Renaissance Tarot (Jones / Lyle) - 6 of Cups

Sulis

When I first got this deck and was looking through the cards, this card really struck a chord with me, it made me say 'Ahhhh'.

Here we see the unconditional love that a parent has for their child.
Surrounded by 6 golden cups we see a very young child hand in hand with an adult. To me this looks like father and son. The adult's hand rests lovingly on the child's head and the child gazes up into his fathers face.
There is a real innocence and trust in this card, it's lovely.

Sixes are about balance, harmony and sharing. I think of the sixes as a sort of plateau that comes just over half way through the suit and directly follows the upset of the fives.
The sixes are stable yet not as static as the fours. The sixes are a good place to be and it's not every really necessary to move away from the sixes (unless you choose to).

Sixes are related to The Lovers and are about our relationships with others. They are about communication and interaction and they are also about choices.
So amongst it's other meanings of emotional well-being, sharing feelings and love, nostalgia and tenderness, the Six of Cups is about the choices we make to re-establish emotional stability following the grief and disappointment of the Five of Cups.
 

Attachments

  • 6 of Cups.jpg
    6 of Cups.jpg
    63.9 KB · Views: 725

Papageno

Sulis said:
The sixes are a good place to be and it's not every really necessary to move away from the sixes (unless you choose to).

I have such a very different view of this card LOL.........personally I've always looked upon the 6/Cups with a sense of horror :laugh:.......

so I have to refer back to the 7/Wands thread and point out the absolute necessity of moving away from the sixes lest we rest on our laurels (of bygone victories - 6/Wands) or become mired in the issues of the past (6/Cups) and dragging all that emotional baggage that should have been resolved or discarded....the stuff that holds us back.

it's a deceptively naive card but I think it's an important key......we're on such opposite ends of the spectrum here on this one.......that says a lot about this card.

I need to absorb your interpretation and see if I can integrate this.
My gut says yes, but I have to go beyond and come full circle to be where you're at rather than back tracking.

edited:

Sulis said:
Sixes are related to The Lovers and are about our relationships with others. They are about communication and interaction and they are also about choices.
So amongst it's other meanings of emotional well-being, sharing feelings and love, nostalgia and tenderness, the Six of Cups is about the choices we make to re-establish emotional stability following the grief and disappointment of the Five of Cups.

after some thought it occurs to me, yes, it's partially about reconciling in order to move forward or reconciliation of relationships. this card is a stumbling block that needs to be acknowledged and overcome.
 

Kenny

My first focus on this card is the child. He is so trusting and faithful in the adult protecting him. They are surrounded by cups forming a protective barrier around the two of them. Could the cups form an arch too?

This card is about innocence and freely given love. In return of opening the soul so wide and being so trusting you will be protected and looked after. This relates to The Lovers as it in the opening up of the soul and in allowing love in that we have the ability to become whole and complete.

If the cups do form an arch then these could indicate a stage that is needed to pass through before the steps to come in the future.
 

Sulis

Kenny said:
If the cups do form an arch then these could indicate a stage that is needed to pass through before the steps to come in the future.

I really like what you've said here Kenny and although I don't really see an arch, I do see a sort of avenue or something to pass through..

Papageno said:
I have such a very different view of this card LOL.........personally I've always looked upon the 6/Cups with a sense of horror .......

so I have to refer back to the 7/Wands thread and point out the absolute necessity of moving away from the sixes lest we rest on our laurels (of bygone victories - 6/Wands) or become mired in the issues of the past (6/Cups) and dragging all that emotional baggage that should have been resolved or discarded....the stuff that holds us back.
Hi Papageno,

I can see what you're saying but I think that I would only interpret this card as you've done if it were in a negative position, reversed (if I read reversals), or if the surrounding cards or context pointed to a negative take...
Your interpretation seems to speak of an imbalance which causes the 'rest on our laurels' scenario.

The image is very positive too but I guess that's only if you're seeing the adult in the image as being a parent or someone who genuinely loves and wants to protect the child. There would be an imbalance of energies if the love was one sided and the lack of detail in the image does seem to allow for that as well.
This is why I seem to prefer more minimal cards, they allow for a broader interpretation.

To me, upright or well dignified, the sixes have to be harmonious and positive.
 

Papageno

Sulis said:
I can see what you're saying but I think that I would only interpret this card as you've done if it were in a negative position, reversed (if I read reversals), or if the surrounding cards or context pointed to a negative take...
Your interpretation seems to speak of an imbalance

To me, upright or well dignified, the sixes have to be harmonious and positive.

you're right of course, no denying that. my take on this was purely reflexive and (obviously) personal.....therefore somewhat prejudiced..........I thought that should be clarified :)
 

Enchanted

There really is such a tenderness and warmth with this card. It feels very protective and also guiding, the way the parent steers the child. I saw the arch of the cups as being protective, or almost like a memory bubble, if that makes sense.

Coming after the upset of the 5 of cups, this card seems like a positive progression. 5 of Cups moments/events, can quite literally bring you to your knees, take away your sense of security and sometimes even call into question your beliefs and values.

Here with the 6, you have a gentle hand to guide you, to take those shaky first steps out into the world again. To remind you that you are protected and loved and you are not alone. Like being wrapped in a warm blanket, you can feel the warmth and love wrap around you for a time and enjoy a feeling of safety and support once again. Be this "warm blanket", friends, family, a or spirit. Or even perhaps a deceased loved one, for this is where they live... in our memory.

On the other side, I can see why this card may be an "uh-oh" card for some and have seen it at times that way myself. Sometimes the things that cause an upset like the 5 of cups might stem from childhood memories or the past, in which current situations are triggering memories of and oh boy... emotions. Going back into the past can be a painful experience. But I am of the belief that it is necessary to at least be able to reconcile the past within yourself as the past does shape and colour the present.

Another thought just occured to me here in connection with a field of psychology that seeks to separate the painful event or memory from the painful emotion. It reprograms the brain so that the memory no longer brings forth all the painful emotions. They are no longer held together in the brain. Tests have shown that by undergoing this therapy ( I wish I could remember what it was called) that the place in the brain that the memory triggers actually moves. I found that fascinating! I guess I can see that in this card, as the cups (the emotions) are surrounding the figures but not directly interacting with them. Just a thought.

It was interesting to me to ponder whether you could stay in the 6's and I think I came up somewhere in the middle here. I don't really think that you can stay in them forever... you must move on. But I do think that you can choose to a certain extent, when to leave. So I guess I am agreeing with Sulis here, you can pause here for awhile, to heal from the five and it might be necessary to do so.
 

Bernice

Yes, the card image immediately conveys tenderness and careing, a feeling of closeness and being safe. This could also be interpreted as empathy &/or sympathy. But the experience of such intimate closeness is usually only felt for short periods. (I would also include 'psychic' connections in the interpretation.)

But the image also implys trust (the child) and responsibility (the adult). And the cups forming an arched avenue seem to provide a shelter for a special moment in time. So I think this card has to do with cherishing, and respect. That which is truly cherished is also respected, and herein lies the responsibility and trust. Both child and adult must move on - an individual evolution.

A beautiful exchange that adds depth to our progress.......

Bee