6 cups and Devil - confusing combination

Grizabella

Being both a recovering person who was addicted to many things including relationships, I feel like I can give insight first-hand about this.

One definition of addiction is doing the same thing over and over again that makes us feel good. Like Thirteen often points out, the 6 of Cups represents "known joy". We all need love and we tend to do whatever makes us feel loved whether it's healthy or not. We turn to it time and again even if we don't always get actual love. I was a battered woman, among other things, and my counselor explained to me that I was triggered by the words "I love you" because I was so emotionally starved. The people in my young life who told me they loved me abused me in just about every way there is, starting when I was a tiny baby, so the first 40 years of my life were very destructive. I was completely brainwashed by this so that I just never learned that love is expressed in loving actions. The words don't really mean much because talk is cheap. It's really too long a story to go into here, but I wanted to respond to this card combination.

This counselor also told me that when scientists were doing testing with rats, they found that if they gave the rats food every time a certain cue was given to them, of course they learned that if they did that one thing, food would appear. Then they started only giving the rats food randomly here and there and sometime not---they didn't know when they'd have the food if they pushed the button, but they got it sometimes. Then they discovered that, even if the rat never got food for pushing the button, they'd still keep coming back and pushing the button till they starved to death. That's how an abused person also reacts---they keep seeking love and they get it sometimes but sometimes not, so they end up with no healthy love at all, but they keep coming back. Tragically, this often ends in the death of the person who is abused.

I don't know if this had made much sense, but I hope it might make sense to someone. :)
 

IndigoWaves

I don't know if this had made much sense, but I hope it might make sense to someone. :)
In light of recent weakness/foolishness on my part, it does indeed! [emoji232] (I've never been overtly abused, though; "head-f***ing" is apparently adequate.) Cheers.
 

Isobel Gaudie

I don't know if this had made much sense, but I hope it might make sense to someone. :)

I'm perfectly with you Grizabella. Thanks for sharing your experience. Mirrors my own quite a bit.
I did get this combination in several instances in a relationship, usually combined with High Priestess, Moon or King of cups. This did refer to a highly dysfunctional upbringing, sexual abuse in this case.

As a survivor myself I thought it would relate to me, but the other person suffered its own tragic share.
But then, I got this combination on other occasions for people in a less gloomy manner. As I'm walking on the queerer side of life I got it for friends that had to deal with the dark sides of getting outed in younger years that caused them massive grief still in later years.
Maybe the combination of 6 of cups and devil could be concluded as a negative preconditioning and shedding some light on past issues might be helpful.

The devil does not need to be all doom. Life is filled with variety. To me the devil can be a very kinky fella and party animal. Nothing wrong with that if kept in moderation. On a lighter level it could just stand for a person that was massively into black metal in their teens.
 

Farzon

On a lighter level it could just stand for a person that was massively into black metal in their teens.
I had to say, hell yeah, I love this interpretation!
\m/ (that's supposed to be the manu cornuta).
 

Nosgo

For me this pairing doesn't necessarily imply negative interpretation. Spontaneously, the first thing that come to my mind when I see this pairing is "fullfilling sex". For me, the Devil represent the ability to take pleasure in the matter, be it by using that matter or by using the result (and by "using" I don't mean "forcing the other"). It's also about the creative masculine energy, what it can create, shape and build.
The 6 of cups can be the result of such mastery on the uses of matter, the emotional satisfaction of a succesfull "work with matter" (yeah sex in a relationship).
 

Barleywine

For me this pairing doesn't necessarily imply negative interpretation. Spontaneously, the first thing that come to my mind when I see this pairing is "fullfilling sex". For me, the Devil represent the ability to take pleasure in the matter, be it by using that matter or by using the result (and by "using" I don't mean "forcing the other"). It's also about the creative masculine energy, what it can create, shape and build.
The 6 of cups can be the result of such mastery on the uses of matter, the emotional satisfaction of a succesfull "work with matter" (yeah sex in a relationship).

Yes, this is right in line with Crowley's idea that the Devil represents abundant creative energy that can be brought to bear on physical circumstances ("creative energy in its most material form"), even if it might be "unscrupulous, sublimely careless of result." When harnessed to the concept of "Pleasure" (6 of Cups, especially with its Sun in Scorpio association) the sexual implication is obvious.
 

EvaSegovia

Interesting... Not necessarily having to do with this particular situation, but after reading Grizabella's post, I can totally see how these two cards in tandem could signify child abuse... (Like I said, not necessarily having to do with this situation.)
 

headincloud

Interesting... Not necessarily having to do with this particular situation, but after reading Grizabella's post, I can totally see how these two cards in tandem could signify child abuse... (Like I said, not necessarily having to do with this situation.)

First thing I thought of was child abuse with this combo, another combo I had for child abuse was 6C and empress rx.
 

EvaSegovia

Hmmm.... Yes, I can definitely see that too...
 

teapot

This! So much...
I've had the Devil coming up in love issues for me. Can't true love be really obsessive? I found that it can, or maybe even has to.

Also sexuality is an integral part of any romantic relationship, so the Devil could hint at the raw urges present in a relationship. Staying with Crowley "love under will" would most probably be the antithesis to this, but maybe the antithesis to most human relationships...

Yes, I feel this way at times, about love generally. I know some who would say that this isn't the type of love that is going to last the distance...but I suppose love is what you feel it is, and how you make it grow into a lasting relationship depends on how hard you work on it.

Just generally about the devil and sexuality - I'm often torn between seeing this as a positive, or a warning that sex is the overriding factor. The latter isn't healthy, in my view, but I can't really think of another card that really speak to the idea of a great sexual bond. And I do believe that a great sexual connection is important for many people in relationships, so I can't see the devil as all bad in that sense (but it looks really scary as a card in the R-W deck!!)