Seven of Cups

Rows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way
~Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell

Whenever I see the "Seven of Cups," the opening lyrics of "Both Sides Now" often come to mind. I do tend to freely interchange between "clouds" and "dreams," which isn't hard to do, given the illustration in the Robin Wood deck. Robin's Seven of Cups features a woman with more-than-ample golden hair; locks intermingling with seven distinctively different cups, with interesting contents spilling/peeking out of each cup. In her book, Robin gives the reasons behind the symbols used both on and in the various cups...each of them chosen for their unique qualities and what they stand for...but whose message could vary from reader to reader, spread to spread, querent to querent, etc. If one cup stands out more than the others in a reading, I tend to look closely on what dreams, hopes and aspirations are being emphasized, using the cup and it's contents as a guide.

I really appreciated how Robin spoke of dreams as that which, "...all our goals and aspirations come, and this card represents the beginning of that journey. The seed from which they all spring, and the choice about which path to take." As children grow up, sometimes dreams and hopes for the future are squashed into the ground by well-meaning adults, teachers, professionals and peers around them. When a person isn't fully in touch with themselves and feeling rather unsure, it doesn't take much to watch one's own hopes and dreams go down the drain, based solely on naysayers/thwarters and so-called-practical-reasons. It's my feeling that fear...both fear within the person and fear governing those around him/her, has probably been the culprit resulting in more mega-dream-squashing than anything else. But as we continue to grow, hopefully we become better in touch with our own dreams and feelings and wishes. And hopefully, fear and negativity no longer rules our decisions anymore. Hopefully, we learn to trust our instincts and gut-feelings that we were born with.

Of course all dreams and no action, or no preparation for action, will not give positive, long-standing results. When the Seven of Cups comes up reversed, I may question whether the querent is living in a fantasy world alone; caught up in illusions. Reversed, we may see the card as alerting us to unhealthy escapism...through drugs, alcohol, etc. or could even speak of a heart-wrenching mental illness. Perhaps the querent is presented with too many options and can't make a decision on which path to turn. Maybe the querent's brain is on overload, making insomnia an issue at night and lack of focus a concern during the day.

Upright, the Seven of Cups may show that there are indeed many options to choose from and that one is not tied into just one path. It reminds me of the benefits of brainstorming (with myself and with others); looking at all the possibilities before choosing what's best. The Seven of Cups would be a most welcome card when one feels they're in a rut...as it can be a potent reminder for us to open our minds and hearts to new ideas, situations, relationships, etc.

spinningspider said:

Upright, the Seven of Cups may show that there are indeed many options to choose from and that one is not tied into just one path. It reminds me of the benefits of brainstorming (with myself and with others); looking at all the possibilities before choosing what's best. The Seven of Cups would be a most welcome card when one feels they're in a rut...as it can be a potent reminder for us to open our minds and hearts to new ideas, situations, relationships, etc.

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That's an interesting take on this card- especially the part about how it would be a most welcome card when one feels they're in a rut. Such a positive way of looking at the card, which is refreshing.

For me, personally, I've never read it that way before. I tend to see it as being too wishy-washy. She looks at the cups amongst the clouds with such a wistful and dreamy expression that a warning bell can't help but go off in my head. I can almost see her thinking "Ah, if only..." or "Oh, what if..." or "Imagine if this..." What's more, the things inside those cups are all so fantasy-ish or even shallow. It's like she's so busy dreaming of these things that she's not seeing them for what it is. Or she's so busy dreaming of all the possibilities that she can't make up her mind on what she wants. In that sense, I see the 7 of Cups as a reminder to be realistic with what you want. Sometimes its message may be to ground yourself and not get lost in the clouds. Or even: You can't have all 7 Cups. Stop dreaming (or in some cases, it says to stop wallowing or escaping from reality).

Edit to add: I also notice that her hair is one with the clouds, which also gives me the impression that all those cups are all "in her head" or from another perspective, "she's so far up in the clouds".