Seven of Cups Illusions & Imaginations

The Seven of Cups typically represents a multitude of choices that lie before us and the fact that we can select from what we desire. In my opinion, however, I have realised that the Seven of Cups often appears when we are in a situation that feels stuck, like the one the Kingdom of Shahryar found itself in. Shahryar was the Sultan of the Middle East, whose wife had cheated on him and broken his heart, leaving him bitter. He vowed revenge on the entire sex and thus married a woman for a day, beheading her the very next morning. The 1001 tales of the Arabian Nights were spun by Sheherzade, the beautiful daughter of the Vazeer, in her attempt to reclaim agency in that situation and restore the kingdom to its grandeur.

We all know how the beautiful brilliant storyteller daughter of the Vazeer asked her sister to request a story on the night of her wedding to the Sultan, and spun beautiful brilliant stories, which were left at a cliff hanger every morning and the Sultan in his curiosity would keep her alive another day so she could finish the story, when they sat togetner at night. The stories were recorded in the 1001 Tales from the Arabian Nights. At the end of the tales, the Sultan realised he fell in love with the witty Sheherzade, and that not all women were unfaithful. Character was not based on gender.

What then does the Seven of Cups mean when it shows up in a reading?

The Seven of Cups is thus a testament to our emotional valour and courage when we find ourselves stuck. It is a heart-wrenching thought to consider how I ended up in this situation. In addition, it is the use of storytelling and the imagination as a survival technique. The stories spun by Sheherzade end up reminding us that we, too, can use and frame narrative in many ways. Imagination and illusion can both protect us, as seen in the stories of Sheherzade, and endanger us, as in Shahryar's disillusionment.

This is also a reminder that when we direct our imagination with conscious intention, we can harness the creative potential of our Psyche and transform our destiny. Just as she doesn’t change the Sultan's mind immediately, so too is this not the time for action, but rather a wait and see what the imagination can take us to in time. The Seven of Cups has been seen as a negative card, associated with mental fog and deception. The stories of the Arabian Nights truly illustrate the seduction, beauty, and moral traps and lessons inherent in these tales.

Perhaps, I love this card despite it being a period where we fight to take back our agency, since for me stories have always been a safe place and when we consciously shape our narratives we do wield a powerful tool to shape our reality and define our identity.

For now, dear reader, it may be a time for a poignant reflection on how I arrived here, and a deep dive into the narratives and stories that explain the situation.

A more Rider Waite Approach for the cards-

With the Seven of Cups, we enter the realm of imagination and the flights of fantasy. This is an excellent card to see if you are a writer or an artist working on a fantastical creation. For most of us, however, it is that phase of daydreaming. We see an androgynous figure lost in what he feels is most important. Seven cups float before him, offering him all the riches. He is dreaming about all that can be. The Seven of Cups turns up when there is an overwhelming number of choices in the offering. The mind somehow snaps into fantasy mode, daydreaming about all the possibilities instead of acting upon them. This is literally the state of building castles in the air!! Nothing concrete gets done, more so since there is an emotional overload. This card may appear when there are multiple offers in the queue for you. You have options, but the advice that goes with the card is to be mindful of what you choose, since not all that glitters is gold. Please read the fine print and check everything thoroughly when choosing an option from one of the cups. On the other hand, if there are no offers, this card appears to indicate that a person is evaluating their life and mentally assessing what is offered by each cup and what they feel they want most. Seeing this card is a sign that you need to take stock of your life and consider it for what it is. It would help to be truthful with yourself so that you can know what it is that you need and what is lacking in your life. At the same time, do think of what you have and evaluate if that gives you joy. Do you tend to slip into your dream world to avoid any unpleasantness? Is it a form of escapism? If so, what would you like to leave behind? The seven cups are all suspended in the clouds from the Ace of Cups, which becomes foggy here. This kind of soul searching occurs when a person is not truly happy with his relationship, or when a job is less than what he thought it would be. It is soul-searching that leads to growth, and this is a process. Once a choice is picked, then it will need to be backed up with hard work. Here fantasies present one with all the trappings of a good life, and the seven cups starting from Left to Right offer a public persona or a mask, your true self, that which you are trying to lift the veil off, rebirth and regeneration, home and personal security, as shown by the castle, riches and victory. It is time to start living your best life now, and you surely can have it within grasp if you choose one goal and work on it wholeheartedly. The visions you have can be brought to life through hard work. You have the vision, now you need an action plan!! All the best!!

What does the Seven of Cups mean in a career reading?

The excess of emotions while making a decision that impacts the work you do and the career path you take is definitely not advised. The Seven’s all reflect the need to reevaluate. This is the time to reassess what truly motivates you. However, it is not the time to make a decision.

If multiple offers have been presented to you, now may not be the time to choose one either. If there is an opportunity for you to defer the decision, please take it. However, if the offer is time-bound, then please do read the fine print so that you are not caught off guard or hit by the Neptunian fogs of Illusion that this card is known to predict.

What does the Seven of Cups mean in a love reading?

You may be looking at a potential relationship, in terms of the potential it has to evolve into something, or there may be multiple offers of affection hoping for a relationship with you, or you yourself may be trying to choose the best fit from the offers you have. Again, unfortunately, now is not the tme for you to make a choice. Very often, choices made during the Seven of Cups phase are choices that are made under illusions or thinking of what can be.

Meditations on the Seven of Cups

“We are our choices.”― Jean-Paul Sartre. What kind of a persona do you wish to show to the world? Whom are you trying to please? What is your inner core? What do Riches mean to you? Is it money or something intangible? If it were money, what would you do, and how would your life change more? What does success mean to you? Is it colored by what society dictates as success? Where in your life are you seeking a rebirth or a new beginning? How do you utilise your powers of imagination? Is it to escape life, or is it to fill your bucket and then create something beautiful? Is your imagination a bridge to the world, or is it a way to escape? If it is a means to escape, what are you trying to get away from? How have your choices shaped who you are? Do you feel any regret for a path not taken?

Images Used on The Page. Illustrations from the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck, known also as the Rider Tarot and the Waite Tarot, reproduced by permission of U.S. Games Systems, Inc., Stamford, CT 06902. c. 1971 by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. The Rider-Waite Tarot deck is a registered trademark of U.S. Games Systems, Inc

The World Mythology Tarot By me.