Scorpio in the Druidcraft Minor Arcana: The Seven of Cups

The Seven of Cups, in the astrological correspondence system I follow, is linked to the last decan (13^th-22^nd November), as well as to Venus in Scorpio.   

So, what qualities does Venus bring to Scorpio? Venus has been called ‘the principle of attraction’. It describes our appreciation for beauty (a very subjective area!) and reflects our taste in all sorts of things (dress, art, music, etc) as well as giving us clues about the relationships we’re drawn to.  So, if we combine this with what we know about Scorpio – the Fixed Water sign – what do we find? A deep, emotional attraction – intense, compulsive, obsessive even! There could be a need to ‘dive into the depths’ of relationship in order to feel close to the other.

But there’s also a balance between giving and receiving (remember that Venus also rules airy Libra, which has an affinity to the 7^th house of partnership), so Venus in Scorpio can be very healing through transformation in the area of shared resources.

Seven of Cups (detail): Druidcraft Tarot

Bu how does this fit with the Seven of Cups? This card is often linked to daydreams and fantasies, and having to make choices from a number of options in order to turn dreams into reality.  The figure in the Druidcraft’s version gazes into a pool in which six cups have been submerged; a seventh sits by his side.  He’s drawing on his imagination to envisage the things he longs for.   

Here we have the power of Venus at work – we fantasize about what we desire.  And it may be that we are unwilling to recognize or admit to having all these deep desires, especially if we feel that we “shouldn’t” have them – that they are ‘taboo’ (a word often associated with Scorpio) in some way.  By being patient – by sitting by the pool and gazing – we often find out which of those desires will simply evaporate, and whether any of them are worth the wait.  We do need to guard against our imagining of possibilities taking us into the world of illusion, of course!

Sometimes this card is linked to the idea of debauchery, that by grabbing every opportunity to feed our desire we are consumed by a type of greed.  Our daydreams or fantasies run the risk of leading to overindulgence, satiation, succumbing to our compulsions – particularly things which we feel are ‘taboo’ or not allowed – ending up with us feeling emotionally out of balance. Venus is no longer in her beloved Libra, but is now in deep, dark intense Scorpio!  But the message is the same – it’s time to open our eyes and see the reality, not the dreams – otherwise we can’t move forward; we will stagnate.   We may still choose one of those dreams, but it’s time to turn it into reality.

Druidcraft Tarot created by Philip Carr-Gomm and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections