Love Tarot for Beginners

by Jhone Daniels

  THE SUIT OF CUPS

  Image copyright J. Daniels with elements used with permission.

  THE ACE OF CUPS

  Now we are at home. We come now to the suit that deals directly and easily with romance, emotions, watery deep feelings, creativity and right brain creative activity. Poets and artists and designers, pay attention, as well as those of you who wish they were poets and artists and designers. The second part of that sentence is worth remembering when we get to the court cards!

  Here you will find that traditional definitions and the romantic definitions that are the focus of this book have a great deal of similarity, but let’s EXPAND on this a bit, and find richer meaning where we can!

  TRADITIONAL MEANING

  New love, the beginning of a creative adventure, hot new emotions. ROMANCE.

  ROMANTIC READING

  Ah. How nice. Lucky you. Just what you want, and it doesn’t matter where it lands. Again, aces are always the most concentrated form of the essence of their suit, so here is a big boost to the romance factor.

  Aces are new beginnings, so this card showing up in a reading means either that a new romance is on it’s way, has just arrived, or, in an established relationship, a new and romantic phase or experience is about to begin. A second honeymoon!

  This card is a super booster. It softens sad blows and gives the good cards more oomph. If the Lovers card, the Two of Cups, or the Nine of Cups show up with this, there is a “wish come true” factor to this combination, but be careful what you wish for. Want that guy or girl just so bad? Are you sure? It’s always best to pay more attention to whether or not you like them, rather than if they like you!

  Should Knights, Kings, Queens or the Emperor or Empress show up in a spread with this card, look carefully at the card, its attributes, its personality, because this is a big indicator of the specifics of the Person of Romantic Interest who might appear.

  Should the Three of Wands, Three of Pentacles, Four of Wands, the Ten of Pentacles, or the Hierophant show up with this card, there is a great chance of “Happily Ever After,” and possibly some life changing commitment that causes you both to thrive.

  POSSIBLE OUTCOME

  Oh wow…how exciting! The game is afoot! This is a real romance! A caveat: This is JUST the “stars-in-your-eyes, everything-they-do-is-perfect” beginning, lover, so keep your head on straight while you see if this has legs!

  TWO OF CUPS

  TRADTIONAL MEANING

  Falling in love. Transformative love. Profound exchange of affection, fidelity and passion. A superb partnership in business or play. Great working environment. INFATUATION.

  ROMANTIC READING

  Yay! This is the little sister to the Lovers card, with the absence of momentous choice between two loves or life upheavals that often come with the Lovers.

  What you have left are the pure and sweet aspects of new romance. Where the Two of Swords, as we will come to see, is all about withholding love and rejection of same, the Two of Cups is all generosity, all passion, all pet names and long stares and enough sex to have you walking funny.

  And yes, that is all marvelous and stupendous but let’s take a moment to be deeply grateful that this is a temporary insanity. Imagine if this initial infatuation never settled down into something a bit more real. NOTHING WOULD GET DONE, anywhere. People would starve, no work would be accomplished, everyone would be nuts. Naked and nuts.

  So thank goodness this settles down a bit. NOW, whether it does settle down into hot, low embers or just winks itself out in a flash like a burning piece of paper on the wind depends on the cards around it, and of course, the behavior of people in question. This is a card of emotional greed, so be careful. Don’t gobble each other up in one experience. Take your time.

  Cards that indicate a possible flash in the pan: Five of Wands (possible seduction for seduction’s sake), The Fool, The Magician, The Tower, The Devil, Seven or Swords (duplicity), Nine of Swords (infidelity) and the Seven of Cups (self delusion and fantasy).

  Cards that indicate a possibility of long term romance and slow burning fires: The Lovers, The Eight of Pentacles (commitment and slow growth), the Three of Pentacles (building something together, living together), Four of Wands (proposals), Hierophant (same!), The Sun (because SUN) and The Star.

  POSSIBLE OUTCOME

  The Two of Cups is in a perfect spot when reading for the outcome of a romance. It does not guarantee an “and they lived Happily Ever After” sort of outcome, because we Star Pirates are very grounded in even our romantic fantasy, yes? But this bodes VERY well indeed for you. New romance is coming, big time.

  THREE OF CUPS

  TRADITIONAL READING

  Celebration! Traditionally, a wedding. We are off to an accurate start.

  ROMANTIC READING

  The meaning of this card is unchanged in this aspect. This is a card of weddings, celebration, friendship, a feeling of being part of a group, being accepted and wanted by a group, and possible overindulgence in spending and food and drink.

  SO, what does this mean for you in a romance spread?

  Well, it could actually be very practical! You will be going to a wedding! Friends you really care for will be there. One of them might have a single and charming friend. Flirting could happen!

  Mostly though, it speaks of being emotionally well supported by people who love and care for you. In a romance spread it could also mean that your friends are the conduit through which you meet a Romantic Interest, so keep your eyes peeled in a, you know, super casual, totally self confident, no big deal sort of way.

  Because love ain’t everything, my fellow travelers, and your friends will be there long after a passing flirtation passes by.

  POSSIBLE OUTCOME

  Celebration is definitely on the menu. In fact, in the outcome position, this celebration might very well be your own. Take good care of your friends, and remember not to neglect them when you fall in love!

  FOUR OF CUPS

  TRADITIONAL MEANING

  Self-absorption and dissatisfaction with how things are going. A failure to notice what is good and in front of you.

  ROMANCE READING

  Well. Hm. Someone is behaving rather badly.

  Is it you, or is it the object of your romantic intentions? Where this card falls in your reading will more easily tell you which of you it is, but regardless: someone needs a shake up!

  Why? Well, the Four of Cups is a card that speaks of lack of perspective, lack of empathy, and nearly crippling self-absorption. Even worse, the core meaning of this card is an inability to see and appreciate what is right in front of you.

  In a traditional Four of Cups card, maybe like the one you have in front of you right now, you will see a rather petulant looking youth sitting under a tree, looking entirely morose. There are three full goblets in front of him, and even more telling, a fourth one being held in front of him by a disembodied, angelic hand, and he doesn’t even notice! What a weenie!

  Do you have someone wonderful in your life who has many, many great qualities but you are considering rejecting him/her over a very small attribute? Is your own star-shiny wonderfulness being ignored by that self absorbed person you are sure, just absolutely SURE, you can get to love you if only you’re just a bit more…perfect?

  If you are the rejecter (the weenie), carefully examine your own behavior. Maybe, sure, there is something profoundly and fundamentally wrong with this romance, and it’s time to go. But just maybe not.

  You just might be rejecting someone great because you have an idealized version of what you think your true love will be, and if anyone falls short of this ideal, you are outta there. It’s a great way to avoid actual intimacy, isn’t it? Effective.

  On the other side of this coin, you might just be dating a Jerkface. It’s true that sometimes, when life throws us for a loop, we don’t manifest our very best selves. People who are scared or worried or sad can be temporary Jerkfaces until they get it together. Sometimes thoug
h, your Romantic Hopeful gets stuck there and manifests as Jerkface 24/7. Take careful note!

  It’s not your job to fix this. Not your circus; not your monkeys.

  POSSIBLE OUTCOME

  Prepare for withdrawal or disappointment. I am sorry. Time to run a bath, pronto.

  FIVE OF CUPS

  TRADITIONAL MEANING

  Disappointment. Loss, with something left over.

  ROMANCE READING

  Well, poop.

  I DO actually have an upside bunny to pull from my magic hat for this card, but I am going to have to reach around a bit before I find it.

  A traditional depiction of this card is a man with his face down at a table, three goblets turned over, two full goblets on a shelf behind him.

  Is he drunk and behaving badly? Is he sad? Is he sad because he can’t drink the last two goblets and wants them because he is greedy and self-indulgent? These are all aspects of this card that can manifest. Not in actual drunkenness, but in bad choices, disappointment in your own behavior or the behavior of others. Also, tantalizingly, the idea could be that not all is lost.

  The good news is this is not a card of devastation, or even a particularly powerful card. It is weak, fundamentally, and this means that it is easily mitigated by the cards around it. It also means that the sorrow depicted can be of a shallow sort. A bad fight. Some cruel words exchanged. Not getting something you wanted, but this lack of something is not devastating to you.

  Also, remember this: there are still two full cups left. This means that you have not lost it all. You have just taken three steps back. Time to take two steps forward …and then keep going, because there is a chance this is salvageable….and you are this close to dancing!

  POSSIBLE OUTCOME

  This is an unfortunate placement for this card, as it does mean the good times are not coming…yet. But don’t lose heart. Forewarned is forearmed, and knowing this blow up is on its way might be just the thing needed to dodge it in the first place!

  SIX OF CUPS

  TRADITIONAL MEANING

  Nostalgia. Old friends. Returning home. A sense of safety or comfort.

  ROMANTIC READING

  Ah. A nice little break in a small streak of rather glum cards. The Six of Cups is not a card of portent by its lonesome. It’s not a very strong card at all. But what it is… is good. It’s friendly. It’s familiar. It’s kind and comfortable and well known. It’s toast and milky tea. It’s a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup.

  The Six of Cups is here to gently remind you, Star Pirate, that while it might be fun to adventure upon the High Seas of Love, sometimes you need to take a break. Watch an old favorite movie. Maybe go for a long walk with your dog who is, by now, giving you the hairy fish eye because some other “snookums” has gobbled up all your mental rental space for a good long while.

  (Dogs remember when you had baby talk only for them, thank you very much. They haven’t pooped in your shoes yet, because they love you so, so much. But they have had, shall we say, dark fantasies.)

  This is the card of self care, hanging out with friends and family and people who love you already and don’t want to get into your pants.

  Now, of course, because this is Love Tarot, there is an angle to this card that might be romantic. When this card shows up in a reading, it MIGHT possibly mean that you meet a quiet, cute guy or girl through an old friend. Could also mean an old friend starts looking …different these days. How did you not notice the line of his jaw before? Did she always have those eyes? Whoa.

  It’s possible. Look for other romantic cards in the spread. If they show up too (especially The Star), it can mean that the person you dig is a comfy and familiar soul indeed. Soul mate? Whoo!

  POSSIBLE OUTCOME

  In this position, all things listed above still have relevance, but there is an added emphasis on home and self care. Don’t worry, adventurer, you can ride the stormy seas again soon enough. Grilled cheese and trusting dog’s bellies: Don’t underestimate their power.

  SEVEN OF CUPS

  TRADITIONAL MEANING

  Illusion. Delusion. Fantasy. Wishful thinking. Sensual indulgence.

  ROMANTIC READING

  Some of us want love so much we are in love with love itself.

  That is the essence of the Seven of Cups.

  In non-romantic spreads this card is the card of either too much earthly self-indulgence, or being all talk, and no action. It could even mean we are self-delusional with regard to our own efficacy.

  In love readings, it is all of these aspects as well, but it manifests as a desire to have love so badly we might paint a thin, glittery coating of it over someone we don’t know very well. We might throw it at someone onto whom we project many fine qualities that might be there, or might simply be a collage of our hopes and desires.

  Ever fallen hard for someone almost instantly, and they the same with you? Maybe it IS love. It is most certainly absolutely possible, and far be it from me to say that you haven’t been hit with the true thunderbolt. I believe in The Thunderbolt. I do!

  But sometimes it feels like love, and it’s intoxicating, and you both go nuts, gobble it all up, and then poof! It’s gone. You both are dropped on your butts, scratching your heads, and wondering just what the heck happened there. Where did all the feelings go?

  You are both lovely people. You just aren’t the people you thought you were “loving.” You are the people who fall in love at the masquerade ball, and then find that in the light of day, in your street clothes, you have no idea who this real person is.

  Heartbreaking, I know.

  So, when you see this card in the future position, don’t close down, just remember that this is the very beginning. Remember that yes, they are so very shiny, and that’s marvelous! Enjoy it, and then look deeper, and get to know the real person there. That real person might be wonderful too.

  POSSIBLE OUTCOME

  Seriously. Watch that projection stuff. Infatuation is a POWERFUL DRUG, but it does wear off, and the hangover is a bear. Both feet on the ground, please!

  EIGHT OF CUPS

  TRADITIONAL MEANING

  Losing faith. Leaving to start anew. Letting go of things that were at one time very important.

  ROMANTIC READING

  One of the strangest aspects to the human adventure is the idea that one can have the experience of loving so strongly, feeling a devotion so deeply, and KNOWING in your heart of hearts that this is how you will feel forever and nothing will change and this is YOU, baby! This is Your Truth with a capital T!

  Right up until the moment where it’s not.

  Some things are simply not going to last forever, and it is always such a confusing and sometimes shocking realization.

  The Eight of Cups is about change, often of the resigned and hard to come by sort, in that it is the perfect expression of the moment when you realize that the person, situation, or goal to which you were once endlessly fascinated and loyally devoted has become untenable, and you are going to need to let go.

  In a traditional Tarot card a man walks away from eight cups, late at night, while a sad moon looks on, but this is not necessarily a bad thing.

  Sometimes we stay way, way too long at the party. Sometimes we are loyal to a relationship that doesn’t deserve our loyalty. This is the card that speaks of the moment when you decide your heart matters too, and it’s time to go.

  There is promise in this card of new devotions. This is not a card of desolation. This is a card about the moment you decide to protect your heart and get it to a safe place so that you can love again.

  POSSIBLE OUTCOME

  Yes. You are letting go, or soon will be doing so. Know in your heart that you are making a good choice that is coming from good self-care, and that you will be able to love again.

  NINE OF CUPS

  TRADITIONAL MEANING

  The Wish Card. Wish come true. Careful what you wish for!

  ROMANTIC READING

  When you get
a tarot reading, this is the card you hope pops up. It is the “Happily Ever After” card, and very much Wish Granted. But, what happens to the princess once she rides off in the carriage?

  Before you go skipping along to the land of “Pop Tarts and Yoohoo for Breakfast”, let’s be very, very careful about what you are wishing for, because you might actually get it.

  So, you want that man, or that woman, and you get them, and oh yeah, surprise, they are maybe not so nice, or lousy in bed, or actually, once you get past their great good looks, kind of stupid.

  You want that affair with that married boss of yours? Wish come true! Now, you’re fired. Good times.

  I’m not saying that the Nine of Cups is the Monkey’s Paw of Tarot cards, with an ironic and painful twist of an outcome just around the corner. I’m just saying that wanting something isn’t the same as knowing what is best for you, so be careful. The Nine of Cups can be woozy, self indulgent and short lived in its manifestation, so look for grounding cards like Temperance, the Three of Pentacles, Three of Wands, Strength, The Sun, or The World. All of these cards are about moderation, maturity and good choices.

  Still, if the basis of your desires is wholesome, as it were, this is a very welcome card indeed. So go ahead and be delighted. Delight is fun.

  POSSIBLE OUTCOME

  This is considered the very best placement for this card, bar none. When the Nine of Cups lands in the outcome position, you will be celebrating. Wish come true.

  TEN OF CUPS

  TRADITIONAL MEANING

  Happily ever after. Satisfying home life. Prosperity and plenty. Security and beauty.

  ROMANTIC READING

  Now this is a straight up glorious card to have in any reading, period. Doesn’t matter where it lands in a spread, either. In the past, it means you have a great foundation for your coming happiness, in the present you are THERE and it’s all about to happen, and in the future, oh boy, so welcome. Laissez les bon temps rouler!