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minor arcana - cups

VERSION 2.0 IN PROGRESS

Temporary, for editorial feedback only - please do not bookmark or download

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Ace of Cups
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A beautiful white-robed angel holds a large wine-filled cup aloft. A large white dove flies over a stylised sea decorated with gilt letters.

My Interpretation: The cup of plenty overflows, bringing true happiness. Overflowing love and joy. True contentment, harmony and bliss. Peace, satisfaction and perfect union. Fertility and bountiful abundance. Spiritual fulfillment through unconditional love. (Reversed: Intense emotional turmoil. Loneliness and insecurity within a relationship).

Edit notes to self: Different to v1.0 card as I've added more symbolism to assist readers (and the old Angel wasn't as pretty). I have used Angels for all of the Aces. This card is different to the Rider-Waite card, although hopefully still easily recognisable as the single Cup is fairly obvious. There are some of the symbols from the RWD - dove, water. Still to do - pretty happy with it.

Sources:

Base Pic: Hugo van der Goes, Flemish painter (b. cca. 1440, Ghent, d. 1482, Bruxelles); Portinari Triptych 1476-79 Oil on wood, 253 x 586 cm Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

Face: Simone Martini, Italian painter, Sienese school (b. 1280/85, Siena, d. 1344, Avignon); The Angel of the Annunciation 1333 Tempera on wood, 23.5 x 14.5 cm Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp.

Water: Paolo Veneziano, Italian painter, Venetian school (b. before 1300, d. cca. 1360); A Scene from the Life of Saint Mark 1345 Tempera on wood, 58 x 42 cm Basilica di San Marco, Venice.

Dove: Unknown Illuminator, possibly Jan van Eyck or Jean Pucelle, Netherlands. Très Belles Heures du Duc de Berry c. 1380 Illumination on parchment, 203 x 284 mm Museo Civico d'Arte Antica, Palazzo Madama, Turin.

Cup: Master of the Housebook, German engraver/painter (active 1475-90); The Last Supper late 1400s Wood, Staatliche Museen, Berlin.

Cup Gilt Texture: Conrad Witz, Swiss painter (b. cca 1400, Rottweil, d. cca. 1445, Basel); King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba 1435 Panel, 84 x 79 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin.

Parchment Text Panel: Unknown Illuminators, England; The Aberdeen Bestiary (Aberdeen University Library MS 24), written and illuminated around 1200. Aberdeen University, Scotland.

Gilt Border: Conrad Witz, Swiss painter (b. cca 1400, Rottweil, d. cca. 1445, Basel); King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba 1435 Panel, 84 x 79 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin.

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