Legendary scryers: The Page of Cups

And now for something completely different.  Our legendary scryer for today isn't a historical figure or a fictional character, but instead a Tarot court card, the Page of Cups.

Also known as the Princess of Cups in some decks, this card usually depicts a dreamy youth holding a cup or chalice.  In the classic Waite-Smith and derivative decks, a fish is popping up to the surface, symbolizing the deep unconscious.  When taken as a significator, this card stands for a young, intuitive person of any gender (and often an androgyne). The Page of Cups is creative and sensitive, but not always emotionally mature.  When reversed or ill-aspected, it can indicate someone who is flaky, withdrawn, impractical, or subject to mood disorders or substance dependence. Astrologically, it corresponds to the water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces).  Besides representing a person, the appearance of this Page in a reading can signify the beginning of a creative undertaking or psychic exploration.

So why do I call the Page of Cups the scryer of the deck?  Well, for one thing, she bears a cup of water, a perennially popular scrying tool.  The Queen of Cups is also traditionally a card of clairvoyance--but she, being ruled by Scorpio, possesses a more forceful psychic/sexual energy than the Page, who is gently receptive.  The obedient and and humble Page is, I believe, a closer expression of the process of scrying.  When we seek visions, we adopt a passive mental state and accept information as it comes.

Another reason is her sub-elemental attribution.  Each of the court cards has a sub-elemental correspondence which bridges two of the elements--the Page of Cups is Earth of Water.  The Page stands with her feet on the ground, but her eyes are cast into the cup.  In this context, Water represents the world of visions, and Earth represents the world of manifestation.  The scryer uses physical tools to access an intuitive reality.  To extend the metaphor, when we scry, we cast a line out for the things swimming around in our unconscious, and allow them to be beached on the shores of our Earth senses.  We see the creature of the deep manifesting before our eyes, seeming to have a life of its own--just like the fish in the cup.

Finally, there's the symbolism of the cup itself.  The chalice of water is, among other things, an eloquent expression of the Hermetic concept of the Universal Mind.  The water in the cup is linked to every drop of water on the planet via the oceans and individual mind is a reflection of the One Mind, and contains infinite multitudes. If we can look past the cup (the ego that contains our being), we can link up with the ocean (Being with a capital B).  This allows us to see things that are distant from our own experience, narrowly defined.  Many have argued that this connection with the Universal Mind is the source of all psychic experiences, and I certainly don't have a better theory!

So, if you work with Tarot, as I do, you could try using the archetype of the Page of Cups to enhance your practice.  Try meditating on the card to learn about the nature of seership.  Place him on your table or altar when you scry, or store him with your bowl or crystal.  If you reach a place where you're stuck and feel like you're not making progress, you could do a reading, placing the Page in the center as your significator, to find out what will help you move forward.

The Page of Cups pictured above is from the Morgan Greer deck.