Love & War And The 2 Of Cups

I have been intrigued by the Two of Cups for some time.

I have learnt that when this intrigue happens there is something developing in my consciousness appertaining to the essence in the card.

The Universe is expressing a truth to me through my toolbox and it’s time to absorb the message!

I remember this card popping up a lot in readings for myself and for clients some years ago. When cards repeat in such a way there is usually something going on in the ephemeris that has an astrological connection to the card.Now I am no astrologer, but I am fascinated by the movement of the planets and the link to human activity. I have great respect for those that plot charts and can interpret the celestial goings on (see below for details about my retreat with world-renowned astrologist Joanna Watters), so my interest cranked up a notch when I realised that the appearance of this card had possibly been influenced by planetary movements. I discovered that, at that time, Mars and Venus were in conjunction with each other. Suddenly it made sense as to why our duo had been making themselves known.

You see, it’s not just the Two of Cups that fascinates me but the imagery in the RWS deck; it draws me in, demanding of me to discover more.

So I went on a journey into the card with this couple and we ended up in Babylon.

In the twos I see opposites, a need to balance out the tension or life force between these opposing factors that will then create a healthy and sustaining regimen.

In this card I can see how opposites attract.

I have found from experience that this Two can herald the beginning of a new relationship or the start of a fresh new phase in an existing one. There is harmony and healing, a sense of equality and leaving emotional woes behind. It denotes previous relationship misfortunes, but this new chapter will bring emotional brevity and passion, fertility and creativity, on many levels.

The male and the female energies find their correct vibration, co-existing happily as they mirror each other; Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars, right?!

Hence the excitement as, with this thought in mind, it transpired that the same thing had been going on in the heavens.

But back to Babylon and the RWS Two of Cups.

The Serpents on the RWS Two Of Cups

The two serpents on the Labrys connect us to Hermes (Mercury), pictured left. These serpents were found by Hermes to be in mortal combat. Hermes separated them with his wand, resulting in peace.

The winged lion is Ishtar, warrior Queen; her domain is fertility, war, love, sexuality and sex.

Her dominion is over nature and its inherent oppositions; birth and death, peace and violence, animal and human. Ishtar is also linked to Lilith; the difference being that Ishtar’s wings are raised.

There is something very earthy about Ishtar; blood sweat and tears. The Lion or Dragon is the familiar of Ishtar, giving the idea of sacred energy and protection.

This goddess also has the eight pointed star (another attribution to Venus as morning or evening star). We could possibly make a link to Lucifer here, as he was also known as the morning star and could explain why sometimes Ishtar has sinister connotations.Now, I find myself considering The Star card and her relationship to the stars in the imagery, the portals of Ishtar perhaps, but that is a whole new blog!

I can see that the Two of Cups is a whole drama that being played out in the skies and I am just an actor sharing the stage with Venus, Mars, Earth and Mercury. Oh, what a glorious dance!

A desire for discussion about mythology and its ability to make sense of chaos emerges. Anyone care to join me?

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