Ten of Cups: A Rainbow, A Vision
An arch of colour in the distance sky. An ungraspable vision of vibrancy and dream-making. Dorothy crossed over it and forever enchanted us with her song. It is a symbol of joy, of queer equality, and yet it is also something that we are said to chase when we are unrealistic about our goals.
In the Waite-Smith Tarot’s Ten of Cups (and those many decks inspired by it), a happy group of people – two adults and two children – celebrate beneath a rainbow that contains ten cups. It is the last card in the pip sequence, a complete number ten. Nearby, the river flows and a pretty cottage sits upon a hill. Is this their happy home? Have they finally found joy? It seems to be a world so perfect that it could only be a dream.
Above: Ten of Cups from the Marseille-Waite Tarot, a gorgeous deck blending the Marseille’s Major Arcana with the Waite-Smith’s Minor Arcana.
We can overcomplicate the Tarot, can’t we? Sure, in a reading, the appearance of the rainbow can act as a metaphor for a happy human life, expressed through this natural symbol. However, we might overlook the idea that the humans in the card are joyful because of the rainbow, because of the blue sky and the beautiful landscape. Perhaps that is our problem as humans; Nature is, mostly, something that we use, either as a resource or – in the case of the Tarot – a metaphor. Our humanness remains at the core of the experience. We forget that we are not the centre of the universe, and that when we open ourselves up to the Earth, nature will often beam joy directly into our lives. (I don’t need to be psychic to know that you probably smile more when the sun shines.)
Rainbows: these gorgeous ghosts that appear to us when sunlight meets falling water. What kind of cynic doesn’t get excited by rainbows? Who doesn’t point them out to others, even those of us who live in places where they are common?
There is something so impossible about rainbows, these collective hallucinations, but perhaps they seem so uncanny because we are so lost in our internal lives every day that we overlook the endless beauty all around us. That includes the weeds in the pavement. When a rainbow appears, it is too huge to miss. It grabs our attention and, for a moment, we don’t quite believe that such gorgeousness can appear and disappear, so fast and fleeting. For a short while, we might stop everything and marvel at the phenomena of colour itself, at the mysteries of the sky and the elements and the complex phenomena of the universe. Everything else melts away as we realise the miracle of just this.
We might feel that rainbows are not objectively real. Why? Is it because we can’t reach them, or touch them? Does that make them somehow false? Are they not real to the eye, these potions of sunlight and water? They show us what nature is capable of when she blends her elements like a master witch. Rainbows are real: we just can’t touch them, because we can’t grab everything that we want. I can’t grasp a beautiful scent or the stars either, but I can let go of my desire to put everything into my pocket and enjoy the moment. Chasing rainbows might be foolish, but stopping and absorbing them for a while is a precious gift that we can offer to ourselves whenever they appear.
Notice the way that one colour blends into another. Where does it seem to start and end? How do you feel in your body when you look up there? Just breathe in, breathe out, and watch. Absorb it. Nature is putting on a grand performance, and who are we to ignore it?
Yes, I realise that this is Tarot. This is symbolism, we might say. We want to make it all about us. But what does the rainbow mean about my life when I see this card? What great thing has happened to those people for the metaphor of a rainbow to be featured with the cups? Well, sometimes, it means that there is a rainbow. Simple as that. There is a rainbow, and your universe is beautiful. Take a look, and feel it. Let’s stop making everything so human-centred for a moment. Look up there, before it disappears! Tarot can be remarkably literal when it wants to be, and sometimes, that is when its message is at its most meaningful.
That’s all for now, friends. Thank you for being here – and please check out my Therapeutic Tarot Sessions and my courses embracing Tarot and Nature if you’d like us to work together. You can also sign up for the Tarot Blog newsletter (different to my main newsletter) below to receive occasional email updates (roughly monthly) with the latest posts.
Smiles from Scotland,
Stephen
