Four of Cups - Divine Discontent

In the Four of Cups we see Psyche with her jealous sisters on either side of her who are filling her head with all kinds of negative ideas about her future husband Eros. They're telling her Eros must be some sort of monster if he's made her promise not to look at him when he visit her in the dark of night, regardless of how loving he is. Her sister's ramblings do bring to the surface some of the doubt that Psyche herself is having and is left to contemplate on what to do in order to restore her own sense of stability. She could react with apathy but her love for Eros is too deep to ignore, in spite of her doubt.

If I say to I don't give a rats butt about what others think, that isn't the whole truth. I think we all care what others think to some degree, if we didn't we might be running around naked around the house and even answering the door that way, because  there are of course social norms that we adhere to within reason. 

We like being well thought of and respected, but as the old adage goes, you can't please all the people, all of the time. Inevitably we are not going to be liked by everyone, regardless of who we are, what we do, or how we behave.
  
Yesterday I went to town with a good friend and the topic of gossip came up. Living in a very rural small community you can be certain there is going to be lots of gossip and talk, some good, some negative. I compare gossip to a silent fart. It might seem innocuous at first. It wasn't actually heard and so no once notices, but then the stagnating effects become apparent, which can be deadly. Something seemingly insignificant at first, can cause some very significant far reaching affects.

I ask myself, why do people gossip or repeat things that may or may not have any portion of truth? I expect there are numerous reasons. We've all gossiped at some time or another and I don't think it's all necessarily  always a hurtful activity, but a very human one, and is a pretty strong indication we are bored with our own lives, and is often referred to as divine discontent. Generally speaking though, I think it's safe to say gossip usually involves the devaluing of another.

My wise mother once told me something that I never forgot. She said when people repeat negative things that other people have said about you, there are three implicit reasons. They are jealous., or get some kind of pleasure in seeing how you react, or they are very insecure within themselves, and in someway it makes them feel better to know someone else is being made to feel less than. This made a lot of sense to me, and I keep it in mind when ever I'm tempted to say something negative about another person. 

If I find myself around those who engage in negative gossip I have to first be very aware that I'm not part and parcel to the same, and as a wise elder once told me, the best response is to say , " Well that's your opinion" and simply walk away. I think this is a good suggestion. However I do think about what was said and why, and whether or not there is an element of truth in the comment. I also ask myself if there is anything constructive I can do about it. Sometimes there is, but if not I'll choose to walk away and try not to get too upset.

My friend that I spent the day with yesterday, concluded that many folks gossip in negative hurtful ways because at some point in their lives they were very hurt, and they carry that with them, and project it onto other people. They're left with that remaining feeling of not belonging, and being an outsider. This makes sense to me, because belonging is the greatest basic need that all human beings share. When this need is left unmet it leads to our divine discontent.

Five of Wands - The Beast

A card about struggle, the Five of Wands reminds us that we can overcome the struggle that exists, but we don't have to, nor do we need to, struggle alone. Everyone needs some kind of help at some point in our lives and it's important we ask for help but there's nothing easy about asking. It's a humbling experience.

Letting false pride get in the way, only results in our egos becoming the beast, and the struggle with depression  and confusion that Leonard Cohen speaks about plagues and overpowers us. It's the dragon we need to fight against and we're not likely to win that battle if we have a lack of trust in our intuition and instinct, causing us further depression and apathy. At this point we loose our way in confusion, we loose sight of our vision and courage.

The Five of Wands is a hopeful, empowering card if we heed the message it conveys.

Five of Wands - Intuition

When I was a child, I always sensed the presence of the Creator, the God of my understanding, even though it wasn't developed in the way it is now, the presence was there. An innocent trust was what defined my faith, and the way it was manifested, was through my intuition. My intuition was greatly affected by outside factors, and forces beyond my control, and diminished greatly for a time, and I lost my way in my adolescence and early adult life.

Like Jason, it seemed I constantly was fighting that dragon.  Fortunately I never completely lost my faith, and perhaps I was too stubborn to let people, places, and things to overpower me, and I held on, regardless of what was happening. Fortunately I have had many rallying helpers like Medea, akin to the High Priestess, who embodies the feminine power of intuition and instinct, to assist me in my dragon fights.

 We can have a creative vision, but the realities of life, in the form of the dragon represent the powers of the earth  resisting change. These can be found in the many material limitations, be it money, physical restrictions due to illness, or fatigue, and can coincide with fear of failure, inertia or apathy, that often are the cause of trouble, and struggle within the inner or outer self. These obstacles that arise, cannot be avoided in life, and accommodations or compromise must be made, while still maintaining the integrity of our creative visions, and lost treasure, like the Golden Fleece.

Four of Cups- Discontent

The Four of Cups is the card of discontent and stagnation.

Discontentment can lead to having a jaded attitude, but it can also lead to progress.

 Like our inner critic and like Psyche's ugly sisters portrayed in the Mythic Four of Cups, the voices of doubt, apathy and negativity live within our psyche, because we have found ourselves in a unhappy situation. There is a choice to be made, whether to listen to these negative voices, or choose to listen and trust our inner voice, our intuition, that speaks truth. We have come to realize that we are not happy in our circumstance, whatever it is. It may be that our present relationship is no longer satisfying, we have been let down and are feeling cheated. However the person we may be letting down the most, may very well be ourselves.

The thrill is gone, as B.B. King says in his song. We are board and depressed. There is a need for growth in order to move forward. Unrealistic expectations will always let us down, and we must take responsibility for our own happiness, based on reality, not illusion. Life is too short to spend our life in misery and  unhappiness.

There's is nothing that will make us more miserable and drive us more crazy than expecting or trying to get something from another, who either can not, or will not give you. We are often our own worst enemy.

" We have met the enemy and they are ours. "  - O.H. Perry