Tarot Pull: The Seven of Cups

Here we are! We finally made it to the “weekly” tarot inspiration pulls I’ve been saying I’d start cranking out months ago when I first decided to start writing about tarot and creative inspiration. Turns out that whole “weekly” thing may end up being a ‘weekly-ish” event, but we’ll see how things go. 

For now, let’s jump into this week’s random card:

The Seven of Cups

This particular card ‘jumped’ out of the Wild Unknown deck as I was pulling cards this morning, deciding on its own that it would like to be the inaugural weekly random pull for our blog…which immediately caught my eye because I’m not a huge fan of this card. 

Firstly, there’s nothing inherently bad about any singular tarot card. Forget about all the times a mysterious and often humorously overdone fortune teller pulls a “Death” or “Devil” card to ensure you, the viewer, know our poor protagonist is really in for it. Just as we all have light and shadow, and just as the elements themselves have no inherently good or bad qualities, Tarot cards are all about what you do with the information you take from looking at the card yourself. They are interpreted in the context of what you’re going through at any time, and what you see represented in that message. You’ll hear me say a billion times, even if you think the whole tarot thing is a bit woo-woo and there’s nothing cosmically special about them, they can help you look at a situation from a different perspective because, no matter who you are, you’re going to see something in what you randomly pull. 

And what I see in the Seven of Cups is usually unnerving to me because, at its core, the Seven of Cups is all about mystery and the unknown. As beautiful as the Seven of Cups is from the Wild Unknown deck, the card in its upright position still has the connotation of illusion and deception. No matter how many times I pull the card, I always confuse the upright and the reverse position. Compare the two positions, and I’m willing to bet that, were it not for the numbers at the top, you wouldn’t be so sure how to orient the card…and that’s the point. The card is asking you to evaluate what is real and what is not; what is reality and what is an illusion? 

Think the Wild Unknown depiction of the Seven of Cups isn’t all that impressive? Take a look at the card in the Ethereal Visions deck. This version of the Seven of Cups is a bit closer to the imagery utilized in the iconic Rider-Waite-Smith deck many individuals are most familiar with. When you look at the card, you’re not exactly sure what’s going on…or, if you do, please contact me immediately so I can go to the same kinds of parties you attend.

With the Ethereal Visions version of the Seven of Cups, the concept of illusion, fantasy, manipulation and potential danger are quite obvious. From the wispy castle nestled in the clouds beyond to the bizarre and fantastical reptilian snaking its way through the scenery, nothing is quite grounded in reality. What can you trust when you’re lost inside a dream? 

So, what the hell does this have to do with inspiration and creativity, you ask? That will always be (mostly) up to you, and what you take from the images, numbering and symbology in the card. 

For me (today, at least), it’s a card that asks me to evaluate what I’m not seeing— what has me distracted? What seems insurmountable but perhaps is not? What is potentially out of alignment in my life? Where are my priorities? This is something I wrestle with quite often when it comes to juggling motherhood with a day job with my creativity. So often, I find myself putting creativity last or “binging” it when I have alone time…meaning I place an intense amount of pressure onto myself to be creative and productive in the moments I have when I’m alone. That is a recipe for not only burnout, but stagnation and even resentment. It’s not pretty, and even though I know this, I’m still trying to figure out how to decipher what path to take in navigating through problems that may or may not exist, and sorting through my own internal illusions. 

In instances where I’ve pulled this card during character development, plot tightening or a simple “focus” for the writing day, it’s always encouraged me to look for the misalignment and deception in the plotline. Are the characters fooling themselves or others? Is the story wandering into a dream-like state where nothing is real anymore? 

As always, please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or Instagram and tell me your thoughts or share any stories you have of using tarot to inspire your art! Until then, have fun and look for inspiration in every nook and cranny of the world around you.