Ace of Cups

Water in Kether ~ Potential of Love ~ Oneness

Metaphysics. The potential of love exists even before there is a perception of the other. There is a love that is not dependent on duality. It is the love of the engulfing joy of being itself. It is the vision of Brahman that is the culmination of bhakti yoga, the path of devotion.

The universe is not just the activity of spirit, the striving for growth and change. It is also the passivity of spirit, knowing the universe as primal womb. The wells of comfort and surrender are deep, and at the bottom creation and Creator are united in an eternal embrace.

Is God Love? The ace of cups says so. The universe is a vast sea of swirling energies and potentialities, kept afloat and alive by a boundless supporting and caring spirit, so that the whole embraces all the parts and the parts seek to adore and unite with the whole. Although we cannot directly experience the communion of the whole with all its parts, we can acknowledge and embrace the yearning for that communion that permeates us and supports us when the world seems hostile and indifferent. As bewildering as life can be, the ace of cups brings the unmistakable message that we all belong.

Psychology. This is a card of unexpected grace, a reminder of the perfect sense of belonging that we each glimpse from time to time. Water is the substance of emotions: fluid, cleansing, inundating. It is the primordial sea that nurtured the first living organisms long ago. Our feelings are colored by our thoughts, our ego, and our ongoing interaction with the world. Often emotions run to turmoil and anxiety. But behind them all lies the pure response to the naked fact of being, a response that is rich and self-contained, unaware of particulars and circumstances.

Events. Moments of complete surrender are rare or nonexistent for most of us. The ace of cups is a reminder that such moments are possible; one can release the ego and bathe in the eternal water of life, if only for an instant or two. The card may indicate an emotional rebirth waiting to happen, a rediscovery of bliss, the yearnings of the heart given a new opportunity for satisfaction. Perhaps it is the beginning of a new love or new source of happiness, the unnoticed opportunity for peace and pleasure amidst a chaotic, hectic world.

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Copyright © 1998 Tom Tadfor Little