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Notes on the 7 of Cups
2/15/08
In the Minor Arcana of the Mary-el tarot I have endeavored to
illustrate the symbology laid out by the Major Arcana further
broken
down into the 4 elements of Fire, Water, Air and Earth. The
sevens
thus would be likened to the card VII The Chariot and XVI The
Tower.
In the Mary-el tarot the Chariot is drawn by wolves and so it
was
natural to feature wolves in the 7 of Wands and 7 of Cups.
Wolves are
a spiritual brother to humankind with a complex community,
behaviors
and instincts.
Inspired by Plato's allegory of the Chariot in the dialog
Phaedrus
the wolves' personality began to take shape.
" The right-hand horse is upright and cleanly made; he
has a lofty neck and an aquiline nose; his colour is white, and
his
eyes dark; he is a lover of honour and modesty and temperance,
and
the follower of true glory; he needs no touch of the whip, but
is
guided by word and admonition only. The other is a crooked
lumbering
animal, put together anyhow; he has a short thick neck; he is
flat-
faced and of a dark colour, with grey eyes and blood-red
complexion;
the mate of insolence and pride, shag-eared and deaf, hardly
yielding
to whip and spur."
During the painting of these two cards I have been lucky enough
to
have real life representations of the black and white wolves, in
the
form of domestic dogs, come into my life so I could observe
these
concepts externally and physically. I believe the lessons from
every
persons white wolf and black wolf, the problems and solutions
they
bring and how to finally achieve balance and thus mastery of the
Chariot, will be as individual as they themselves are; so I
won't bog
you down with what I have learned over the past few months!
(And it
isn't over, I still have the 7 of Swords and the 7 of Disks to
go and
the Tower energy (1+6 = 7) is already rearing its head!)
Some additional comments on the 7 of Cups: The 7 of Cups shows
a
black wolf leaping in mid-air. Behind him is a large 7 rooted
tree.
The 3rd and 4th roots are intertwined as 3 and 4, the Empress
and
Emperor, make 7. The only real color in the painting is in the
eyes
of the wolf, one of which is blue and one of which is green,
also
reflecting the Emperor and Empress. The top of the tree,
Yggdrasil
to me, appears to be one trunk but is really made up of many
smaller
branches all going in the same general direction which I think
is
similar to how we are all progressing in our lives, we and all
of the
manifest universe, in a state of creation.
The wolf is coming from the place where trunk and roots meet.
The
card immediately before this one, the 6 of Cups, shows an angel
rising up through the deep, cold, black waters and just breaking
the
surface. I think that this wolf is the same now above the water
and
now physically manifest and rushing forth with a full cup of
passion
and libido.
(If you wonder why I don't sound more certain it is because
while I
have my theories I feel that I am only the recorder not the
architect.)
Below the large image of the 7 of Cups you will
find several smaller versions of it where I have marked some
symbols. I noticed these shapes as I painted the 7 of Cups -
they
were unintentional.
The first shows the outline of a crescent moon over two columns
which
is exactly like a glyph I often use for the High Priestess. The
legs
of the wolf correlate to the white and black columns, Jachin and
Boaz, from the High Priestess. I thought it was very
interesting to
note that they are both attached to the same animal and only
appear
to be white and black in respect to their place in the arc of
movement thus they are the same only affected by perception.
The next image shows how nicely a 7 pointed star fits into the
shapes
of the head of the wolf.
I can't wait to see how this card presents itself in real
readings!!!!
I hope you enjoy looking at it!
Marie
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