Tarot of Celebration

Last Sunday I demonstrated the Dollhouse Oracle, where we insert tarot cards into the different rooms of cardboard, fold-out, pop-up dollhouses while posing the question, “Please give me a look into the house of my life.”  The cards are then interpreted in line with the metaphorical associations of the different rooms.  As I recall, someone got the 3 of Cups (or some other Cups or other card with celebrational images), I think in the living or dining room, and we discussed ways the cards can denote a community of celebration, and how being part of such a community might be expressed in your home life, as well as your life at large.

In the context of the Dollhouse Oracle, having those types of cards in those rooms speaks well of your ability to communicate and connect.  With the 3 of Cups specifically, (which typically features three garlanded dancing women, reminiscent of the Three Graces), I see it as the three C’s: community, connection, and celebration.  One could add communication to that, or the idea that communication proceeds from connection with community.  When giving advice readings for myself and others, I find the Three of Cups as a recurring card for people who tend to isolate themselves.  If you want to lead a more magical life, you do need time alone for quiet reflection, but you also need to connect with other people in order to benefit from the networks of energy through which magic can flow.

It is interesting to see how different tarot artists convey their ideas of celebration as part of the beautiful life in their illustrations of different cards.  (We get other glimpses of Pamela Coleman Smith’s ideals in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck’s 4 of Wands and 10 of Cups.)   If you want to invite celebrational energies into your home or larger life, or if you have some friends that you enjoy hanging out with, but you want to bring a little more magical energy into your get-togethers, here are some images from the Joanna Powell Colbert’s “Gaian” tarot that can inspire some ideas for community connections:

Powell also shows images of community gatherings in the other Six cards, with the Six of Earth showing people interacting at a farmers’ market, and the Six of Air showing people engaged in some type of group movement exercise.  (These cards also portray people of different genders and races.)  Also, her Eight of Air features a man explaining the use of a feathered prayer wand to a group of people.