Ace of Cups

Ace of Cups - Waite & Smith

I am not a big Waite deck fan but I want to present different Golden Dawn based decks and this particular card has really interesting design.

Ace of Cups is the manifestation of Kether in Briah, the Creative World. It is the "Root of the Powers of Water". And angelic hand is holding a cup, from which the Primal Waters pour in a fountain-like manner into the Great Sea. It represents the myth of Creation - the Spirit of God (ve Ruah Elohim - Elohim being a plural of a feminine Eloah) over the face of waters.

Four streams of water represent four Worlds (Aces, although already rooted in particular World are Kether - source of everything) and so do the 26 water drops - the number of יהוה - YHVH.

The dove is a symbol of Venus as the Great Mother. This symbol was incidently adopted by Dion Fortune's Society of Inner Light.

There has been some speculation regarding the letter W on the cup. It is most commonly believed to be Waite's signature. However it can signify Water or West (the direction of the element of water). In original Golden Dawn card there is a red Lotus on the surface of the water suggesting origin of consciousness in Fire (Ace of Cups represents among others the unfolding of Divine Consciousness) and W resembles a Hebrew letter Shin which is a symbol of the emement of fire.

However, when seen from above (e.g. from dove's perspective) it becomes M. Now M can stand for Mem (another Hebrew letter which both symbolises and literally means water), or Mary - remember Da Vinci Code? Ace of Cups is also the Holy Grail. In classic Golden Dawn cards there is a letter Heh (ה) above the cup, which is the second letter of tetragrammaton YHVY representing Briah, Primal Water and Cosmic Mother (there is our M again).

A short quote from Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers regarding mysterious M:

The Ace of Cups is of Egyptian origin, which can be more easily seen in the Spanish Tarot. The figure, like an M placed over the Cup is all that remains of the Egyptian twin Serpents which originally decorated the cup below it. The M in this instance is not inverted (which is the old method of association) but placed above the Cup and it represents the Waters of Creation in the first chapter of Genesis. The old inverted M symbol shows the impurity of quintessence has been contaminated by matter, but placed above the Cup it is a symbol of power which receives and modifies.

The keyword for this card is inspiration.

And here is what "Book T" says about Ace of Cups:

THE ROOT OF THE POWERS OF THE WATERS

A WHITE Radiant Angelic Hand, issuing from clouds, and supporting on the palm thereof a cup, resembling that of the Stolistes. From it rises a fountain of clear and glistening water: and sprays falling on all sides into clear calm water below, in which grow Lotuses and Water- lilies. The great Letter of the Supernal Mother is traced in the spray of the Fountain. It symbolizes Fertility - productiveness, beauty, pleasure, happiness, etc.