‘I Can’t Get No Satisfaction’ or, ‘Meditations on the Four of Cups’

This morning, I slammed around my kitchen angrily because I didn’t like this new kind of cleaning rag. It should be no surprise that when…

Jamie Toth, The Somewhat Cyclops

15 Jun 2020 • 2 min read

Source: [Arthur Edward Waite], Pamela Coleman Smith was the artist and worked as an artist ‘for hire.’ Waite was the copyright holder and he died in 1942. — This image scanned by Holly Voley, PD-US, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35262359

This morning, I slammed around my kitchen angrily because I didn’t like this new kind of cleaning rag. It should be no surprise that when I brought that energy to the tarot deck it clapped back with a card that represents naval gazing to the point of self-centeredness: the Four of Cups.

In the Rider-Waite-Smith version of this card, a young man sits cross-legged and cross-armed. Three cups are on the ground in front of him, and a fourth is offered by ‘the hand of spirit’ that is featured in the aces of the suits. None of these cups captivate our subject, nor does the lush environment that surrounds him. His downcast look makes it impossible to see the bounties in front of him. In Act 1, Scene 2 of Hamlet, the hero bemoans “How weary, flat, stale, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!” and that is what our friend could be thinking.

This card is how the tarot says ‘Get your head out of your ass.’

When looking at the subject of this card, it’s easy to see why this card is often described with the single word of “Dissatisfaction.” This dissatisfaction leads to a rejection of the world, and a withdrawal from it as if emotionally overwhelmed by it. This sort of dissatisfaction leads one to have an inability to see emotional opportunities.The Four of Cups card can be seen as a warning to not become absorbed in yourself and thoughts that you fail to see opportunities in front of you. It’s not just the opportunities within the cups that the subject fails to see — it’s the opportunities and the bounties in the landscape around them.

There are other ways to interpret this card as well, which makes it delightful. The subject could be ignoring the three plain cups, instead intrigued by the fourth, more interesting one.

This card encourages us to take stock of what we have around us, and to see what we already have within reach, instead of missing out on all that is around us based on our daydreams.

My new kitchen rag still sucks, though.