By Sarah Taylor
In this week’s reading, the seed of the third card — the card on the right, the Six of Cups — is found in the first — the card on the left, The Magus (The Magician in the Rider-Waite Smith tarot). This feels important to note: what is to come has its roots firmly in what has just passed.
The Magus, Death, Six of Cups from The Röhrig Tarot deck, created by Carl-W. Röhrig. Click on the image for a larger version.
Because it might not be easy to hold to this idea when you start to move through the deep inner transformation of the card at centre, the Death card.
Remember: you might temporarily lose sight of perspective, shifting as you are into the underworld or cocoon in order to emerge, skin-shed; the old wintriness of your outer husk removed to reveal something altogether more colourful.
And someone altogether less alone, it seems.
The Magus is Mercury. He is the principle of action that comes after the stepping into the infinite potential of The Fool. He takes the energy of that quantum field of possibility and starts to shape it into manifest reality. In the Rider-Waite Smith version of the card, the Magician stands before a table that has on it the four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. He has one hand pointing up towards the heavens, the other pointing down towards the earth: as above, so below.
Above The Magician’s head in the RWS card — and in this version just below his hand — is the lemniscate, or infinity sign. You, as The Magus, represent an endless mode of creation. You use the flow to form your world — this flow coming from a masculine connection with Spirit, depicted in the light that radiates from The Magus’s crown. You are creating yourself into a metamorphosis. Your mind is about to undergo a shift, moving away from something light, airy, Mercurial and in constant motion, and towards a downward movement into emotional embodiment.
But first, before embodiment, the Death card, which you are currently moving through. It might seem that the activity of The Magus is a distant memory as you immerse yourself in the sloughing off of a particular way of being. There might be a felt sense of having ‘gone to ground’. Maybe there is grief — maybe a sense of ‘not-knowing’ — at the falling away of what once felt so much a part of you. It was a part of you, indeed — and it still is, even as it dissolves, changes and reveals what you are becoming.
Again, bear in mind the phrasing: “as you immerse yourself.” Yes. You are immersing yourself. This isn’t happening to you. You are happening to yourself. Through any confusion, there is a part of you that is complicit in your own transformation. The most obvious wording on the Death card is not “death,” but “rebirth.”
And so, finally, you are reborn — into communion with the beloved, or the Beloved, or both; this may be something you experience alone, or with another. What is clear, though, no matter the nature of that communion, is that this love affair is one that you have experienced before in different ways. It might feel new but at the same time deeply familiar. You fall into the arms and embrace of a presence that feels like a home-coming. And it is passionate, surrendered, love-infused. You are filled with love. The Six of Cups is the heart-based knowing of what you only knew intellectually in The Magus. It was a whisper that has now become blood flowing through your veins, beating through your heart.
You have come around again, and you are held. Feel the warmth as you re-emerge from the chrysalis and into the light once more.
Astrology/Elemental correspondences: The Magus (Mercury), Death (Scorpio), Six of Cups (Sun in Scorpio)
If you want to experiment with tarot cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator using the Celtic Wings spread, which is based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article explains how to use the spread.
Ha ha! You are a genius with the ‘pen’, dear Sarah! You express it all so beautifully – particularly this: “The Six of Cups is the heart-based knowing of what you only knew intellectually in The Magus.” Have been longing for this to happen for a while now. Here’s hoping. Thank you for this wonderful reading.
And thank you for your comment, dear Lizzy!
Isn’t this interesting? We’re into a 6 of cups pattern, and along comes Death, to make things perfectly clear. How Star-like is the Magus, though earthier.
I continue to be amazed at how personal and extensions of my private readings your weekend readings are. I love the explanation of Magus. And Death means business.
I agree, Carla — The Magus and The Star seem connected; and both are mind-based, the former personal and the latter transpersonal. Death does mean business — a lot to prepare for in terms of meeting the final card, the Six of Cups.
I am accepting this full on, no resistance, because it is my answer. I am here to be the essence of myself. This reading is an indication of that truth unfolding. I want that. I must have this. I will not be denied!
And if it is your answer, Cowboyiam, then it is only denial that is the resistance.
I have been reading you messages for many weeks now and except for one posting they were all superbly accurate and important to MY life. I am not sure how that can be really (smile) since these are readings for so many people. I can only assume that I am “listening closely” and that you are very good (yep, another smile).
I am going to make a bet that both are correct. I also LOVE the lyrical quality of your prose!
And it was nice “meeting you” in the maturation audio – also very good and important, I suspect, to plenty of folks. I hope they listen.
Thank you so much, Fay!
“It was a whisper that has now become blood flowing through your veins, beating through your heart.”
life as a poetry… is what you offer, sarah.
so beautiful.
does the ‘sun in scorpio 6 of cups’, also point at the time this transformation will be complete? in oct-nov?
one question, sarah –
I noticed the symbols on the top right of the 1st and 2nd card: “t” in magus, and “b” in death.
it seemed to me as if the letter ‘t’ in magus had changed to ‘B’ in death.
what do those 2 letters denote/mean/symbolise?
It may well refer to October/November, Biren, yes; it is something I’d take into consideration in a reading if it raises itself as a possibility — which you have here.
The symbols you ask about are the cards’ Runic equivalents: so, FEHU for The Magus, and BERKANO for Death.
I always look forward to the weekend tarot readings since they almost always really resonate with me. Thank you Sarah.
You’re welcome, brenda!
What an incredible, amazing reading Sarah!
Love this Six of Cups, image in this deck. I have never seen this card before. Such passion, such a feeling of give and take. A mutual reception..such a sense of deeply held, and felt Unconditional Love. So to is the sweet unconditional love felt in the Raider Waite Smith deck. I commented once I noticed the white mitten on the child’s hand as she receives/accepts the blooming flower gift which is offered in and of the same color.
Just as the cards lay and you intrepert here, there was such a sense of working through the mental feeling of loss over the weekend. A sloughing off, rebirth and then came the emotional grounding of feeling this without attachement to on Monday.
Then today, out of the blue.. miraciously came communication, finally a beginning of opening to a releasing of long held judgements, steps towards a reconnection of heart, forgiveness, passion, and healing of relationship.
” And someone altogether less alone, it seems.”. I could not believe this beautiful line you wrote. A dream to me, as I first read it several times on Sunday, would actually transpire into embodiment today!
So I had to come back to comment, yet more so thank you for the insightfulness you share. In true spirit, you are to the RWS, IV of Cups..bearing the gift we are so fortunate here to receive.
Your words have really touched me P. Sophia, thank you — and I am very happy for you that the reading is taking a tangible, loving, and “altogether less alone” shape in your life!
http://www.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2F736x%2Fee%2F25%2F2e%2Fee252e580b56bdd0faf00bf7efd3df62.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F403353710348283099%2F&h=714&w=419&tbnid=c_8j908u7wPxJM%3A&zoom=1&docid=xO5pDReFJ-icjM&ei=sCZNVYSdNauP7AbB-YC4Cw&tbm=isch&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=451&page=1&start=0&ndsp=28&ved=0CEEQrQMwCw
just in case there is anyone else who would like to see the rohrig 4 of cups…