Past Lives? Who knows. It seems that past life stories can help us to understand ourselves and get a different angle on who we are. A long time ago, an intuitive gave me a very interesting past life reading. It was so vague and yet resonated so deeply that it made me wonder if past lives are also parallel lives or just different reflections or stories that express an aspect of our journey.
She told me that she saw me in a field of beautiful flowers. All sorts of different flowers were blooming around me, of various colors and kinds. I was wandering through this beautiful field, not happy and free, but rather, I was experiencing a sense of anxiety and stress because I couldn’t choose which flowers to pick! Although this was billed as a “past life” reading, I felt very related to this vision of me as I have felt this feeling deeply whenever I become aware of the vast amount of choices available to me in this life. As a creative, talented and often distracted dilettante, I regularly find myself overwhelmed and unable to commit to one thing. I am fascinated by so many things and I have dabbled in so many arts, crafts and modes of expression. Often, I have felt very lost and unable to choose one path. One of my greatest challenges has been to decide what to focus my energy on at any given time in my life.
This is the feeling and meaning of the 7 of cups. This card calls us to Focus and choose one thing that holds meaning for us. There are so many distractions! So many ways to get pulled off course. This is a tough place to be because it can feel overwhelming and paralyzing. When we are only in survival mode, we take whatever comes to us. With abundance comes challenge, too. An abundance of choices can cause confusion.
Here in the Rider Waite Tarot, the 7 of Cups offers many illusory rewards. What will make us feel fulfilled? Do we go for beauty? Status? Public Acclaim? Wealth? All of these things are are temporary. Which of these things will lead us to wholeness? I have developed a Jungian-ish approach to Tarot – in that I believe we are all seeking to integrate ourselves and achieve wholeness. This cup presents all the distractions to that goal, and creates confusion. In my own interpretation, I see the hooded figure in the center as possibly representing the true self, the true purpose, the meaningful focus. What is the real purpose of our lives? To awaken to our true nature – which is boundless love.
Everything else is a distraction.
Margot Darling 