Western Tarot symbolism
Suit of Cups
The Ace of Cups shows an overflowing vessel, water lilies, and a descending bird with a sacramental emblem. The book links it with nourishment, abundance, and the house of the true heart. The Two presents a mutual pledge beneath a caduceus and gives friendship, sympathy, and union among its meanings. Different cards develop different relationships rather than repeating a single mood.
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In the sources
Principal account
LiteraryThe Ace of Cups shows an overflowing vessel, water lilies, and a descending bird with a sacramental emblem. The book links it with nourishment, abundance, and the house of the true heart.
Further detail
LiteraryThe Two presents a mutual pledge beneath a caduceus and gives friendship, sympathy, and union among its meanings. Different cards develop different relationships rather than repeating a single mood.
Context & interpretation
The active library scan carries L. W. de Laurence’s name and reproduces material associated with A. E. Waite’s Tarot exposition. Its symbolic descriptions and divinatory lists are distinct registers, and neither provides a guaranteed prediction.
Original passages
Source 1
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination
behind the Lesser Arcana. Divinatory Meanings: House of the true heart, joy. content, abode, "nourishment, abundance, fertility: Holy Table, fclicily hereof. Reversed: House of theOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Western Tarot symbolism; active reader leaf 119
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0149-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0149-E001-P0119
- Original scan leaf
- 125
- Recorded leaf number
- 125
- Current Reader position
- 119
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Source 2
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination
this place. Divinatory Meanings: Love, passion, friendship, affinity, union, concord, sympathy, the inter-relation of the sexes, and—as a suggestion apart from all officesOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Western Tarot symbolism; active reader leaf 118
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0149-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0149-E001-P0118
- Original scan leaf
- 124
- Recorded leaf number
- 124
- Current Reader position
- 118
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Continue exploring
Ace of Cups
A cloud-borne cup, water and a descending sacramental emblem give this Ace several symbolic layers.
Shared source pageTwo of Cups
Two figures pledging cups are joined by a caduceus and a winged lion-head emblem.
Same subject and traditionSuit of Pentacles
The coin-like Tarot suit, distinct from ceremonial pentacle talismans.
Same subject and traditionSuit of Swords
A suit of force, discernment, tension, and qualified harmony.