St John and the 7 of Cups

Very interesting thread, thank you all!

A snake in the cup can also be seen in the Queen of Cups of the Sola Busca deck (XV Century): http://www.tarotpedia.com/wiki/index.php?title=Queen_of_Cups_Sola-Busca
That deck was one of the sources used by Smith for her deck.

I think that the snake in the cup also was an alchemical symbol. In my opinion, its central position in the painting suggests a deeper meaning than just the venom from which John was saved...but I don't know what it means!

I will think about this. Dosso Dossi is one of the most mysterious and magical painters of the Renaissance.
Do you know his "Circe"?

Marco

Marco -

Thank you for the info on Polyxena (Polisena) in the Sola Busca deck. A snake also means wisdom, knowledge and prophecy and is associated with the Sybils - especially the Oracle at Delphi.

Of course the snake in a cup is also an allusion to the phallus in the womb. There's an irony then in the picture of Polyxena who was famous as a virgin. Maybe she's holding sexuality at bay.

Mary

Teheuti said:

Of course the snake in a cup is also an allusion to the phallus in the womb. There's an irony then in the picture of Polyxena who was famous as a virgin. Maybe she's holding sexuality at bay.

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Well said, Tehuti!
I think this "coniunctio" of male and female is what made me think of alchemy.

After some search, I have found an image from the Rosarium Philosophorum that seems relevant (but in this case there are three serpents):
http://gnosis.art.pl/iluminatornia/alkimija/rosarium_philosophorum.htm
http://www.ritmanlibrary.nl/c/p/exh/alch/alch_01_02.html

Hygeia seems another interesting theme:
http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefshygeia.htm

Marco

I think the snake can represent masculine as well as feminine attribute - masculine when uncoiled and feminine when coiled. The snake is often depicted as the companion of the goddess and thus associated with feminine mysteries - pre-alchemy that is.

BrightEye said:

I think the snake can represent masculine as well as feminine attribute - masculine when uncoiled and feminine when coiled. The snake is often depicted as the companion of the goddess and thus associated with feminine mysteries - pre-alchemy that is.

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Definitely. The Hygeia image that Marco listed is a good example of the feminine connection. Then click on the serpent in the cup and you'll find a text in which Isis is associated with an asp in a cup from _The Golden Ass_.

The serpent has rich and contradictory symbolism about which whole books have been written.

Mary

7 of Cups

7 of cups relates to the Chariot card VII - Using your direction of energy for
destiny and victory...Actually telling you to use your mind to direct yourself
on the right path

7 of cups
Here the person is on the "mental path" of "daydreaming" and "illusion"
and they need to take off their "rose colored glasses" and learn to control
their mental emotional nature.

Can be a card of liquor and drugs...and they need to get mental control over
their emotions and/or addictions. This can be a positive "path" of "visualizing"
a creation/s.

Reversed:
Emotional drain [cups upside down and emotions, love, feelings, running out]
because of a separation or they may have lost someone dear to them.
Here I think that they are more on a "physical path" ...you know...following
their heart instead of their brain!