Today’s writing brought to you by the King of Cups, Eight of Wands, Four of Cups, and Seven of Swords.

KC. King of Cups
That which is represented by the card modified is at the stage of creative urge. Querent has chosen a direction for emotion. Querent may feel the urge to perform some act of divination.
If reversed: Possible stagnation–nothing new has begun. If modified card has to do with divination or scrying, Querent may not be able to learn anything.

The King is clad entirely in blue, symbolic of Cups and emotion. He is standing in the snow, with two trees behind him, and some indentations in the ground that look like three paths diverging away (toward the viewer). He wears a large headdress, like a turban only wide and round, finished around the outside with a gold ribbon and a gold medallion on the front. There are three symbols on the headdress, the astrological symbols for Cancer, Pisces and Scorpio.

The suggested reading is consistent with this deck’s interpretation of the Court cards, where the King represents the start of a cycle, where the matter in question is not started but in preparation, and the Cups represent “an emotional matter”.

8W. Eight of Wands
Science, books, learning. Truthfulness, communication.
If reversed: Dishonesty, falsehood, failure to learn.

The Eight shows a man seated, reading a book and smiling. Actually it looks like his eyes are closed, I’m not sure if this is intentional. He could be sleeping, praying, smiling or laughing. He has dark hair and a dark, full beard, both with strands of gray here and there. Behind him we see a table, with four Wands arranged in not-quite-perfect formation; three of them are perfectly parallel and the fourth is slightly out of parallel. Further behind, the background is dominated by a stone wall, and four more Wands are displayed on the wall .

I can see the tie-in with science, books and learning. I’m not sure what represents truthfulness and communication. Perhaps it is the Wands arrayed on the table, by themselves, like they are being analyzed. Perhaps truthfulness and communication follows naturally with science, books and learning, consistent with scholars sharing their findings and being open to communication and analysis.

If reversed, I can imagine it would represent “unscholarly” behavior, such as “interpreting” the facts selectively, failing to learn, refusing truthfulness and communication.

4C. Four of Cups (already studied)
Devotion, perfect love, expansion of emotion. Emotion in the right place, growth in circle of loved ones, a desire to serve the gods. Forgiveness.
If reversed: Tyranny, cliquishness, infidelity, lack of devotion, snobbery, an unwillingness to give what you insist on getting.

Three friends holding cups, extending a fourth cup to the fourth friend. Represents a “union for good” and a growth in a circle of friends and loved ones.

7S. Seven of Swords
Creative action, especially artistic. Energy flows into creative projects. Development of skills in artistic fields.
If reversed: Failure to succeed in the move you are making. Lack of success in endeavors. The time is not now.

The Seven shows a group of three people playing musical instruments. They are seated in a semi-circle, a stone bench set into a curving stone wall. They are all wearing a pale green. In the foreground in front of them, seven Swords are stacked in a pile, ignored for the moment.

The reference to creative and artistic fields is clear. Action in a creative field. Development of skills, practicing together.

If reversed, I’m not sure how you get “failure to succeed in the move you are making.” Let’s pretend that these three are practicing/rehearsing for their band, their act, or whatever, and they will not succeed in their endeavor.

I chose the King of Cups to be the first card of this set, mostly because it is the card I usually use to represent myself. This time around I took it out and used it to cut the deck, thus ensuring it would be the first card dealt.

I am still not clear as to when the Court cards should be read as a person, or as an indication of the preparation/start/progress/conclusion of a matter. It will probably vary depending on the context. In this case, since I chose the card to represent myself, it is pretty easy :)

Overall interpretation? I’m not sure. Study, science, truth, communication, union of friends or loved ones, development of skills, energy into creative projects. Pursuing a creative project in a group for common good or greater good? The creation is greater than the individual contributors. When we collaborate on something creative, we surpass ourselves and exceed our own expectations. Hmm.