Those who enjoy canoeing, kayaking and other river sports know
that there are certain areas of the river where the water flows in a
dangerous circular motion. Instead of moving forward, it turns back
in on itself. Such a spot can be almost impossible to escape from
once you get caught in it. In the same way, it is possible to get
stuck in emotional hydraulics. If we continually turn our thoughts
and feelings back onto ourselves, rather than allowing them to flow
out freely, we create a cycle in which we can drown. The 4 of Cups
represents such periods of self-absorption.--Joan Bunning
The unbounded joy of the first three Ghost cards sours with the
number four. As the four well-meaning ghosts hover comfortingly
around the young woman with hot apple cider and Halloween cookies,
she remains detached, unmoved, perhaps a bit defensive. Is she
disdainful or just oblivious?
She is too wrapped up in her imagined problems (and too insulated
in her warm fall clothes) to accept their gifts, perhaps even to
notice them. The card hints that her brooding is excessive and
unwarranted. In her clouded self-absorption and thoughts of what
could be, she can't appreciate what's right in front of her nose. She
can't see the cookies for the cobwebs!--Karin Lee
Arthur yields to spiritual malaise. He becomes the wounded Grail
King, incapable of self-healing. He has rebuffed the healing efforts
of Morgana, Gwenhwyfar and Lancelot. Sunk in self-pity and despair,
he denies the reality of the cups in front of him, representing the
foundation of his temporal kingdom. He also fails to see the vision
of the Grail in front of him. He has abandoned the quest; the Grail
refuses to abandon him.--Tracey Hoover
Prosperity and leisure are the gifts of the youth's life. Everything
is offered to him. A needy person might pay more attention to the
cups, but perhaps this young man is weary of an unchallenging life in
which all his needs are met by others. The horse offers adventure
through travel; the lotuses reflect the voyage inward. The youth
remains unaware, lost in his ennui.
The four of cups indicates an opportunity of which one has not the
energy to be aware, or privileges that are taken for granted rather
than appreciated. It can warn of the danger of
over-planning--spending too much time thinking while the opportunity
to act passes. A spoiled and jaded young person may enter the
scene.--Jean Huets
The passiveness of the Cups can sometimes lead to apathy. What we can
call the 'negative imagination' makes us look at everything as
worthless or boring. There seems to be nothing worth getting up for,
nothing worth doing, and nothing worth examining.
The three cups symbolize the person's past experience. Bored by
what life has given him he does not recognize the new opportunities
being offered to him by the fourth cup. The resemblance of that cup
to the Ace suggests that the new possibilities can lead to happiness
and satisfaction. In the main, however, the card shows a situation
when everything in life has come to appear the same. The card
sometimes shows apathy resulting from a dull, unstimulating
environment.--Rachel Pollack
We must always be aware of the full value of what we already have
before asking for more. We may, if we are not careful, lose it
all.--Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki
For sources, see the
Bibliography and Credits
page.
http://www.moonchild.ch/Tarot/minors/cups/c04/c04voice.html
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