Ace of Cups Alternate names: Holy Grail, Chalice

BASIC DESCRIPTION: A ghostly hand emerges from a cloud holding a golden chalice in its palm. The cup bears either a "W" or upside-down "M" and seems to have tiny bells dangling where the bowl meets the stem. Five streams of blue water come out of the cup like a fountain, and yod-shaped drops or dew accompany the five streams down into the lake or sea below. The lake or sea seems calm, and is dotted by water lilies and lily pads. Above the cup, a white dove descends, placing a crossed wafer into the cup.
FIRST THING THAT STRUCK ME: How do the streams shoot that high up out of the cup? Also, the white hand, dove and wafer stick out.

UPRIGHT MEANINGS: House of the true heart, joy, content, abode, nourishment, abundance, fertility; Holy Table, felicity hereof. (Waite) Powerful emotional force, opening oneself to others, outpouring of love, openly-expressed affection, attraction, intimacy, empathy, devotion, true friendships, bonding, forgiveness. Deep personal feelings, following one's heart, listening to one's Inner Voice, developing intuition, psychic awareness, answer to prayer, spiritual refreshment, nurture, healing, restoration, salvation. Overflowing goodness, joy, happiness, beauty, pleasure, emotional fulfillment, great abundance, opulence, fullness, productiveness. Female fertility, birth, new beginning, baptism, love affair, engagement, marriage.
ALSO: Feminine influence. Blessings in one's daily life. Toasting a special occasion. It's not what goes in your mouth, but what comes out of it. It's not so much what you say, but how you say it.

REVERSED MEANINGS: House of the false heart, mutation, instability, revolution. (Waite) Holding back emotions, shallow or false feelings, clouded joy, emotional sorrow and unhappiness, dissapating or unrequited love, loneliness, endings, regrets. Overturning, alteration, erosion, instability, inconstancy, sterility, barrenness, miscarriage.

BIBLICAL: Noah's Ark <Genesis 6-8>; Joseph's cup of divination <Genesis 44>; M for Mary, the vessel; Bethesda: "For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had." <John 5:4>

QUOTES:

The cup of grand salvation I shall take up,
And on the name of Jehovah I shall call. <Psalm 166:13>
With exultation you people will be certain to draw water out of the springs of salvation. <Isaiah 12:3>

This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf. <Luke 22:20>
Whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty at all , but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water bubbling up to impart everlasting life. <John 4:14>
If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He that puts faith in me, just as the Scripture has said, 'Out from his inmost part streams of living water will flow.' <John 7:37-38>

They will hunger no more nor thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat down upon them nor any scorching heat, because the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes. <Revelation 7:16-17>
And the spirit and the bride keep on saying: "Come!" And let anyone hearing say: "Come!" And let anyone thirsting come; let anyone that wishes take life's water free. <Revelation 22:17>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still water.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. <Psalm 23:1-6>

MYTHOLOGICAL: Holy Grail--prevalently the supposed cup of the Last Supper, the cup of the new covenant (Luke 22:20); and/or a cup used to catch blood and water that came from Christ when he was pierced with a soldier's spear after death (dead men don't bleed).
HISTORICAL: The Visconti-Sforza Ace of Cups depicts a fountain topped with a dove, a heraldric device of the Sforza family.

ANIMAL: dove, fish
FLOWERS/PLANTS: water lilies, succulents
LANDSCAPE/LOCATION: lake
TIME/SEASON: fall
CRYSTALS: clearest crystal quartz; diamond, if you believe the ad men
SCENTS: rain

MUSIC: Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host:
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. <Thomas Ken (1637-1711)>
FILM/BOOK: Grail legends. See instances of the Sangrail in Le Morte d'Arthur
PUBLIC PEOPLE OR EVENTS: ?
OCCUPATIONS: healer, lifeguard, plumber ,bartender
QUOTES FROM OTHER SOURCES: Too much of a good thing is simply wonderful. <Liberace>

PEOPLE IN MY LIFE: My best friend Nanette (the bartender).
THIS CARD IN MY LIFE: indoor plumbing

FAVORITE REPRESENTATION: Rider Waite. I also really like the Gothic.
COMPARISONS TO OTHER CARDS: Ace of Cups, High Priestess, Star, Queen of Cups all have that watery, spiritual, healing, psychic, vessel thing happening.
COMPARISONS TO OTHER DECKS: Many of the Cups have still water, a few have one stream, some have multiple (usually five) streams.

HALLOWEEN TAROT Ace of Ghosts

 

In true Halloween Tarot fashion, this is a card that takes a while to sink in. My first impression was that it is the most "simple" of cups, almost like one of those plastic skull things you can get for a dollar in October. Most Aces of Cups have multiple streams, or no stream; but this card has a single twisting stream flowing from one side of the tilted cup. This card represents the simple blessing of running water.

 

Millions of people die every year for lack of clean water. Someday this precious resource may be as valuable as oil or gold. Within walking distance of my house, there are at least six public fountains, with free-running water night and day. But that's nothing compared to the fact that it runs right in my house. I can drink as much as I want, soak my entire body in it, and flush away my body's refuse many times each day. It's not a dramatic or spectacular, supernormal or uncommon windfall. It's the simple, continual, daily blessings that make life good! "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!"

 

ANCESTRAL PATH TAROT Ace of Cups

 

A golden cup rests on the surface of the ocean. The bottom band of the enameled, patterned stem features a fish symbol, and there's a large "M" on the bowl. A stream of water from an unseen source above fills the bowl, and five streams cascade over the brim. The sun sets behind a clouded horizon, while a whale jumps from the ocean.

 

Once, my brother claimed to be a vegetarian for religious (Christian) reasons. So I told him that, according to Jesus, "It's not what goes in your mouth, but what comes out of it." (Matthew 15:11) "[F]or out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." (Matthew 12:34 ; 15:17-20) So much of what we say to others (and how we say it) reflects our feelings, morals, virtues, spirituality; or lack thereof. When one's heart is filled with the Spirit from Above, with Love (and all that goes with it: joy, fulfillment, caring, and yes--humility!), it spills over to touch lives of both friends and strangers. Don't be afraid to follow inner promptings. Don't be shy about sharing your true feelings, or giving a kind word. Make yourself a vessel for the answer to someone else's prayer. Be open to the answer to your own.

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This page contains excerpts from my original contributions to an online Tarot discussion. The Comparative Tarot list is made possible by Valerie Sim and Yahoo! groups.
Ace of Cups IMHO page created May 21, 2005.
http://www.moonchild.ch/Tarot/minors/cups/c01/c01imho.html