THE EIGHT OF CUPS, LORD OF ABANDONED SUCCESS

   Your ally has turned away from the golden cups arranged neatly on the shore. Of the eight cups, three are stacked in a row on top of the other five. There is an empty space--one cup seems to be missing, and it is literally from the point of the missing cup that your ally is beginning his or her trek up the hillside. Your ally hikes in the moonlight, feeling the influences of Saturn and Mercury in Pisces. (In the mystery tradition of the Qabalah, Mercury is Saturn on a lower arc.) The moonlight suggests that the Piscean influence might sometimes make people too otherworldly for the practical purposes of living in the “real” world. Pisceans tend to dislike confinement and discipline, sometimes withdrawing into psychic realms or into a dream world that can bring emotional or mental satisfaction--potential reasons for why your ally has turned away from the cups on the shore. But Pisceans tend to be artistic and intuitive, revealing the influence of the moon; they also tend to understand things quickly, observe and listen well, and are receptive to new ideas--characteristics compatible with Mercury. The moon is associated with the imagination, and Mercury assists in embodying forces in imaginative form, which an artist or a ritual magician might intend to do. All these factors can result in remarkable works containing a combination of emotion and thought, of force and form in just proportion--a creative act that requires great discipline. Powerful inspirations as well as confidence, combined with a dynamic imagination disciplined by Mercury and Saturn, motivate your ally to move on from previous achievements to attain greater heights.

CORRESPONDING COLOR: Orange.

Reversed: avoidance, fear of greater success, fear of change