TAROTSeven of Cups
Upright
Making a choice from multiple options.
Managing the tightrope between reality and illusion when choosing the way forward.
Temptation vs. practicalities.
Dreams vs. plans.
Intuition
This is the only card in the deck that does not show a mythical character. The character shown in the card is the observer, aka you.
This was chosen because to do otherwise would change the sense of the card itself. It is thus the card most similar to the ‘standard interpretation’.
Reversed
Making a choice and direction, then sticking to it, or being taken in by illusion.
Making a choice and moving forward.
Making a choice based on practicalities over dreams.
Being taken in by desires and dreams.
Astrologia
Intense attraction and passion. Deep emotional connections and loyalty. Transformative ability to turn obstacles into solutions. Potential possessiveness, jealousy/conflict issues and holding secrets or false expectations.
Seven of Cups
The Seven of Cups is about choices. It addresses following your dreams, while simultaneously realizing the difference between dreams and reality.
The card is unusual for Torch-Tarot because it depicts no mythical archetype. The dark figure on the card is you.
The choices in front of you sit on a cloud. This shows they are your dreams.
Dreaming is a part of what makes us human. It allows us to create new designs and build a future for ourselves. But we must get those dreams out of our head and into reality, and this is the major point of the Seven of Cups.
There are few 'get-rich-quick' schemes that do not covertly switch you over to a 'get-poor-quick' reality. The only true path to turning dreams into reality requires hard work and creative problem-solving.
Description and Symbology
A person looks toward a cloud containing seven cups. The cups rest on clouds, suggesting we are looking at a dream inside the figure's head.
Each cup holds an item or symbol. As cups represent emotions in Tarot, these items represent the passions and goals our dreams are built around. The trick for the dreamer (who represents each of us) is to acknowledge our dreams, but temper our choices to what is right, what makes us grow as people, and what is practical and will make us happier rather than greedy, needy and lazy.
The Dreamer
The figure in shadow is anonymous but at the same time familiar; the dreamer. We all have dreams, so the dreamer is you. Everything else on the card is on a cloud, denoting it as a dream, desire, or imagination.
The hidden figure
The hidden figure is intentionally vague. It can represent your spiritual goals, beliefs, and path to the divine, or fame and fortune in this world. Whatever this is, it will be one of your primary guiding lights because it represents your true inner goal.
The snake
The snake can have modern religious connotations of temptation. The ancients saw it as one of the creatures that sheds its skin, and therefore a symbol of transformation and regeneration (which is why it is associated with several medicine symbols). Both meaning put you at a crossroads on an either-or path.
The dragon
The dragon represents wisdom, power, royalty, and good luck in Eastern cultures. In the West, it is more likely to be seen as a magical beast of destruction (or at the very least, an uncontrollable and amoral force of nature). In either case, it is a rare beast, and you would not make reliable plans that included one!
The laurel wreath
The laurel wreath represents victory, and we see it in the World card. To dream of victory is always a good thing, but dreaming of victory, fame, and success without also considering the work it entails is not the dream of a true victor.
Earthly riches
This cup contains gold and treasure. This is a universal sign of success, but it is also universal as a sign of temptation. Your true goal should instead be something you are passionate about that will make you rich as one of the rewards of success.
The palace
We all desire a home, and the palace represents this. But do we all really need a palace? Perhaps a successful family is all we really require, and a large, spacious home is an outcome of this rather than an aim in itself.
The head
The head resembles a statue of Aphrodite (or Venus) and represents a love of beauty. Beauty is by definition never creative (because it is a commonly held template of fixed ideals that everyone knows). To transcend beauty and move towards art we have to create something with more than just beauty: passion, the spark of the new, or a creative twist.
Tips for Readings
The following table shows the upright and reverse meanings for general questions. The last row ('Yes/No') is useful when you are picking a single card to decide a yes or no decision.
Upright
Reversed
You are approaching a decision that will make you decide between temptation or the ideal lover vs. contentment and reality.
We all have visions of the ideal relationship, sex-life or family life. We also all live in the real world and know how far we can take each. This card asks you to consider this in a choice you may soon be making. There is no wrong answer, but there are life-choices you may regret taking in years from now, and also missed opportunities you will always fantasize over until the day you die!
You have made a definite decision on some aspect of your relationship. This either puts you in danger of being disappointed by the reality of the relationship because it does not fit with your dreams (in which case you need to consider how realistic you are actually being!) or have chosen a more reasonable and attainable direction to follow.
The card suggests being sure you have picked the sensible option of the two.
You will soon be at a career crossroads, or you will be moving to a new phase of life that forces such a decision. This is often a decision that has many points of view from many people. At all times, it is important to consider what your dreams are and which of them are actionable, rather than going with the flow.
You have made a decision on a career matter. This card suggests being sure on the direction you are taking, and ensuring you have set the right balance between fulfilling your dreams vs. retreating to the safe option. The card suggests thinking about your decision and how closely it matches what you want, rather than what your boss or significant other wants. It might well already do that, but a little thought now may save regret later.
You have many ideas and ways forward, and will soon have to come to a major decision.
Whatever you decide, this card asks that you look after your health. Don’t take so much on or spread yourself too thin. Sometimes the best decision is the one that gets made, rather than the one that keeps you up at night worrying about the things you can’t control anyway!
This card relates to making a decision in other parts of your life. This may be towards a practical solution, or following a dream. Whatever you have decided, ensure you are not running yourself down; the biggest fantasy we all have is that we will remain well until the day we die, but that is rarely the case unless your plans address health and time to recharge!
You will soon be making a significant decision in your life. This may be a choice or a direction to take.
Whatever you choose, the real point of the Seven of Cups is to balance needs and wants with reality and growth as a person.
It also notes that decisions are always a limitation; you can’t do everything, which means following your dreams means you have to filter it down to one or two at a time. Pick wisely!
You have made one or more decisions that represent an either-or crossroads. Make sure your solution creates growth in you as a person rather than just fulfilling spurious wants for fame or recognition. More importantly, the card asks you to be sure you are aiming for long term contentment rather than short term happiness.
You are approaching a decision that will decide between a number of financial strategies, some of which may be safe and boring, whilst others may mean making you wealthy very quickly – if they work out.
In making this decision, what you want vs. what you need should be tempered by what is likely and what will leave you content with your decision.
You have made a decision regarding finance. This card asks you to be sure you are somewhere between meeting your dreams and playing safe, as being at either extreme will result in a loss or a regret.
In all decisions, remember we need a little of both excitement in meeting our dreams, and playing the safe but boring game!
Yes, because you are proactively making a decision, and have probably deduced what all the options really mean (and which are really traps!).
Indeterminate. The choice you have made can only be known to you. Consider the card carefully and decide if your choices are falling for a trap, or sensible.
Reading the Card
The Upright Card
The Upright Seven of Cups signifies a big decision approaching in the near future. When making this choice, the card advises following your dreams without living inside them. We harbor many desires for what we want out of life.
We must pick what we truly want to achieve. Having a multitude of dreams and trying to make them all reality is identical to having no dreams at all. Nothing gets done.
We must select what is realistic and beneficial. We hold many wants but few needs, and fewer still make us better people.
Harboring a vision is one thing, but building anything worthwhile requires more than one person sharing that same vision.
The Reversal
The Reversed Seven of Cups represents one of two distinct paths.
First, it signifies being taken in by vices or meaningless goals. Wanting to be rich or famous without a strong underlying purpose is not chasing a dream. It is wanting without passion or meaning. An idea or creative drive must compel you to act; money or fame must remain a byproduct of how well you meet that goal, not the goal itself. Chasing shallow things yields shallow rewards, and these never satisfy.
Second, it signifies deciding on a course of action that grounds your dreams in a practical vision. This involves limitation: restricting your dreams to achievable goals and pursuing them fully to the exclusion of all else. This is the true way to follow a dream. You must be led by it, remaining passionate about the end goal.
Card Design Process
This is the closest to a standard card in the deck, as it lacks a direct link to mythology. It links back to something we all know: you cannot have everything you desire.
The trick is to decide on something that you can actually attain and be passionate about, as that will always make you content with your life-choices.
The trick is to decide on something that you can actually attain and be passionate about, as that will always make you content with your life-choices.
Final Words
The Seven of Cups is about options created by your goals and dreams, and reducing them to fit with reality.
Balance your desires with the safe, sensible route. A fine line exists between chasing pure fantasy (where reality will inevitably disappoint) and taking the completely safe route (where you will inevitably regret missed pleasures and gains).
