The Wild Unknown Tarot - V Cups

Sulis

This card reminds me very much of the V Pentacles... They are both cards that show the feeling and the emotion of the card really well without lots of symbolism.

In the V Pentacles we see a drooping rose and in this card we see a horses head in the same drooping position. The background is dark with a lighter top and the 5 Cups appear in the light section at the top of the card.

To me horses say power and wildness but also sensitivity and the ability to be domesticated and very useful to us humans.
In this deck though (considering it is The Wild Unknown), I'd say that the horses shown are wild horses; free and powerful, beautiful and untamed.

This image says defeat to me. He looks so very, very sad and maybe doesn't realise that he has more than he realises (the cups above him).
For me 5s are cards of the self and they are also often cards of change, unexpected change and the lessons that we get from that. Scattered emotions can make you feel as if you just don't know what to do next, don't know where to turn for help and you're weighed down with the enormity of your feelings... That's the feeling I get from this card.
I'm sure that there is hope - if he lifts his head he'll notice the light and the cups that are there but right now, he's in the darkness, he's feeling defeated and it's a difficult place to fine his way out of.
 

lark

I have been getting this card day after day in my daily draw.
No matter how much I shuffle it keeps coming up as one of the 5 cards I draw for the day.
I've been looking at it and I always think why a horse?
Why did she use a horse for this card??
And then I understood.
This is the card of a broken spirit.
Like a horse that is to be tamed for riding from it's wild state.
They say they "broke" them.
They come to accept the heavy burden on their back after much energy is used to buck the burden off.
And then you see it... that head hung down, the broken spirit look in their eye.
It's not just about regular sorrow...it's a deep brokenness, a loss of something that can never be regained.
That breaks the heart and the spirit of a soul.
I so get it now.
 

crystalwings

Hi Lark this card portrays a broken spirit very strongly to me to :)

To the back of this card from the bottom up, intense darkness sweeps up consuming any light, until two thirds of the way up when the light starts to penetrate the darkness, complete light is only seen in the central top in a semi-circle curve, that is trimmed with five transparent glasses/goblets. The transparent glasses/goblets look more spiritual than physical, offering spiritual support. A white horses head and neck dominates this card, coming in from the left it bows its head in a submissive stance, almost as if purposely seeking the darkness to hide in. Horses are social animals and prefer been part of a herd, so maybe this horse is finding difficulty coping with the separation from his herd, striped of the ability to express himself freely or assert himself social, has broken his spirit… There is an understanding in a herd of who is in charge, the leader leads the herd to water and food, I can almost feel how lost, lonely, and distressed this lone horse must be feeling with no one to guide him. I’ve looked at this card a few times, sometimes the eyes appear closed and at other open, when closed he chooses to go it alone his plight concealed and depression takes over, when open he projects his plight into the world around him and seeks out the light that penetrates the darkness, receiving the spiritual support that he needs.
 

lark

Very nice crystalwings very nice.
I like the part about the sadness of the herd being separated...that rang true in my understanding too.
 

Water Lady

wow, I get the sadness too, when I look at the card it is just overwhelming, I have to look up and remember there is always hope
 

stone_lotus

This is the card of a broken spirit.

Yes.

It's not just about regular sorrow...it's a deep brokenness, a loss of something that can never be regained.
That breaks the heart and the spirit of a soul.

Double yes.

What strikes me the more I contemplate this horse is the extremely INTENT look in its eye. I don't think it's hiding or putting its head in the sand, or using avoidance strategies, or denial -- nor is it lost -- quite the opposite -- it seems to be deliberately focusing on the pain, the hurt, and the sorrow so as to fully inhabit and honor the experience.

It's like with certain types of meditation, where every emotion, joyous or heartbreaking, is allowed to be FELT and not judged, until it passes on.

So to me this card embodies intense pain that is being / must be felt wholeheartedly. It will then naturally be released.
 

Sulis

What strikes me the more I contemplate this horse is the extremely INTENT look in its eye. I don't think it's hiding or putting its head in the sand, or using avoidance strategies, or denial -- nor is it lost -- quite the opposite -- it seems to be deliberately focusing on the pain, the hurt, and the sorrow so as to fully inhabit and honor the experience.

It's like with certain types of meditation, where every emotion, joyous or heartbreaking, is allowed to be FELT and not judged, until it passes on.

So to me this card embodies intense pain that is being / must be felt wholeheartedly. It will then naturally be released.

Yes.. I think this is such an important message of this card.. Sometimes we need to focus on the pain, really feel it and then let it pass.. This is what happens with grieving.. You cannot make it go away and to ignore it is to leave yourself open to deep rooted problems later on..

Thanks for joining us stone_lotus, I'm really enjoying what you're adding to the threads :).
 

stone_lotus

Sometimes we need to focus on the pain, really feel it and then let it pass.. This is what happens with grieving..

Absolutely! You know, I hadn't thought to connect this sort of emotional pain with "grieving", with the process of grief, and now that you've said it, I can't think of anything that fits the, mmm, action taking place here nearly half so well.

Thanks for joining us stone_lotus, I'm really enjoying what you're adding to the threads :).

Thank you! So thrilled to be joining in. This study group has such an enormous wealth of information and insight spilling out every which way!
 

danieljuk

it is a card of feeling overwhelming sadness when you look at the horse's face :( I like Lark's idea about the broken spirit of the horse.

But I do believe that the 5 of Cups always offers some sort of a positive that we miss. Like the 2 Cups which are still upright in RWS that the person just can't see! Like Sulis wrote, there is light above the horses head, if only they would move out of the darkness or move their head upwards!

Hopefully they can process or feel the sadness and then can move away from this period of time. I have tried to escape emotions and sad times in my life and it just doesn't work! We have to feel them and process them and then we can move on! Sit with the sadness, disappointment and regret and then pull your head up! :)