Nine of Cups - Let the Good Times Roll!

9 of Cups from RWSC by US Games©

My single card draw for today yielded none other than the 9 of cups, or as we call it in tarot reading, "the wish card."  In Rider Waite, the 9 is depicted by a rotund gentleman - I think of him as a merchant prince - seated on a bench in front of a table holding 9 goblets.  It's any one's guess what's in the goblets, but the self-satisfied expression on the merchant's face sure says wine to me.  Also, the suit of cups has a spiritual aspect and wine is the breakfast of champions, spiritually speaking.

The 9 denotes fulfillment, satisfaction, obtaining goals and being contented.  Dreams coming true.  That's only the surface message.  As with all tarot cards, there is layer upon layer of subtext from which we can detect the card's particular significance in our own lives.

Looking beyond the keywords for the 9, we ask ourselves, what is it that people always tell us about wishes?  Be careful what you wish for.  If you for working to manifest your dreams, be certain about on what and where you focus.  Scientific principle dictates that for each action there is an opposite and equal reaction.  Does that mean if we act for our own good we will eventually accomplish something that is bad for us?  Not at all.  What it means is there is effort and reward.  And there is a consequence.

Millions of individuals act each day without thought to consequence.  The most dramatic acts make the nightly news.  Nevertheless consequences happen even when we're engaged in consciously working on our own behalf.  We want a new job.  We set our intention, we move forward by acting on that intention and we're hired for a new job with more money and benefits than we expected, however, we have to relocate across the country.  Maybe not such a bad deal, but still a consequence.  Have a clear idea in your mind what consequences are acceptable to you and what are not as you set your goals.

And what's with 9's smugness?  Is he showing off all his cups

9 of Cups from Lo Scarebo's
"Tarot of the Pagan Cats"©

basically to say, "I have all, you have none?"  Joan Bunning, in her book, "Learning the Tarot," likens 9's smugness to the proverbial cat swallowing a canary.  Bunning cautions that sooner or later people notice all the feathers around the mouth and the peculiar lack of canaries in the area too, I'd wager.  Nobody likes a gloater.

There's no harm in being pleased with the results of your hard work.  However, there is harm in gloating that you were smart, quicker, more ambitious, etc., than everybody else and therefore the prize is yours.  Gloating is for the insecure, who don't see themselves attaining a goal simply because they choose to attain it.  A goal isn't a race, or a bet.  It's a commitment to and an extension of your centered self.

The 9 of cups offers us the assurance of our dreams as fact.  How we take that assurance is determined by who we are.  By making conscious decisions, weighing their consequences and finding the risks acceptable, we can make room for ourselves at 9's table.  Go ahead, take a drink.  He's got plenty.


Lady Oracle