Tiny Tarot Story
Read a short story inspired by the Ace of Cups.
Oh, God, not now, not when her life was finally in order. Come three years ago, when she had just moved to the home and was lonely. Even better—come 43 years ago, so that when Harry asked for her phone number, she wouldn’t have called, wouldn’t have married him, wouldn’t have forgotten herself.
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For a while Nancy denied it was happening at all. When her children called her, she told them about her new neighbor at the retirement community. His name, she said with some disdain, was Sebastian. When he saw her in the hallways, he stopped to open her door. “It’s like he thinks I’m some weakling,” Nancy remarked. He always asked for her food recommendations, because he said she had such good taste. “Can’t he rely on his own taste buds?” she said. “Mom, he sounds like a nice guy,” her kids replied. She scoffed.
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Still, Sebastian kept coming over—bringing treats from his grandkids, the DVDs of movies he liked. Nancy found herself waiting for the doorbell to ring. “This is inconvenient,” she said of gnawing in her stomach. The old teenage affliction is back.
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On cloudy days, the sun fights to make itself felt. You may stumble upon a patch of warmth, where the clouds have parted and the rays have pierced through. Stand there long enough, and the tingle may become a full-on yellow feeling. Sometimes, love can grow on you if you stay put, is what I’m saying.
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Nancy wanted to run away. Sit back under the clouds, where it was safer and more predictably gray. Sebastian was nothing like Harry, so that confused her. But it was also a sign that he was worth getting to know. He was kind, gentle, and asked how her day was. “Tell me all about it,” he said. And so she began to. As for what came next: She decided to stick around and find out.
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Ace of Cups Reflections
Musings
They say there are no scary cards in tarot, but are there good cards? Ones so positive you can relax after seeing them? For example, being able to say in a reading: The Sun popped up, so everything’s going to be all right.
If there were “good cards” in the deck, then the Ace of Cups would certainly fall into that category. The Ace of Cups traditionally denotes the start of a new relationship or the birth of a new love. The faucet of feeling—once rusted over—spouts open again, overflows.
But I don’t believe there are purely good cards in tarot, just as there are no purely bad cards in tarot. The Ace of Cups presents a challenge—and the older you are, the more experiences you have, the harder it is to accept it.
Briefly, consider water. All water is the same. Find it in the sky, in the ocean, in the lakes. In the Rider Waite Smith deck, the water from the Ace of Cups falls into sea below. In the card is the potential to lose yourself and join something bigger. Dissolve boundaries. Be part of the world in a new way, just through feeling love (for isn’t it true, the way people who are in love or in relationships seem to operate on another plane?).
The challenge inherent to the Ace of Cups is this: Can you surrender? Can you give in to another beginning, despite having lived through so many endings? Can you suspense your disbelief and think, “This time it will be different, and even if it isn’t, it’ll be worth the journey?”
Spoiler: The answer should be yes. Life happens when you accept the challenge. The Ace of Cups is a reminder that love is divine and rare. It’s being handed to you from a disembodied hand in the sky. You cannot order a goblet of love-water at a bar or at the checkout aisle of a grocery store market.
When you find yourself on the path of a new beginning, when the violins are swelling or maybe the cracks in your exterior are forming, I ask you to let it happen. There are other cards for patching yourself back up, putting yourself together again. This is the one for melting. For openness. For undoing.
When the Ace of Cups appears, I want you to give in to the experience, whatever that may be. Like I wrote about in my post for the Fool card, this takes bravery. So long as your heart is beating, believe it pumps more than blood, but also the stuff that makes you brave enough to take risks—to love. You will have a better life for it.
Journaling Prompts
How have the major romantic relationships in your life started? Were the feelings in you the same, each time?
When a romantic connection begins, what do you rely on to navigate yourself through it?
Do you think it brave to fall in love? How about to be in a relationship?
When was the last time you listened to your heart?
Start a Story of Your Own
Write a story of your own inspired by the dynamics present in the Ace of Cups card, starting with this sentence. If you email me your story, I’ll share it in the next newsletter.
“Do you love him?” she asked, and I felt the answer before I could think it.
Extra Credit
Fall in love again—with the world, a friend, a hobby, whatever.
Listen to the Fleetwood Mac song “You Make Loving Fun” and its depiction of melting: “I never did believe in miracles / But I've a feeling it's time to try / I never did believe in the ways of magic / But I'm beginning to wonder why.”
While you’re at it, listen to this Elton John song from the Gnomeo and Juliet soundtrack, “Hello Hello.” It’s a very wholesome ditty about the delight of it all happening again: “What a surprise / Hello, hello / I'm not alone, it's good to know / Someone's out there to say hello / Hello”
Actually, just listen to love songs. Even if you can’t experience new love on demand, songs will give you just that tiny hit of it.