Seven of Cups (Upright) | Tarot Card of the Day
“Dreams and illusions.”
Seven of Cups (Upright) | Tarot Card
The Seven of Cups represents dreams, illusions and wishes.
It is imaginative and fantastical. However, it is not a card of realities. Some people waste years stuck on the lessons of this card. “If I win the lottery, think of everything I am going to buy!” “One day I’ll get lucky when my ship comes in, and my problems will be solved.” “I hope someone famous will notice my talents and I’ll be successful!” Many times, this sort of thinking is an avoidance mechanism for taking responsibility for your life and its trajectory. The Seven of Cups is also a card of forgetfulness. It dazzles us with its “castles in the air” causing us to ignore the present reality.
What crutches do you use to evade reality?
Does fear of failure, disappointing others, or looking like a loser keep you from making necessary life changes? Do you lack enough confidence in yourself to get the ball rolling?
The figure emerging from the central cup is shrouded. Her arms are open to all possibilities. The shroud over her head cuts her off from the external world and its distractions, so that she opens herself to the creative genius within. However, this figure is not controlling things. She is open to whichever wind blows. This is not always a good recipe for getting something accomplished. There is another cup with a wreath of victory emerging from it. If you look closely, it appears that there is a skull pictured on this cup (a symbol for irreversible change). This could represent a fear of success, since achieving your goal would change all your existing structures. All the cups have different symbols emerging from them. Some are fantastical, while others are frightening. They are the “bright and shiny” objects that can distract you on the path toward your goal. The Seven of Cups requires you to focus, to bring your inner visions into the outer world.
It’s okay to wish and hope for a better future, if you are doing the work. Wishing to lose weight but still consuming 4000 calories a day without moving isn’t going to get you to your goal. By setting daily attainable goals for yourself, you can build and reinforce your self-esteem.
Theodore Roosevelt had a famous code he lived by: “Get action!” By initiating action (putting out the resumes, meeting with experts, taking risks, reaching out, asking questions, learning a new skill), a magical thing starts to happen. Momentum begins. Things start to fall in place. Hope is rekindled about the future. Your dreams begin to manifest. Soon the reality you are living is better than an empty fantasy. This is because you are no longer passively waiting for life to “hopefully” hand you your dreams. You are going out and making them a reality.
When the Seven of Cups appears, dream big!
Then get to the work of manifesting it. Think about one major life goal you have. What practical steps can you take right now to achieve that goal? Be courageous and don’t let old avoidance mechanisms prevail. Instead of hoping, wishing and waiting for what you want, go out and get it!
