An Open And Curious Mind

When trying to come up with a title for my blog page, 'The Page of Cups' was the first thing that floated into my head. I can only hope that this title is not misleading to witches and tarot readers who are looking for meanings and symbolisms of the card online, but perhaps if this is the case for you, the divine fates have brought you here for a reason? Nevertheless, I wanted to share why I chose this title and why this particular tarot card holds a lot of sentimental value to me.

My best friend introduced me to witchcraft in 2020, who I'll refer to as Lucy. During the weird period of lockdown where we were allowed to go on walks with up to 6 people and have picnics outside, my friends and I would meet up and walk to the river about 20 minutes from my house. On one of these walks, Lucy brought her tarot deck, and started to give everyone readings. And from then, I was hooked.

I don't even recall what she said to me in the reading, but I remember how it felt - I had always been interested in the supernatural and the idea of gazing into your own destiny, and this instantly drew me in. Lucy also introduced me to pendulums, crystals, incense, and so much more. I truly do not think I would be the person I am today without my spirituality, so I only have her to thank for that.

Being in lockdown meant that no shops were open, so I was unable to go and visit the local trinket shops in my hometown that sold crystals and tarot decks. Lucy advised me against buying witchy things online since she believed in letting your first tarot deck choose you in its way, since this is how she bought hers. She told me how her deck really caught her attention and spoke to her until she felt like she had to buy it. So, I bided my time, anxiously waiting for COVID-19's restrictions to lift so that I could get my own tarot deck... until I got too impatient and just bought my first tarot deck and crystals from Etsy.

My first tarot deck was the Crystal Power Tarot. I did my best to follow my intuition when choosing my deck, and the visuals of this one particularly caught my eye, albeit through a computer screen. I bought the deck, along with some crystals including clear quartz, rose quartz, and opalite (my birth stone), and instantly fell in love with them all. I used that deck religiously, mostly on myself, but also practising on Lucy and my family... despite their reservations.

Having been raised Christian, my new interest raised alarm bells with my parents. I grew up going to church every Sunday, praying before every meal, and being taught that witchcraft was a sin against God. We were taught in Sunday school that modern depictions of "good guy" wizards like Harry Potter were evil, since all magic inherently goes against the Christian faith. For this reason, it took my dad a while to convince me to read the Harry Potter books. I was very devoted to my faith as a child, and really cherished the idea of someone watching over me and everything I do with a warm smile and occasionally lending a helping hand when I needed it.

So, what changed? Well, for personal reasons my family left our local church when I was about 10 - reasons I didn't understand at the time. And over the years, our family practised our Christian faith less and less. My parents and my older sister have continued to follow this religion, still praying and following the word of God. However, I strayed from the path and found spiritualism as my new pillar of comfort and resolve. Luckily, my family really embrace and support my faith now, sometimes asking me to give them tarot readings and lead them in meditations. And from that point, my journey has only blossomed - I now have quite the library of various divine reading cards, crystals,. and spiritual books. I have even recently started keeping a tarot journal of every reading I do, which ensures that my readings are not simply forgotten after a few days.

With my introductions out of the way, let's get onto the main focus of this post: The Page of Cups. First off, what is it? For those of you who aren't familiar with tarot, this card appears in what's called the Minor Arcana of tarot. Think like the four suits of a card deck, which contains 10 number cards, a Jack, a Queen, and a King. Tarot works in a similar way, with four suits (Cups, Wands, Pentacles, and Swords), each of which having 10 number cards, a Page, a Knight, a Queen, and a King. Each suit represents a different aspect of the trials and tribulations that we experience on a daily basis: Pentacles as finances, Swords as words and actions, Wands as energy and motivations, and Cups as emotions and intuitions. As a very emotion-driven person, I have always been drawn to the suit of Cups. 

The Pages in each suit are said to discover the gift of their suit through curiosity - kind of like the beginning of the journey where you know where you want to go, but don't quite know how you're going to get there yet. The Page of Cups, therefore, is the symbol of diving into your innermost feelings and deepest creative desires. This is something that really resonates with me on so many levels. I have often found that my creativity is intrinsically linked to my emotions - when I feel sad, I write sad songs. When I feel inspired by artists, I feed off their inspiration and start drawing. This card acts as a reminder to myself to stay open and curious, for without it I may lose my creative flair. The Page of Cups also asks you to follow your intuition and trust your own judgement, a concept I often struggle with. I believe that being in tune with your intuition, and acting on it as it guides you forward, is a very difficult skill to master. Even after almost 6 years of traversing this path, its gentle voice can easily be drowned out by the rumbling of my anxiety and prejudice.

So this card holds many different meanings that strongly resonate with me, and it is something that I try to keep with me throughout daily life. I remember when I got my newest tarot deck (the Light Seer's tarot), seeing the Page of Cups card for the first time, and instantly identifying myself within the man displayed on it. One thing that I found really striking is that the Page's dangling legs repeat through the card and hang in the sky above him, which to me is a reminder to keep dreaming. The expression "head in the clouds" came to mind, but in this case it's the opposite. Keep your feet in the clouds, so that one day you won't have to pretend to be walking in your personal heaven, because you will have created it for yourself. Also in the top right-hand corner of the card is a pig with wings, reflecting the phrase "when pigs fly" - this means to me that no dream is too big, and having a goal in mind can be really beneficial in life.

Creative inspiration can come from anywhere. One of my favourite creative outlets is songwriting, of which I have composed original music inspired by books, TV, music, my family and friends, and so much more. However, most of what I create in song is focused on my personal life, the vast array of emotions that I experience every day, and who I am as a person. Therefore, I have written a few songs about my spirituality, since it is a key aspect of my being and personality. The Page of Cups inspired me to write a song (with the same name) about how I will always get back on my feet and to not lose sight of myself in the face of adversity. It has been a shining beacon through some dark times, reminding me of how far I've come, and how far I still have yet to go. Some of my favourite lyrics from it include:

"I'm not myself right now / But I'll pick the locks, just like I always have"
"Nostalgia doesn't haunt me, because I've made peace with my past"
"I am my own source of light"
And my personal favourite - "Your sense of self can always be re-found"

So in many ways, at this point in my life I am the Page of Cups. Sat at the water's edge, gazing out at the horizon. Not stagnant - simply inspired by the beauty of the rolling waves before him, opening his mind to the ways in which he can move forwards. So whatever may come my way next, I will try to welcome with open arms, and remain open to the path that the universe has in store for me in the future.