Five of Cups - The Golden Rule

The Five of Cups brings to mind the emotional regret I feel about something that I did or didn't do. It is such waste of energy, especially if I allow guilt to keep me stuck in regret. But as human nature as it is, we'll always have something we regret. The trick is not to dwell on regret and guilt. We can't change the past, but I can learn from the mistake, and move forward with the resolve and a hope to do better.

There is guilt, and then there is shame. Guilt is about making a mistake, shame implies that you are a mistake. Good guilt serves a purpose in that in acts as our conscience. Shame can perhaps serve a purpose in a similar way, but shame becomes bad guilt, if we can't forgive ourselves or others.

In the Five of Cups we see Eros fleeing from Psyche, who has betrayed her promise not to look at him in the dark. She desperately pursues him knowing that seeing him as he is, she has jeopardized their relationship. Psyche is fearful that she have lost Eros forever, and is full of regret, but seemingly to no avail, as Eros is running in the opposite direction and abandoning her. But there is one cup out of the five left standing, which is hope in knowing, that all is not lost.

We are the ones who decide what our boundaries are, the behaviours that we can and can't accept. Some things are real deal breakers in relationships, like abuse. We all have faults, and we all need forgiveness for mistakes made. And so, if we can forgive ourselves, we are more likely to forgive others for their short comings and mistakes, just as we would want to be forgiven. It's simply The Golden Rule. It's really so simple, but many of us find it so difficult.

 Light and love need to be shone on our darkness and character defects, as much as our positive assets.  Perfection is an illusion. No one is perfect, and no one is a mistake.

Six of Cups - No Regrets

Psyche is contemplating about days gone by. She's feeling a certain amount of sentimentality about what has happened between her and Eros and how she lost her love and the good life. However she hasn't any regrets because she a learned so much about herself love and life. What she has gained is experience, strength and hope.

It's tempting and easy to be reminiscent of days gone by, and about our past. There may be pleasant memories, or not. There is nothing wrong with looking back at our past, and we shouldn't shut the door on it. It's when we stare, that's when we can get into problems. Not being able to let go of what has happened, means we can't accept that things have changed, or we long for and cling to the way things once were.We can't let go.

What if we had no past or we couldn't remember any of it? There would be no reference point for us, and it would be difficult, if not impossible to see a future. We'd only have the present moment. Most of us can hardly imagine what this would be like, having no past, no future, and only the present moment. Animals have this skill of living in the present moment down to an art. How many of us who are animal lovers look at our critters and think, oh to be that cat, or dog. Laying around all day waiting for some love and affection and something good to eat.

Many of us as we age think about our past, what was good, what wasn't, and we hold those special memories and moments dear to us.

Having regrets isn't a productive thing, unless there is actually something we can do to change what we regret, if we have harmed someone or ourselves. We can always make our amends, and resolve to treat others, and ourselves with respect and kindness from this point on.

Nostalgia is a feel good state of mind, regret is not. And so Psyche reminds us not to regret, move forward, not backward, and live the very best life we can, be our authentic selves, and to be grateful for the life's memories and moments of every day.

Six of Cups - Experience, Strength and Hope

Most of us have heard our parents, grandparents or others nostalgically share stories about the past, and what it was like back in the day. We can learn a lot from these stories. Now I find myself at the an age where I reminisce, am nostalgic about the past, and I like to share my own stories. This is human nature of course to go back in time, in our mind.

Having and making memories is a beautiful thing, especially when these are shared with others. They bond us, and are the glue that can cement our relationships, reflecting our identity back to us. Of course there are always positive memories, along with the negative. Regardless of what kind of memories, if I can accept and embrace them, I can process them and turn my memories into a learning experience, becoming a stronger individual. I can then help another by sharing my own experience, strength and hope.

It isn't good for our psyche regretting or stuck in a time warp with you 80s hair, or wishing our lives away for the old days. We can't be fixating and starring  at the past, however we can't close the door on it either, pretending it never happened.

Here in the Six of Cups Psyche finds herself emotionally abandoned, mysteriously by her husband Eros. Despite her loss, she has learned something about herself, and has come to terms with what has taken place. She no longer has regrets or remorse about her unrealistic expectations, unreal dreams, and  her great disappointments concerning her lost love Eros.

Psyche has come to this place of serenity within herself. Now she can move forward, building upon future goals. Her past has been tempered, and strengthened, into an emerging promise, that is achievable. The past leads to a future dream that is still possible.

Five of Pentacles - Loss

Daedalus is skulking away from his hideout. He has done a terrible thing. Symbolizing the inability to accept the loss of material wealth, social position, and the loss of faith in oneself. This card represents the need to come out of the dark and to not continue to hide from others or from ourselves.

Being so focused on our own problems, can cause us to not be able to see the forest for the trees.  Our sight is obscured, even blinded. We walk alone out of the darkness, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The brightness of the moon lights the way.
Material things and a sense of self may be lost, but there are spiritual riches to be gained along the road. There is always hope, and many gifts of the spirit.

 I have heard it said, that the Five of Pentacles is the worst card in the deck, but I don't think there is any particular card that is the worst, nor necessarily the best. The cards are the cards. What is important is that we pay attention, and what we decide to do when presented with the message they give us.

 Yes, this card could indicate mistakes made, and opportunities missed. But we can not focus on the negative, or we will not be able to move forward. Regretting the past, and projecting into the future is a useless endevour. We need to focus on the present, forgive ourselves, improve our attitude and circumstance. We can not allow false pride to stop us from asking for help either. These proactive behaviours will free us from the burden of our loss.

Often the person who is the most difficult to forgive, is ourselves.