Tarot Spread: Market of Memory
To continue on this journey of tarot spreads inspired by the minor arcana, I have created the Market of Memory spread to illuminate or clarify the potential meanings and lessons of the 6 of Cups. As with many cards in tarot, the 6 of Cups can pose interpretive problems if we take it at face value. In fact, I asked some of my tarot-reading newsletter subscribers what they struggled with, and the 6 of Cups came up quickly. It’s a complicated card, so I’m thrilled to dig into it just a little.
In the Smith-Waite Tarot, the card shows two children surrounded by flowers. Children are not all that common in the Smith-Waite, so it’s a bizarre image of innocent pleasures. And with its wholesome imagery, it would be easy (perhaps even more comfortable) to stay on the surface. But as with many cards, the superficial interpretation makes the card easy to misunderstand and even easy to dismiss. And sometimes it can seem irrelevant to the reading. Is this a message about nostalgia? Is it memories more broadly? Is it childhood or just the past? Is it innocence or a childish version of the 6 of Pentacles? Are these things good or bad?
Let’s answer that last question first: Yes, because of course all cards can be good or bad.
Now to the real talk. The 6 of Cups is all of the above, and it’s more than that. Astrologically speaking, it’s the Sun in Scorpio, so it’s an opportunity to shine light on what has been hidden. That can be the past, whether childhood or some later past. But it can also be desire and joy, an idea that sits uncomfortably with the kids in the Smith-Waite when that desire or joy is taken to its Scorpionic extreme. Instead, that aspect favors the Thoth Tarot’s title of Pleasure much better. Pleasure isn’t always about sex, though, and it’s important to bring your inner child into the conversation when you see the 6 of Cups. Many of our pleasures and joys can be attributed to that inner self formed from the past. And of course, Scorpio rules the occult, so we might be shining a light on pasts that were buried long before we were born. It’s one of the cards I look for starting past life work.
With that in mind, you may have plenty of new ways of seeing the card. But if you still get stuck on the card or feel ready to just dismiss it, I encourage you to dig in deeper. It’s a Scorpio card after all!
You can explore what of the past is being offered up to you with this spread, inspired by the imagery of the Smith-Waite card. Along with the positive utility of the past, you’ll also get to explore what remains hidden and why that may not be such a bad thing. Scorpio is ready to dig up all the dirt, whatever the pain, but not everyone is so willing and able. There are reasons to consign some things to the Oubliette. It’s important to understand the past, but it can be just as important to know when to let things lie for the time being. When you’re ready to explore them, you may find that you’ve been cued to start that work with the associated sensory cue.
The Offering: What is coming forward from the past?
The Gifted: What pleasures will this help me reawaken?
Clear Skies: How can I use this to shine a light on my future?
Other Wares (2 cards): What of the past remains under the surface, out of sight for now? Why let it stay there?
The Flower’s Scent: How will I know that it’s time to bring more from the depths? (a sensory cue exercise)
See my blog post “Sensory Cues and Intuition” for more on sensory cue exercises.
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