Description & Meaning
This seven of cups is inspired by both the Rider Waite Coleman deck and also by the Fey. Prior to purchasing the Fey deck I had seen this card primarily as dreaming about attractive options: the Fey gave me another take on the card, that of conjuring up disasters. I used the idea of the theatre masks, 'tragedy' and 'comedy' since in daydreaming we are the theatre directors and writers of our own possible lives. Joyful dreams are represented by a happy face (with three cups for the eyes and mouth) and 'disasterising' by the unhappy face (again using three cups for the eyes and mouth). The dreams form over the remaining cup. The rainbow represents hope, and the lightening strike destruction. I used pale blues and purples for the masks, representing dreaming and also spirituality.
Symbolism
Sometimes we all need to allow ourselves to dream so that we can imagine many possibilities and choose what is right for us. As you gaze into your drink, you find yourself beginning to drift away into imagined worlds and as you do so images start to form above the cup. Some of the images that come to you are those of your heart's desire and you could happily lose yourself in them for hours at a time. Other images are those of your worst nightmares, and staying too long with these makes you doubt yourself as they paralyze you with fear. On the one hand, dreams of joy and hope: on the other hand thoughts of problems or disaster. As you consider these images further, you begin to realize that none of them are real until you make them so. How can you best realize your dreams and guard against or diminish your fears? Nothing will move forward in your life until you take concrete action: the time for imagining all your options will soon be over if it is not over already.
Artistic Media
The card is hand drawn with colored pencils on white A4 card and scanned in, I used my computer graphics program to 'light up' the masks, and the border and text are also computer generated.
Artist's Bio
I have lived in the UK all my life, and am married to a wonderful man who watches my Tarot study with some amusement and a lot of patience (especially when the latest deck arrives). My day job is life coaching and also training - I have a particular interest in creative problem solving and use Tarot in problem solving for myself. In my work, I have found that many people show an imbalance of the energies represented by the 7 of Cups. For example: not allowing themselves to daydream; daydreaming too many options to take action; worrying about lots of things that are very unlikely to ever happen; being so positive about any new idea that they never see the downside until too late. I am able to manage all of these on occasion with one exception: I always allow myself to daydream.
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