Start Today with Guidance and a Glimpse of Possibilities

In the King of Wands, we see a figure leaning forward on his throne: he does not seem as solidly planted on his seat as the Queen but, rather, as if he is about to - or very much wanting to - spring up and into action. In this way, he represents the culmination of the suit: the fiery Wands have been directed into successful, often long-term, projects, and yet still burn brightly with passion and great energy.

In the Six of Cups, we see the image of a figure giving a gift of a Cup, overflowing with life, to a child. The two people pictured are in the garden of a cottage, and the scene resonates with a sense of domestic comfort and security.

The card of Judgement is always of particular importance when it appears in a reading. In the traditional Ride-Waite depiction of the trump, we see an angel blowing a trumpet: in response, figures below rise up from their graves, arms outstretched to welcome their newly gifted life. The card carries a sense of both joy and purpose, and the strong intimation that the angel’s call cannot be denied.

The Four of Cups depicts, in the Rider Waite version of the card, a man sitting with arms crossed, looking fed up and disinterested in life. A hand holding a Cup appears from a cloud - an echo of the suit’s Ace, while three other Cups are lined up in front of the man. Here we see what can happen if Water’s receptivity is not tempered by another element: passivity has turned to apathy.

In this card we see a figure who wields all the suits of the Major Arcana with confidence: in his raised hand he holds a Wand, while on the table (or altar) before him lies a Pentacle, a Cup, and a Sword. They await his will. And herein lies the key to understanding this powerful card: The Magician is intention. He is the focused assertion of the will and the paths that open before us as a result.

After the shifting and chancy light of the moon comes the beauty of The Sun, blazing down joyfully on the child who rides a horse away from a walled garden. This garden is often interpreted as being that of Eden. Rather than leaving it fearfully and in shame, however, here the child leaves its shelter optimistically, ready for the adventures that his new self-knowledge will grant him. The Sun points to the inherent capacity of simple, everyday life to be deeply infused with wonder and happiness, and the miracles in the minutiae all around us.