Sweet Twilight-Ace of Chalices

[Hemera]

The cards themselves say "Chalices" but the LWB calls these "Cups".. Hm..

Anyway, this card is an interesting version of the Ace of Cups. I have never seen an Ace of Cups/Chalices that would not be a happy and hopeful one and I must confess that this card is a little disturbing. I am sure, like someone said earlier, that the pink/amethyst dove does bring hope, though. It is small and beautiful and clearly concerned that the girl is crying. (The LWB says it is not bringing any hope).

The sea is not very turbulent and there is a nice breeze and maybe the sun is about to rise in the horizon. There is hope and beauty everywhere. The girl in the chalice is sad but is it because she is looking backwards, to the past? She doesn´t seem to notice the dove yet. The skull gives a nice whimsical touch to this card. What do you think it could mean? Bottles with skulls on them usually mean that the liquid inside is poisonous. And sure enough, the girl is crying and her legs have turned all red! I´m really curious to hear what you think about this card?

 

[RiccardoLS]

One things that happen to me with the Sweet Twilight is that I find difficulty to decontestualize the cards.
It is SO hard to pin an interpretation/framing on a single card, as it is so easy to find the meaning when you associate the card to a question or to a position. Looking at any card cold, let me as if unable to read, unable to find the correct focus.
So I will try to give impressions and not a perception of the *whole*.

The sea touches me like some kind of primordial sea, boiling.
And the cup is like Venus born from water.
We have a world that is still barren and unfriendly.
We have pain (maybe chilbirth pain? or the pain that makes a baby cry when first taken out of the womb).
But the cup is definitely raising.
The girls is drying up her tears.
The water is clear, even if the heart is muddled, and the sky is blood red.

So.... I can't see it as a sad card.
It may be that love tastes like a cup of poison, but it is still here, and it's going to stay here, and fluorish.

 

[turtlebite]

One things that happen to me with the Sweet Twilight is that I find difficulty to decontestualize the cards.
It is SO hard to pin an interpretation/framing on a single card, as it is so easy to find the meaning when you associate the card to a question or to a position. Looking at any card cold, let me as if unable to read, unable to find the correct focus.

I've noticed the same thing. Some of the cards seem meaningless to me until they come up in a reading.

As for the Ace of chalices here if Aces are beginnings and chalices are emotions(or creativity or whatever) then this card makes sense in that maybe the girl has had a turbulent past(the stormy sea) but is finally beginning to open back up (bird) but isn't quite ready so it's tenuous (she's not looking at the bird)

She didn't look like she was crying to me but I think that makes sense too. As for what the LWB says, maybe because it's because hope comes from within? I think the LWB is a hindrance sometimes more than a help.

 

[turtlebite]

Another possibility

It occurred to me that another meaning could be self-love. If we let go of the idea that she's crying and forget the LWB then her hand seems to be caressing her cheek the way a lover would. She's surround by an ocean of water but chooses to stand in her own little watery chalice.

Of course this could be interpreted as positive or negative. She could be so absorbed with herself she doesn't notice the dove bringing her a message or she is learning to love herself first before seeking something outside herself.

One is the loneliest number. Or not.

 

[Hemera]

The sea touches me like some kind of primordial sea, boiling.
And the cup is like Venus born from water.
We have a world that is still barren and unfriendly.
We have pain (maybe chilbirth pain? or the pain that makes a baby cry when first taken out of the womb).
But the cup is definitely raising.
The girls is drying up her tears.
The water is clear, even if the heart is muddled, and the sky is blood red.

So.... I can't see it as a sad card.
It may be that love tastes like a cup of poison, but it is still here, and it's going to stay here, and fluorish.

Hello Riccardo! How nice to meet you here
I really like your input and I think it adds a lot of depth to how I see this card.
A process of growth towards greater maturity. I like this! I´ll definitely record this to my Sweet Twilight-notebook.
I don´t really see this as a sad card either. Only the girl is sad but it will pass when she sees the dove. The story of the birth of Venus included pain and blood and resulted in absolute beauty and serenity. So yes, this could be Her! Ooooh, I like this!

 

[DaisyDragonfly]

Sweet Twilight! Pleased to see the study group up and running.

I don't see it as a sad card at all: I see it as an honest card. The start of any creative endeavor or any relationship is the start of a labour of love. Both these things are a heart-opening; and when your heart is open, you're vulnerable. Vulnerable to wonder, to awe, to peace, to connection, to fulfillment; vulnerable to pain, to failure, to rejection, to hopelessness, to despair. Of course you focus on the former when you plunge into the project and you allow hope to be your beacon, your guide. But in this twilight world, the double-edged truth is visible at the same time. That's the beauty and the power of twilight. Opposites co-exist.

So she may be rising, or she may be about to plunge back into the water. She's taking the risk because she thinks the benefits of opening her heart are worth it: the dove reminds her of the beauty of choice, of the peace that comes with choosing knowingly. And she is choosing knowingly: her transparent dress shows that she has no illusions, that dreams aren't choking her.

 

[EightWands]

My story for her is basically the dove does bring hope, only in her mind she feels there isn't any hope and she doesn't see the dove. Maybe she is too self absorbed in her own emotions, or overwhelmed. You know like when you first fall in love with someone and maybe they are all that exists in your world and then you might tend to get a bit angsty or obsessive and maybe jealous and "blind" so you miss that little pink dove of hope who tells you to go with the flow and let the new relationship develop. Since her face is turned away from it, it's as though it's not there. So "no hope".

Thats what comes to me anyway, seeing as this is a deck that deals alot with emotions and "angst".

So if I get this card in a reading, I am reminded there is hope but I need to open my eyes to it.

 

[Myrrha]

Someone posted in another thread that a skull label on something often means it is poison.

I think the cup is emotions, the whole range but especially the "poison" of negative emotions because we sometimes don't allow ourselves to feel and acknowledge them. It is important to really feel them though, in order to be our true selves.

So she is feeling terror or sorrow or murderous rage (it will look like different things at different times when the card comes up), feels like there is poison in her veins instead of blood. But she soaks in the "poison" and acknowledges each emotion, maybe even welcomes it "I love you, sorrow, thanks for visiting".

And by doing this a shift takes place and other useful feelings show themselves, including hope.

When the card shows up it could be telling you to pay close attention to how you really feel about something or warning you against gagging your feelings down and going along with something. A new beginning in relationship or creativity starts with feelings but you have to be honest about it.

It is a card about feeling more than speaking but I wonder if there is a card in the Swords suit that has to do with speaking what you really think and feel about something?

 

[Onyx]

This image on the card is compelling because her expression is very open to interpretation. I like the “traditional” imagery of the dove and the over-flowing cup. I still am drawn to the red legs as if the liquid is burning her or if there is some chemical reaction ongoing. The skull on the front of the cup is not encouraging but I like the idea that the fount of emotions may be poison.

For me there is an expectancy in the card about her tipping over and falling into the sea. The wind of thought and the waves of emotions are in play but the rock hard reality is also on the edge that may cause her to fall over. How turbulent is the water? Could she swim if she needs to or would she not be able to endure the waves and find herself thrashing and drowning in the green waves.

Finally, I am a sucker for a red-head.

Onyx.

 

[Myrrha]

One things that happen to me with the Sweet Twilight is that I find difficulty to decontestualize the cards.
It is SO hard to pin an interpretation/framing on a single card, as it is so easy to find the meaning when you associate the card to a question or to a position.

That makes sense to me, Riccardo. I have the feeling that even more than most decks these cards will mean something different each time, depending on the question and the other cards. I still want to give "studying" each card a try though before reading the LWB, in order to just see as much as possible in it. It is not to pin a static meaning on it, just to try and really see it. I love hearing what other people see in the cards too, that in itself is interesting.

Finally, I am a sucker for a red-head.

Ooooh, this is the deck for you then!