TAROTSCOPE | NOVEMBER 25 - DECEMBER 1
IX OF CUPS
Everything is temporary. Ever-changing. Different depending on the angle from which you view it. Good and bad are adjectives that gain us very little distance on the journey to understanding a thing completely. One might even say they set us back a few steps because we then have to work our way out of the absolute reductionism they tend to toss over us like a cold blanket.
Something may seem bad but be particularly useful. Another thing may appear lovely but teem with troublesome trials. We really can’t know until we give ourselves over to the experience of it.
The Nine of Cups is often called a card of dreams or wishes. What are these but alternate realities, which are, essentially, other perspectives we’re willing to consider because we deem them desirable or because we need unthought of avenues?
In her book Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene, Donna Haraway writes about the importance of finding practical yet strange pathways for navigating life on earth in a climate that is hurtling towards the uninhabitable (for humans and other species). Her motivation for this argument examines two extremist responses; the first being that we can fix the problem with technology, the second being that it’s too late. Haraway goes on to explain that people who work hard anyway to repair our state of affairs while holding tight to this ‘game over’ attitude is, in itself a destructive tendency. She later writes “eschewing futurism, staying with the trouble is both more serious and more lively...neither despair nor hope is tuned to the senses, to mindful matter, to material semiotics, to mortal earthlings in thick copresence.”
Propelled by Haraway’s methodology, I will argue that the Nine of Cups is not simply a ‘wish’ card, beholden to mystical synchronicity. The system of the tarot is both rooted and ever-growing. Thus, the Nine of Cups can serve as a practical path for understanding that which we can’t fully know and daring to believe that, not only in this lifetime but in - this - very - moment - we each have a purpose. The Nine of Cups is a prayer felt and acted. Fully embodied. The point where faith, belief and reality converge on a portal that was not before present. It is the reason we recycle/wishcycle and feel good about it. It is the impetus for carrying a metal straw in your backpack. It is the inspiration for all the little things we do, not because we believe they can change our fate but because we feel connected to a larger web when we participate. When we reach a hand across the aisle. When we smile at a stranger. When we buy local or call our moms or take a class in flower dying or get a reading. The Nine of Cups reminds us why right now is vital. It is not getting everything you ever wanted. It is wanting to be fully committed to the overflowing current of experience. It is trusting that this moment leads to the next. It is looking for life and admiring the way it elaborates on itself. It is recognizing every way you are already rich. Rejoice in it.
WHAT EVEN IS A TAROTSCOPE? We often think of horoscopes as predictions that are specific to each astrological sign. In Ancient Greek, the term horoscope simply means "I watch the hour." To astrologers today, a horoscope is a chart that maps the planetary bodies in the sky. From this chart, we derive meaning that can influence how we work with energy. Regardless of our unique individual charts, we are ALL working with the same energy from above. Each week, I examine this energy, pull a tarot card and write a guided meditation with the collective in mind. My tarotscopes are meant to be read as inspiration. Please note that because we are all operating with our individual energy, some elements will resonate more than others. Take what you like and leave the rest. Tarotscopes are offered freely in an effort to cultivate collective healing. I am always grateful for your support in sharing this work with anyone you think it might help. If you are inspired or find support here, please consider making a donation to help sustain these weekly offerings.