Intuitive Tuesday on Thursday -- Knight of Cups

On Intuitive Tuesdays I select a card and give you my interpretation of it. On Thursday I select one reader's comment and pull an additional card.

I encourage you to read about the additional card I pulled this week and see how it applies to your life. Anything that is brought to one of us is a message for all of us.

This week's Intuitive Tuesday card was the Three of Cups, which is about coming together with friends to celebrate and the emotions that close friendships can bring.

I pulled an additional card today for Excavator, in response to her comment:

Yeah, this card really exudes "party!"vibes.

I'm thinking that the vibe of this card can encompass the more sorrowful end of the spectrum too. I come to this conclusion in thinking about the circumstances of my own life--deaths, marriages of friends breaking up, my own marriage, and on the surface that doesn't say, 'party.' However, these have been opportunities to connect more deeply with my friends and feel reassured at the nature of the bonds between us.

I'm not sure I had read this post yesterday when a friend called to ask if she could call me that night to talk. I had an appointment and would be driving by her house afterward and so stopped over instead.

Guess that's 3 of cups energy!

I pulled today's card from the Gilded Tarot deck and it is the Knight of Cups. Knights can indicate new people and/or experiences entering your life. Cups are emotions, feelings and relationships. So the Knight of Cups indicates the start of new emotions, a new person entering your life and/or the possibility of a new romantic relationship.

If you'd like to read some earlier posts on the Knight of Cups, click here and here.

Excavator, I was drawn to your comments because you talked about events that are happening in your life that aren't immediate cause for celebration. You also mentioned that although not joyous situations (deaths, marriages of friends breaking up, your own marriage...), they are still reasons for people to draw together.

At first glance, the Knight of Cups may not seem like it makes sense...but I believe it does.

The types of situations in which you listed DO draw people together and allow them to open more fully to their emotions...not only in private but with each other. When someone dies, we all feel more comfortable in expressing true sadness. When friends are going through tough times or we ourselves are experiencing the crisis of divorce, health issues, etc. our emotions come to the surface whether we want them to or not.

In Rachel Pollack's book, Tarot Wisdom: Spiritual Teaching and Deeper Meanings, she talks about the romantic nature of the Knight of Cups, but also brings in another aspect that I believe is more pertinent to your comments. She said, "Cups represents a dreaminess and a desire to look inwards, a fascination with the self." This interpretation presents a much more inward quality and tone to the Knight of Cups.

As you are experiencing these situations in your life, perhaps part of your emotional growth depends on fully experiencing your emotions and then taking a step beyond that to observe yourself experiencing those emotions. Isn't that part of how we understand our world and get to know ourselves better -- through our emotions?

Use the Knight of Cups as a reminder to stay fully present of your emotions. That means to be fully conscious of what is happening within our bodies, hearts and souls as we experience the things that happen in our lives...not denying our feelings or pretending they are not there or are not important because it may feel uncomfortable or be inconvenient.

For all of us...Today's Knight of Cups message is to be open and aware of your feelings. Then become an "emotional archeologist" and dig below the surface to discover what is there for you. Ponder what beliefs are behind what you feel.

Remember, what you think (beliefs) affects what you feel, which in turn impacts what you do. So your emotions are your key to unlocking what those beliefs are. Once you understand what beliefs are impacting your emotions, test those beliefs to see if they are still true for you. If not, it's time to update them and move forward.

For example, if you adopted the belief that people should stayed married forever ('til death do us part) when you were ten years old, and find yourself feeling frustrated, angry, inadequate, etc. in your marriage (20+ years later), it may be time to update your belief about people staying married forever. A lot of life learning, wisdom and experience has happened since you originally adopted that belief, which means an updated version of that belief may feel more accurate to you now.

The key lesson today from the Knight of Cups is a continual process.  Feel your emotions. Discover your beliefs. Test and update your beliefs as necessary. Repeat as necessary and grow forward!