The Ace of Cups
From the Witches Tarot – Ellen Dugan
Detoxification

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood

We are each a vessel of Spirit.  Our physical bodies, made of water, earth, fire, and air, are the living containers that Spirit inhabits, allowing us to enjoy not only a physical experience but to also provide a way for Spirit to expand through us. We use our minds, our hands, our voices, gifts, and talents so Spirit can experience the physical world and do work through us. When we are tuned in and “in the flow” with Spirit we are like the picture above: a shining cup filled and overflowing with the grace and love of the Universe. 

There is a cosmic filtration system set up. While we are in these bodies we are constantly learning. The Cups of the Tarot are about water and emotions. The planet and our bodies are about 70% (or more) water so the Cups represent a huge part of how we process life. Ideally, we experience and incorporate the lessons and gifts, releasing that which does not support us. We keep the flow going. The lake under the Cup is filled with water lilies blooming on the surface. The unseen roots of these plants grow and are fed from all the cast off dregs washing out of that cup. It is a scummy, putrid mass if you scoop it out from the bottom but to the plant it is an anchor, food, and the growth opportunity it needs.  In this recycling process everyone wins. 

However, all is not always well. Our emotional bodies get very clogged with the detritus of life. We experience more than we can continually process: fear, rejection, toxic relationships, loss, broken hearts, shattered self-esteem – the list goes on and on. We find ourselves holding on and when we hold on, the natural order of the Universe  - that of give and receive – is stopped. We begin to drown in our own emotional murkiness. 

The Ace of Cups is generally associated with things like a blissful new love affair, an overflowing of joy and spiritual love, and all things happy.  But when our cup is clogged with all that muck there is no room to receive. We have to release and give away – we need to detox.  If you were offered a drink of the most delicious nectar on earth and all you had to drink from was an old rusty cup or a glass caked with yesterday’s milk or coffee you could not receive and enjoy that nectar. But if you washed the cup first…

Try to stop the toxic intake. Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Implore Spirit to help you. Be willing to change and forgive even if you think you cannot do it. Even if the crime against you was truly heinous, be willing to let it go. Start giving yourself some emotionally beautiful moments.  Focus on what makes you happy, what gives you joy. Embrace your life – all of it. It is OK and normal that you experienced failures, that people let you down, that things did not turn out how you hoped or expected. Recognize and honor of the gunk you are holding within you. As it begins to filter out of you trust that, like those water lilies, it becomes the base for new growth, to be an anchor for the present and future you. 

This is a grand alchemy and nothing less. You will feel the new reaching out, rising up from the mucky layers. As you grow and reach out to the light above, the transformation continues; the buds of new life will form and, like those lilies, you will bloom and grace yourself and the world with beauty. There will be room again in the vessel to let Spirit and life experiences flow through you; the cosmic order of give and take will be restored and you will be once again filled with love, grace, beauty, joy and all things beautiful.

We cannot change what happened but we can choose how to respond. We are talking about emotions here – not the mind, not the will power, not the muscles and joints of our physical bodies. Emotions, like water, have to trickle and find an opening, flow through that opening and clean and clear along the way. It is a journey.  The Grand Canyon took eons of time as water simply sought its way through and carved beauty out of layers of rock hard resistance.  

The Ace of Cups is being offered to you.  Drink up.

…Kathryn Ravenwood 10-5-16