The Shadowscapes Tarot - Six of Cups

I think I should be faster in posting these interpretations. After all, i still have 2 decks waiting for me. ;)

What do we see?

When i look at the card, i first see its dominant color, blue. The second color that stands out is yellow.

The main scene is inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The cups are literal cups used for serving tea. At least 5 of them are. The 6th is separated from the others and has a different shape and color.

There are toys around a table, as well as some mystic creatures. they either observe the scene or even participate in it. 

The toys appear to have a sad expression while the creatures are either interested or curious about what is going on. 

The red ribbon also makes an appearance. It can be seen in the girl's hair, at the back of her dress, on one of the toys. Or maybe even on 2 of the toys. (I can't decide if both rabbits wear red ribbons. It doesn't really make a difference, in my opinion.)

Some goldfish swim in the river and others are flying. However, upon closer inspection, we see that the swimming fish are actually the reflection of those flying. Trees and mushrooms are also seen. 

What does it all mean?

Since the cups deal with emotions, intuition, even relationships, mystery, and religion, we can see many of these elements shown in a way or another on this card.

Like most other cards in this suite, the 6 of Cups also feels sad. It shows a nostalgic scene.

We think either of ourselves when we were children pretending to be adults, or our own children pretending to be adults. Either way, it's a time we'll never see or have again in.

This "destiny" is pointed at through the red ribbon. Here it probably means that some things are meant to stay in the past.

Given the supernatural creatures in this image as well as the reflections of the flying fish, we can assume all this is a dream, an illusion, or even a fantasy.

Despite this scene being sad, nostalgic, or even fictional, there is something about it that makes it peaceful. Perhaps the fact that it all happens at night - the few light bulbs suggest night-time.

The river is not a river after all: it appears to be a mirror. This can explain why we can't be sure of the direction of the river, despite the fish going in a direction away from us, and "into the card".

However, there is something that kinda lacks in this image: balance. On one side of the river/mirror, we have 1 cup with the rest being on the other side. There are more characters on one side of the table than on the other side. The river doesn't split the image into 2 halves either.

This is a signal: we should reflect upon our lives and make sure we have a balance there. We should also make sure that our kindness is not wasted - like the tea on the toys. It doesn't necessarily mean that you should receive something in return for your kindness, but that the act itself is really needed by the recipient.

And how about the flying fish? They must be magical, right? If this is the case, you must meditate and discover what makes you magical as well. This is especially useful when you feel lost with almost no way out.

Like always, remember that the meaning of the card will be different, based on many things. Also, no interpretation is wrong.

©Charly Cross 2013 – present. All rights reserved.