i dont think that i can take it"

"because it took so long to bake it"

"and i will never have that recipe again.'

"oh no!"

i think those lyrics are very fitting of the 5 of cups. anyway,the 2 cups we see still standing denote that the figure has been given a second chance.
 

Bernice

Originally posted by RubinMarshak:
I was just wondering if anyone knows why it is that the 5 of cups was chosen to look so gloomy and out of place.
As Fabiannemo said, all the 5s are 'negative'. The reason is because in the RWS system the 5s are assigned to Geburah, the sphere that strips away all that is 'unecessary' (not conducive to the greater 'good') - which can sometimes be experienced as a ruthless culling.

But if any other meaning makes more sense to you, and you are the reader, go with it.


Bee :)