Sophie-David
Legend's Ace of Cups is a beautiful card of mystical power, although this scan makes the imagery appear much more garish than the original. This card closely parallels the imagery of Temperance, the Cauldron of Annwn. Anna-Marie tells us in A Keeper of Words that she made this a deliberate association. The Grail and the Cauldron of Annwn are both blue vessels, trimmed with gold. Both are attended by nine Celtic priestesses in blue, and both vessels are images of healing and sustenance.
But where Temperance depicts a dynamic scene of waterly flow, and many of the priestesses are in movement, the Grail is stationary, as are the women. In fact the nine attendants of the Grail are gathered in a holy circle, as if invoking the Grail through meditative magic. The Grail itself is above their heads, perhaps not visible to them in their outer vision. Anna-Marie tells us that the Grail is supported by the tree of life, an image which roots the cup in the earth, and raises it up to the powers of heaven. She also informs us that a six winged seraph hovers above the cup - but is this angel arising from the cup or descending into it? The stem of the tree is surrounded by a ring of fire. In fact, in a deck with an abundance of watery imagery, this Ace is surprisingly lacking in the element, except in the blue colours of the Grail and its attendants.
Since the story of Camelot was in many respects the story of the Grail, the quest for this holy object giving purpose to the fellowship of knights, it is fitting that this powerful archetypal image initiates the suit of Cups. In the Grail, both pagan and Christian traditions fused into a potent symbol of transformation. Only through faith, selflessness and purity could a knight encounter this holy object, the quest being primarily an inner one, the Grail itself initiating the soul into transcendent enlightenment. In this realm, the feminine grail overcomes the perfected suitor with unitive love, raising the quester with rapture into eternal joy.
As Anna-Marie expresses beautifully of these questing knights:
But where Temperance depicts a dynamic scene of waterly flow, and many of the priestesses are in movement, the Grail is stationary, as are the women. In fact the nine attendants of the Grail are gathered in a holy circle, as if invoking the Grail through meditative magic. The Grail itself is above their heads, perhaps not visible to them in their outer vision. Anna-Marie tells us that the Grail is supported by the tree of life, an image which roots the cup in the earth, and raises it up to the powers of heaven. She also informs us that a six winged seraph hovers above the cup - but is this angel arising from the cup or descending into it? The stem of the tree is surrounded by a ring of fire. In fact, in a deck with an abundance of watery imagery, this Ace is surprisingly lacking in the element, except in the blue colours of the Grail and its attendants.
Since the story of Camelot was in many respects the story of the Grail, the quest for this holy object giving purpose to the fellowship of knights, it is fitting that this powerful archetypal image initiates the suit of Cups. In the Grail, both pagan and Christian traditions fused into a potent symbol of transformation. Only through faith, selflessness and purity could a knight encounter this holy object, the quest being primarily an inner one, the Grail itself initiating the soul into transcendent enlightenment. In this realm, the feminine grail overcomes the perfected suitor with unitive love, raising the quester with rapture into eternal joy.
As Anna-Marie expresses beautifully of these questing knights:
Their adventures served as catalysts, tempering, stressing, and accelerating their development until eventually they transgressed their limitations of thought, allowing the light to flood in. In this expansion and temporary dissolution of the self, one becomes immersed in the spirit of the Grail, absorbing (but not necessarily understanding) its mysteries. This is the ultimate mystical experience and communion sought by the knights and many souls of past and present.