The Suits,
by Roger Fritz,
last edited: 5-23-06
The Cups: The Cups are the suit of emotions. They are self worth and self care skills, instrospection and self change and ecstatic trance. They are the warrior qualities of compassion and sweetness.
On the surface, they are symbols for everyday feelings, for the reactions to events and situations that sweep through us like summer storms across the Midwest.
Deeper down, the Cups are symbols for receptivity, for the body that holds the gifts of spirit like a container, for the relationship between body and soul, for the gift of life, the way our bodies are vessels for our life force. They're emblems for the peace and sweetness that spirit will channel through us like cool water.
The Wands: The Wands are the suit of growth. They are friendliness skills, communication and assertiveness. They are the warrior qualities of perspective and patience.
On the surface, the Wands are symbols of personal inward growth, and of wordly life, of involvement with other people. Inner and outer growth go hand in hand, enriching each other.
Deeper down, the Wands are emblems of spiritual growth, of the willingness to do whatever it takes to become something more, the hunger for a wider freedom. And for the blossoms that come when the dry stick of a person is watered and rooted and given light, the spiritual blessings that fall from them unnoticed for the benefit of others.
The Swords: The Swords are the suit of thought. They are self defense skills and warrior skills. They are the warrior qualities of strategizing and cunning.
On the surface, the Swords are the quickness and brilliance of thought, and the danger of thought gone wrong as well. They are the marvel that thought is, the gift of Prometheus, the liquid mercury that runs in our minds and gives us abilities to think, plan, sympathize, have hopes and dreams, and take the long view. They are the monolog that we all run every day, and the presence or absence of toxic thoughts in the stream.
Deeper down, the Swords are the discrimination of the spirit, the river of intuition that runs deeper than conscious thought, and that feeds and enriches our everyday ponderings. They are what tells us when we're being abused, and when the way is opening mysteriously before us. Oh, Ya Fatah, the opener of the way. They are that inner compass that knows when we are headed in the right direction, when we are in tune with the wind and the stars.
The Pentacles: The Pentacles are the suit of relationships. They are negotiation skills and relationship skills. They are the warrior qualities of fairness and detachment.
On the surface, the Pentacles are emblems for the stuff of wordly life, for money and income and worldly security. They're the things we need in order to survive and thrive in a material world. Andf more, they're power objects and talismans and magic of all kinds.
Deeper down, the Pentacles are symbols for relationships, for interaction and interchange, for the play of individuality in a realm of duality. They are the dance between Kal and Maya, the cosmic mind and the cosmos of matter. Between the crystal and the colloid. No one can avoid this dance as long as we're in this universe, and to dance it well is the art we seek to master.
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