The Four of Cups - Luxury of a Time Out

THE FOUR OF CUPS

From The Black Cats Tarot, by Maria Kurora

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood

I haven’t been able to get it together lately. I have a list of projects waiting for me that are both interesting, important to me, and time sensitive. The status of them is unchanged and they are still waiting for me. I have not been sleeping well. I get up in the morning and am determined that I WILL “get something accomplished” today and go off to Yoga and work and put in my usual long day. By the time I get home I am not so much tired as I just can’t seem to shift gears and get to the rest of my life, such as writing, cleaning, cooking, email… I find I just want to go to bed early – but 7:30 pm? Really now, that is a bit much. I go over my “would-a, should-a, could-a” litany in my mind and still don’t get started on anything. 

So what is up with me? I am in a Four of Cups mode. Like the cat in the tarot card I have plenty in front of me, with more coming, all of it good, but I just lay on the couch, inactive, even inattentive. I watch old TV shows, take a nap and then go to bed. I have no passion, no drive, and lots of blah. I am not bored; I am unengaged. I told myself, “you can’t be ON all the time,” but I really didn’t believe it. I don’t feel like that is OK, but I don’t feel like anything else, either.  Sigh. 

The Four of Cups is an emotional time out. Sometimes we need to let the muddied waters of our emotions have a chance to swirl and clear, even if we are not aware of stress or issues. Our emotions can run deep or be flooding over the surface of our lives. I have done a lot of purging lately of habits and items, cleaning out my spiritual and physical houses. It is no wonder some part of me is saying, “enough already. Take a nap.”

The fours in Tarot all relate to structure yet the Four of Cups, being emotions, is sometimes referred to as “luxury.” If we permit ourselves the luxury of waiting, to allow alignment to find its way to us through the murky waters of our emotions, we are able to renew and regroup. Emotional structure is pretty loosey-goosey – like water, it tends to slosh around as it searches for new balance, for a new place to pool up in containment, to settle in, and be reflective and accessible again.

In the Black Cat Tarot, we see the luxurious lay out of a feast before the cat who languishes on her couch, not partaking of what is in front of her, and probably overwhelmed by her three friends coming forward with yet more to offer. And here lies the warning of this card: while it is good to rest and regroup, we must not slip into debauchery or self-indulgence. We might find it tempting to overeat, have too many glasses of wine, or spend time in maudlin reminiscences, letting luxury overstay her welcome. When Spirit offers us our Four of Cups times, it is prudent of us to use the time wisely and graciously. 

This too shall pass.

…Kathryn Ravenwood  11.13.15