Six of Cups
„the cycles of life“/ „a golden but elapsed era”
symbols: memory, recurring challenges, and the change of tides
expression: Tiphareth through Briah
element: water
This card describes the relationship between old and young, past and future and the transition of looking back and forward. It can be an especially positive card and one of the few of the deck, which has a conciliable view on time. The „old“ is looking back into its own past while watching the „new“ rebuilding and playing with the aspects of the future. The Future is usually another cycle of a recurring past. This card can give an idea of the possibility of overseeing a period, with a new, aged and experienced view.
The „old“ is depicted as an elder entity, who is able to enjoy the fruits of its work, which has been completed. In the background the symbol of the fractured tower emerges. It refers to a past structure or system, accompanied by a black stone and a closed eye on top.
In the front, a child is playing in a sandbox. The sandbox itself is at the top of a topless pyramid. Inside the sandbox, the child is building yet another topless pyramid. This recurrence refers to the endless cycles within cycles and the constant building of the same structures and ideas. We can notice that while „the old“ was already able to build a firm, yet decaying structure (the tower) the child regards its pyramid of sand as already equivalent. In the corners of the sandpit are four cups, which restrict the playground and therefore the child’s actions. The geometric structure of this cube is a symbol for the physical world and its limitations.
While the smaller suns emerge from the four cups, enlightening and nurturing the playground, the elder entity in the background enjoys the sun like wine. Its cup is filled with this energetic symbol of a sun, which still produces energy, from which the entity can nurture itself. A representation for the physical end of matter – black holes, the closing of cycles and also the development from restriction BY, to usage and consumption OF energy.
The playing child has all the tools it needs to build up his sandcastle or hierarchy. The serpent, the eye and the cup are just some of the main alchemical symbols and refer to the merging of universal components.
We may pay attention to the different points of view. While, for the old the whole scenery is „just watching a game and a play“, for the child its new creation is very serious. It would even refer to it as its „great opus“.
On this card, the old person approves the play without intervention, since it knows that during playing, there are no mistakes to be made, but only lessons to be learned.
The old shows its face, even if it seems scary to the ignorant, because we always believe to know what the old represents. It cannot be changed any more and therefore has a fixed position – we already had time to process and investigate the past while the future is unknown and uncertain. That is one of the many reasons why the child is wearing a veil. It cannot see clearly through his curtain, even if it is not aware, that is the case. It happens quickly, that the young judge the past and forget about the imminent problems of the present or future. The major Arcana card of „The Aeon“ also refers to that dilemma. However, the past remains a topic which is subjective to the point of view. It can hide behind the wheel of time and only show its face to those who are willing to learn from it, which is the challenge of this card.
