TITLE OF CARD IN RW DECK: Four of Cups ALTERNATE NAMES: Luxury, Discontent RW DESCRIPTION: A young man sits on a rise of land under a tree. His arms and legs are crossed. On the ground before him are three cups, and a disembodied hand floats before him, offering him the fourth cup. FIRST THING THAT STRUCK ME: What a brat. SYMBOLISM: His posture shows how wrapped up in himself he is. UPRIGHT MEANINGS: Weariness, disgust, aversion, imaginary vexations, as if the wine of this world had caused satiety only; another wine, as if a fairy gift, is now offered the wastrel, but he sees no consolation therein. This is also a card of blended pleasure.--A.E. Waite Apathy, idling, absence of effort, lack of committment, passive acceptance, lack of motivation or desire, nothing matters, losing interest, unstimulating environment, saturation, sameness, boredom, laziness, lethargy, complacency, if no one else cares why should you, loss of hope, decaying joy, unhappiness, depression, stagnation of the spirit, a spiritual wasteland. Refusal, disdain, rejection, hesitancy, ambivalence toward what is offered, ignoring given advice and opportunities, inability to recognize kindness from others. Failing to notice your blessings, overlooking the value of what one has already achieved, blindness to one's potential. Discontent, dissatisfaction, fading ambition or passion, pleasures pale, reward no longer worth the effort, stale lifestyle, stationary period in life, comforable in current position yet yearning for more out of life. Moodiness, brooding, sulking, overblown sense of problems, envy, jealousy, nagging doubts, suspicion of a loved one, estrangement, bitter experience, disconnecting from emotions because of past hurts, repressed emotions, numbing feelings with alcohol or drugs, need to establish emotional maturity. Withdrawal, retreating to consider an issue, contemplation, reflection, re-evaluation, looking inward, introversion, self-absorption, holding back love, wallflower. Resisting temptation, abstinence, asceticism. ALSO: An unexpected offer out of the blue. Physical incapacity or handicap. Mental, emotional or physical illness. Seasonal Affective Disorder (winter blues). Contrarieties. REVERSED MEANINGS: Novelty, presage, new instruction, new relations.--A.E. Waite New acquaintances/friendships, new knowledge, new possibilities, new goals and ambitions, new lease on life, new faith and hope, new ideas, new approaches to old problems, new things are offered. Need for excitement in one's life, renewed effort after a fallow period, movement toward improvements, reclaiming lost opportunities, awakening to the world and its possibiliites, enthusiasm, anticipation. Acceptance, insight, patience, cleared cobwebs, gloominess lifts, self-improvement, emotional freedom, a return to trust, renewed appreciation of family and friends, recovery from an addiction or illness. ALSO: Presentiment, premonitions. Lost in over-indulgence

BIBLICAL: John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. <John 3:27>

So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made [it] to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, [It is] better for me to die than to live.
And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, [even] unto death. <Jonah 4:5-9>

But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
Yea, they made their hearts [as] an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets.... <Zechariah 7:11-12>

If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of] heavenly things? <John 3:12>

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. <Matthew 11:18>

MYTHOLOGICAL: It escapes me.
HISTORICAL: Siddhartha retreating to sit under a tree. But which tree?

ANIMAL/INSECT: turtle, snail, ostrich
HERBS/PLANTS/FLOWERS/TREES: ???
LANDSCAPE/LOCATION: open countryside
TIME/SEASON: "The Summer of Our Discontent"

MUSIC: Although I'm not familiar with their music, I imagine The Cure might fit here. Also, "Like the Weather" by Natalie Merchant/10,000 Maniacs. The Smiths/Morrissey.
FILM/BOOK: ???
PUBLIC PEOPLE OR EVENTS: Reminds me of people's dissatisfaction with the government.
OCCUPATIONS/HOBBIES: wine tasting? (time to cleanse the palate)
QUOTES FROM OTHER SOURCES: "You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take." <Wayne Gretzky>
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." <AldousHuxley>

THIS CARD IN MY LIFE: Vegging on computer solitaire, letting my mind drift, unfocused on projects old and new. Leaving things half finished after the initial creative burst has worn off. An hour-long hot bath at night, when no one else is around to disturb me. As much as I love my family, there are times I can do without.

COMPARISONS TO OTHER CARDS: This card shares similarities with the Four of Swords, as far as inactivity and regrouping. But the Four of Swords is more of a physical/mental rest, whereas the Four of Cups is more of an emotional/mental rest.

COMPARISONS TO OTHER DECKS:

ANCESTRAL PATH TAROT Four of Cups
by Julie Cuccia-Watts

Arthur sits with his back against the wall, wrists resting on his drawn-up knees. His facial expression looks contemplative, moody, distraught. Four bronze Cups all have different shapes; three line the bottom, and one large one floats in the foreground. The large Cup is nearly a quarter of the entire image, seems to glow within, and the stones around the brim match the stones in Arthur's necklace.
Of all things, this card reminds me of a visit to a perfume shop on the Champs Elysee in Paris. As wonderful as it may be, there's a limit to what you can take, and you have to stop and "normalize" again. So after smelling a few perfumes, we would have to step out and stand around outside the shop for a few minutes. We had to do this a few times before we found our "Holy Grail" and made our purchase.
This card symbolizes a cessation of outward activity, a time out from both pleasures and pressures of life. Laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, without even a book or TV to take one's mind off itself. As Natalie Merchant sang, "four poster dull torpor." On the negative side, it's an apathetic, do-nothing, "wasted" time (for shame!). But it is a valuable break from the outer world, a time to just drift, contemplate rather than participate. My father used to denigrate it as "contemplating your navel." Like Rain Man (I think?), we get "full up" and need time every day to let our mind and soul sift it through, re-center you might call it, retract back to oneself, shut down, normalize. I'll bet Rima has the right word.
So that's what I see in this card: being full up, unable to accomodate more input, settling down and sinking in.

HALLOWEEN TAROT Four of Ghosts
by Kipling West

This person is just *not* in a holiday mood! S/he sits on a hill under an almost-bare tree, wrapped up in clothes, in posture, in self. Four ghosts try to get her to join the fun of Halloween, cookies, and a hot drink (flaming even). But, nah. She's just doesn't want to participate. It could be that she's thinking about something that hurt her, and she's not in the mood for fun. It could be that she's mad about something that others see as trivial. Didn't get her way, or was made the butt of a joke, and now she's in a huff. It could be that she's an outsider, doesn't feel like part of the group. She is the only one living, after all! Or sometimes the party just grows old, and you'd rather go sit at home. (Especially when everyone's drunk but you.) 

voice	do not disturb	vision
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Four of Cups imho created: August 2005; last modified: never.
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