Hanson Roberts 7 of Cups

Flavio

An old magician (Merlin-Gandalf like) stares at 7 cups floating in the sky, the old man and the cups seem to be among clouds, those clouds have violet colored shades, violet color has been related to spirituality so I think in this card we are asked to look beyond the content of the cups to find spiritual growth.

The seven cups contents are:
  • 5 pointed stars coming out the cup
  • A Castle
  • A rainbow in a small cloud
  • An Octopus (representing the sea monsters feared in middle ages?)
  • A Dragon
  • Jewels and a crown
  • A Faery (The forces of the nature?)

This card is full of magic and magical creatures an one of my favorites of this deck, as for the old man... is he deciding what cup to take or is he concentrated to create the 7 cups ilusion?
 

Lurea

An interesting thing about this card is that all the things in the cups are illusory. They may look good but they are just a veneer, a shadow of the real thing.

Just for kicks, I went looking for the cup's symbols in the rest of the deck.
Stars: on the Hermit, the Chariot, the Star, and the 8 of Cups. All cards of motion and/or spiritualism.

Rainbow: Only on the Ten of Cups, the happy families card.

Castles: Whew. There's a lot of castles in this deck! But some of the most prominent are on the Ten of Rods, the Ten of Pentacles, the Ten of Cups, the Four of Rods, the Nine of Pentacles... Cards where the castle means security ahead, that happy future.

Sea Creatures: I only found two, the dolphin in the King of Cups and the Crawfish in the Moon. Perhaps indicating emotionalism or intuition?

Dragons: Only one more in the deck-on the helm of the Knight of Wands. Fiery passion, advancing into the unknown?

Crowns/jewels: on all the Kings and Queens, but also on Justice, the Heirophant, and the Tower. Meaning power and wealth?

So the Magician is looking at symbols for power, wealth, passion, intuition, security, love/marriage, and knowledge. Maybe he is trying to choose between them, but they are still only symbols. He needs to stop fantasizing, staring at this false illusion, and go after the real thing. To do that he will both have to make a choice, and have to leave this idyllic cloud. :D

I never thought about how perfect a lead-in this card is to the 8 of Cups--his decision made, he sets off into the unknown...
 

tarotlova

I always think of this card as having to make a choice from many different directions/ways, as it is up in the clouds so to say, I think the spirtual side is calling but the material direction/way is pulling and it is usually a very difficult confusing choice, but all sevens in the Tarot mean don't give up and I think the stars coming out of the top cup emphasise this, dare to wish hope & dream.
 

rachelcat

I always thought this card was enchanting, too. But it does have to be interpreted as enchantED--an illusion of happiness. I relate this to all the things we want that we think will make us happy (yes, including tarot cards and books!), but they don't bring true happiness. They are distractions to the really important things in life. A new 7 of cups card would be the 7 cups all filled with different kinds of candy. Even if we ate up all 7 cups of candy, that wouldn't make us happy. It would probably make us sick! In the Arthurian/Hallowquest deck, this card is a beautiful welcoming fairy castle (hey, fairies and castle!), but reflected in the pond at the foot of the wall is the truth, it is really just a grassy hill. The castle is just a pretty fairy illusion.

Thanks for the cool symbol analysis. It really helps put your finger on just what that tricky magician is offering.
 

Lurea

rachelcat said:
A new 7 of cups card would be the 7 cups all filled with different kinds of candy. Even if we ate up all 7 cups of candy, that wouldn't make us happy. It would probably make us sick!

This is a really excellent point! I love it when I see some difficult to articulate concept put in plain language like this. :)

Okay, now, does anyone have any examples of when the 7 cups showed up in their readings?
 

vision777

seven of cup

i received the seven of cups yesterday as a daily reading and when i went to the mail box my new worlds catalog was there i was happy because that was my first time reading the catalog i was looking through it checking things off that i wanted to get. it reminded me of the seven of cups so many things to choose from.by the way my card was reversed so it made sense. im pretty sure the seven of cups may mean getting a gift or something you was expecting that can put a smile on your face.
 

Flavio

vision777 said:
it reminded me of the seven of cups so many things to choose from.by the way my card was reversed so it made sense. im pretty sure the seven of cups may mean getting a gift or something you was expecting that can put a smile on your face.
Welcome to AT Forums vision777, when reversed, I think in this card as you have made up your mind so those once illusory things can become a reality.
 

Lula Jing

I got 7 of cups in a recent reading about work prospects - I am currently frozen - too many options, too many possibilities. I am like a rabbit stuck in the headlights. I need to realise what is real (achievable) and what is wishful thinking. This card can drive you a little nuts... I'll be glad when I am walking with a purpose like in the 8 of Cups.

Shy x
 

Lurea

Hey, Shy! (love that name, BTW!)

Good point about the 7 of cups. Have you tried articulating each possibility and drawing a card? I imagine that could give you an indication about which possibilities are realistic and which are not!

Of course, you may be one of those talented people who have multiple successful possibilities.. Then the question becomes, which do you want the most? :D
 

Lula Jing

Lurea said:
Of course, you may be one of those talented people who have multiple successful possibilities.. Then the question becomes, which do you want the most? :D
Thanks Lurea, you have a great idea there. I need to commit some words to paper to figure out what I need to aim for. There are seemingly endless possibilities... I will have to write it out in such a way that I can see clearly what I want, and what is less desirable. Perhaps I should describe my ideal job and see what comes out?? Right down to the working hours, the specifics. I think this could really help.

Thank you - :)

Shy x