All Text, Music, and Illustrations, including Paintings, Photographs, and 3D models, Copyright © 2022 by Jim Robbins.
Ace of Cups
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THE ELEMENT OF WATER
A white hand extending from a cloud is holding a golden cup that spouts streams of water like a fountain. A white dove is descending into the cup with a wafer in its beak. On the wafer is a black, equal-armed cross, symbol of the four elements in harmony within physical manifestation. Below the cup is a pool covered by lotus flowers, roots in the mud, stems in the water, flowers blooming in the air and sunshine. Water drops shaped like the Hebrew letter Yod fall all around the cup.
On one level, the cup symbolizes spirit manifesting in matter, but the dove descending into the cup suggests another meaning as well. If the conscious mind is receptive enough, archetypal symbols appear from a level of the mind associated with the element of Water, an element that is receptive to spiritual impulses and embodies them with archetypal form. Archetypal symbols from this dimension ripple out through the astral realm into the physical realm of action and take on great emotional significance, revealing the interconnectedness of the different planes, which are simply different levels of being.
The element of Water, a receptive, feminine element, is associated with emotion and the unfathomable depths of the subconscious mind, but Water is also an energy with a high “vibration.” One must dive deep into the subconscious in order to ascend to the level of archetypes, where the abstract spiritual impulses of a higher realm first take form. Those symbols awaken energies and potentials within individuals that correspond to cosmic forces. A person meditating on archetypal symbols can sometimes feel that he or she has slipped from the individual mind into the collective mind, from the personal to the transpersonal, as though channeled from a stream into the ocean. At those moments, the symbols begin to take on both a unique personal meaning as well as the collective archetypal significance of spiritual principle.
Spiritual traditions provide these symbols as signposts. As in everyday reality, certain symbols and events stand out more than others for each individual. For example, one individual on the path of “The Emperor,” Trump IV, during meditation might experience falling into magma and being cleansed by fire, only to rise as an ankh or scepter, while another might encounter royal figures against a backdrop of springtime or the creation of the world. What one experiences are archetypal figures and events that represent spiritual principles--the individual must examine the symbols for their personal and collective significance as one might examine a dream for its archetypal and psychological significance.
The "mental plane" is actually the "archetypal world," and a symbol from the mental plane is not a representation of personal desires or emotions--it is a representation of spiritual principle and a channel for transpersonal cosmic forces. When its spiritual significance is revealed in astral consciousness and in the world of action--the physical plane--its emotional significance then begins to ripple out into manifestation, hence the association of this plane with the Holy Spirit. For instance, a person who envisions a golden equal-armed cross during meditation might find out that gold symbolizes the incorruptibility of spirit, and then that the cross itself corresponds to the four Elements of the Wise in harmony with each other. The person might then discover that the equilateral cross is the basis for key rituals where the magician creates a three dimensional space in order to launch the mind into the higher dimension of spirit. Then the individual might actually begin practicing rituals as a way to progress in the Great Work of self-transformation. The meaning of a symbol from the mental plane often takes weeks or months or even years to unfold, but a symbol can have a life-changing impact on anyone who is open and enthusiastic. And one such experience can lead to a lifetime of adventure in the “forest of symbols.”
CORRESPONDING COLOR: Pure white brilliance.
Reversed: lack of intuition or emotion or insight, blocked creativity, empty heart
Claire decides to head outside of the city after her experience with the Raven, to a place in the country where no one would bug her. As she glides over a tilled field, she notices a young person down below who is staring at a large, golden coin.
"Hello, my name is Claire. What's your name?"
"Rose of the Palace of the Earth or Princess of the Echoing Hills. You can call me Rose or Princess or Princess Rose."
"Why are you staring so intently at the golden coin? If you don't mind me asking...."
"I can feel powerful energies in this coin that I also feel in the Earth, but there is something more. I feel like this coin contains subtle energies from other dimensions. I feel golden sunlight, of course, but also starlight."
"Yes, I touched a coin like this not long ago. I felt the music of life. The sun is the source of all life on the planet, as you probably know."
"Yes, I feel that too, but I also feel other energies, cosmic energies, I think."
"I think I felt something like that as well when I touched the coin, but I couldn't put it into words. Does if have something to do with the star?" Claire asks.
"Yes, I think that's it! I'm still a student, you know. I think you might have actually just helped me figure it out. The Queen told me that the star represents the five Elements of the Wise, Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Ether, but I remember now that the King once explained to me that four of the Elements, Fire, Water, Air, and Earth represent triplicities of the zodiac."
"What are triplicities?"
"They represent the basic energies of the zodiac. Let me see. The Earth triplicity consists of the energies of Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo. For some reason, I can't seem to remember the others right now."
"Oh, yeah, I think I remember some of this. If I'm remembering this correctly, the element of Air contains the zodiac signs of Libra, Aquarius, and, hmmm, I'm not sure...."
"Gemini. Oh, yeah, and the Water triplicity consists of Cancer, Scorpio, and, and...."
"Pisces! And the Fire triplicity contains Aries, Leo, and, ummmm. I think it begins with S...."
"Sagittarius!" They both blurt out at the same time.
"Wow, the pentacle channels a lot of energies. I sense all of these energies in myself as well. Thanks for helping me, Claire!"
"We helped each other. Enjoy your wealth, Princess!" Claire laughs as she soars high into the sky.
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