Two of Cups      Alternate name: Lord of Love (under Will)

BASIC DESCRIPTION: A young woman and man stand arm's length apart, each holding a golden cup. The woman holds hers in her right hand, and the man holds his in his left. It's difficult to say what they're doing with their other hands--perhaps touching. The woman wears a wreath of leaves, and the man wears a wreath of roses(?). Above them is a winged lion and a cadaceus. They appear to be standing on a stage, and the background or backdrop shows low green hills and a distant farmhouse. FIRST THING THAT STRUCK ME: It always seemed to me that he was reaching out to take her cup, or handing it to her. Upon closer inspection, I think he's holding her hand behind the cup.
UPRIGHT MEANINGS: Love, passion, friendship, affinity, union, concord, sympathy, the interrelation of the sexes, and--as a suggestion apart from all offices of divination--that desire which is not in Nature, but by which Nature is sanctified.--A.E. Waite Uniting in engagement, marriage, friendship, partnership. Passionate attraction, seduction, falling in love, reciprocal affection, mututal admiration and trust, beginning or renewing a relationship (love or friendship), developing or strengthening an emotional bond, a spiritual union. Bonds of affinity, sympathy, understanding, and empathy. Connection, togetherness, harmony, concord, cooperation, reciprocity, sharing, give and take, helping and being helped. Bringing opposites together, reunion or reconciliation, forgiving and forgetting, truce, peace. Agreement, meeting of the minds, joint ventures, prenuptial agreements, contracts. ALSO: Contagion (i.e. sharing germs). A toast. The beloved mirrors the lover. Public Displays of Affection. REVERSED MEANINGS: False, unsatisfactory or one-sided love or friendship, troubled relationship, separation, divorce, loss of one's partner. Discord, disunion, disharmony, crossed desires, opposition, jealousy, vindictive behavior, harmful gossip, misunderstanding. Conflicting emotions, emotinal stinginess, holding back from a relationship, isolation, bitterness. Loss of balance, instability, broken contracts, no agreement can be reached. ALSO: Star-crossed love. Passion that is too violent. BIBLICAL: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.--Genesis 2:24 HISTORICAL: Elizabeth and Mary meet, and their future sons jump for joy. (See image, right.>) MYTHOLOGICAL: Tristan and Isoldt, sharing a drink. Also, in any fairy tale, the part just *before* "they lived happily ever after." ANIMAL; INSECT: lion, snake; lovebugs FLOWERS: orange blossoms TIME/SEASON: June CRYSTALS: rose quartz MUSIC: Love songs in general. FILM/BOOK: Romeo and Juliet, and many many others. PUBLIC EVENTS: diplomatic bonds (Sadat and Begin shaking hands); royal weddings OCCUPATIONS: clergy, marriage counselor, diplomat QUOTES FROM OTHER SOURCES: "One Love, but we've got to share it." <U2> "You never know when you're making a memory. They will wish they was there together again ... someday." <Rickie Lee Jones> PEOPLE OR SITUATIONS IN MY LIFE: My marriage; my friendships with Nanette and with Patty. FAVORITE REPRESENTATION: Halloween Tarot Two of Ghosts. The fact that they are ghosts rather than people expands the meaning for me.	Elizabeth and Mary, womb to womb.
COMPARISONS TO OTHER DECKS: ANCESTRAL PATH Two of Cups by Julie Cuccia-Watts Arthur and Gwenhwyfar at close range, staring enraptured into each others' eyes. I think that, out of all the decks and cards I have, this one has the most narrow and specific meaning. Passionate attraction. I want to say it's love, and it *is*; but it's a very specific love--one that blocks out everything else, and leads to Public Displays of Affection (a term some may remember from their high school days). I miss that. As children are born, and blond turns to gray, love widens. But here you are just lost in your lover's eyes. Breathing, preparing for contact. As a mother, I also notice that Gwenhwyfar will probably spill her drink. Yes, passionate attraction, done to distraction. Fools for love, at the heights. HALLOWEEN TAROT Two of Ghosts by Kipling West Against a black, star-filled background, two greenish ghosts dance or embrace. They are looking at each other and smiling. Below them is a purple, two-headed, smiling snake(s?). Above, the black cat--now with wings--takes a flying leap. The phrase that comes to me when looking at this card is "kindred spirits." This covers a wide range of meanings, from meeting of the minds to affinity of the souls. The ghosts look so similar that it's obvious they are "of a kind," and so there's a prominence of the idea of finding someone or something of your own kind. OTOH, their genders are unknown and maybe unknowable (irrelevant); although the one on the right looks more "female" to me. The winged cat looks Cupidish to me, but the book says it "reflects the traditional 'lion of carnal desires.'" Either way, it's attraction. The double-ended snake reminds me of Dr. Doolittle's Push-me-pull-you, showing the give and take required when love or attraction makes two into one. (Or even the physical push and pull, but nevermind.) The snake can also represent a joining of knowledge (of good and evil?). "Their eyes were opened, and they saw that they were naked." It doesn't have to be carnal though. I can relate this card to two close friendships that I have--members of my extended family--both female bartenders. I can talk to them about anything, and they're always ready with a cold one. The other thing the snake reminds me of is eternity. It's as if the spirits, or Spirit of the spirits, stretch both ways through time. One thing for sure--they are happy to have found each other.

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Images courtesy of artist Luise Kimme, with sincere appreciaiton. Top left: cedar mermaids; middle right: Elizabeth and Mary.
This page contains excerpts from my original contributions to an online Tarot discussion. The Comparative Tarot list is made possible by Valerie Sim and Yahoo! groups.
Two of Cups IMHO page created June 11, 2005.
http://www.moonchild.ch/Tarot/minors/cups/c02/c02imho.html