According to The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite, the Ten of Cups is described as the following:
Appearance of Cups in a rainbow; it is contemplated in wonder and ecstacy by a man and woman below, evidently husband and wife. His right arm is about her; his left is raised upward; she raises her right arm. The two children dancing near them have not observed the prodigy but are happy after their own manner. There is a home-scene beyond.
Divinatory Meanings: Contentment, repose of the entire heart; the perfection of that state; also perfection of human love and friendship; if with several picture-cards, a person who is taking charge of the Querent's interests; also the town, village or country inhabited by the Querent.
Reversed: Repose of the false heart, indignation, violence.
The ten vessels on the Ten of Cups card are displayed in a joyous rainbow that arcs above the heads of a man and a woman. To see the cups in this manner suggests a momentous event is occurring: it suggests that these cups represent something miraculous and perfect.
There are two children beside the couple, ignorant of the cups but happily dancing away. The scene overall is pastoral and familial. It makes us think of “human love” and the relationships we build in our lives, while the perfection of the rainbow asks us how we are achieving “perfection” in love and relationships.
Of course, “perfection” seems like a lofty goal to aim for in our relationships.
Instead of thinking about perfection, let’s remember that a rainbow is formed from both sunshine and water. The state that we are looking to achieve in our relationships is less about perfectly positive things occurring, and more about a mixture of elements coming together to form something precious.
How to Water Your Relationships
Imagine a garden as representing the relationships that are currently present in your life. The hydrangeas might symbolize your aunt, the strawberries your sibling, and the ornamental grasses your parent. Every relationship you have would be represented by a different type of flora because no two relationships are the same.
Say you have a limited amount of space for your garden. Which plants get the sunny spots? Which hide in the shade? Which do you water daily and which, like succulents, are left to fend for themselves without water for most of the week?
You can only fit so many relationships in your garden, and there is only so much sun and water to go around. The relationships that you tend to most often—on a daily basis—are the ones that get the prime spots.
So what happens to the relationships that you leave by the wayside? If they were plants in your garden, they would likely wilt and suffer from the neglect.
But it’s important to note that not all relationships—or plants—require the same things to keep them healthy. You might have a cactus that can go months without water and be just as beautiful and healthy at the end of that period of time as at the beginning.
Some plants start to burn if they get too much sun. Some relationships become strained if one person puts too much pressure on the other.
So how do we learn to care for the people in our lives and the connections we have with them? We start by recognizing that people’s needs vary.
Tending the Garden of Family and Friends
Today, sit down and consider your relationships. Think about familial relationships, romantic connections, and friendships. Ask yourself if you have been taking time to water these relationships recently.
If the answer is no, then go through your mental list and decide what gestures you could make to help tend to these people in your life.
Perhaps you know your mother values quality time, so you will plan a date to cook with her on the weekend. Maybe your nephew gets excited when he is given small gifts that make him feel thought of, so you decide to pick a little something up for him before your next visit.
Make the gestures personalized and as unique as the person receiving them. If you continue to water your relationships frequently in the ways that matter most, then like happy flowers, these relationships can flourish and bloom like the ones we see under the rainbow of the Ten of Cards.
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