The Six of Cups – And Pink

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I gave myself a few days off from the Tarot of Bones in order to work on some other projects; I have a big vending event coming up next weekend and I wanted to make sure I was prepared for it. However, I couldn’t bear to stay away for long, and so I dove back into the Cups!

So if you’re familiar with my work, you’ll notice that my color scheme tends toward earth tones. Occasionally I toss in some red or blue, but that’s a rare occasion, and usually as an accent. But the board that I started with for this piece was already painted bright pink when I got it from Goodwill; it had been some sort of “My name is…” sign for a child’s bedroom. Moreover, the words were either painted or laminated on it in such a way that they were slightly raised, and no amount of sanding made them or the paint want to budge.

Now, the symbolism of the Six of Cups deals quite a bit with childhood and innocence, and the Rider-Waite-Smith card features flowers as a significant symbol. So I decided to play with this some, and incorporate the original pink. I camouflaged the words with several layers of mottled paint, and then sanded the edges of the piece to let the rosy hue show through. I picked up the colors with the faux flowers, too.

What about the ribs? Two deer ribs protectively wrap around a quartet of smaller ball python bones, symbolizing children at play in a safe walled garden. And yes, there is something of a yonic effect in the shape of the deer ribs, given that for many of us our mothers were our first and fiercest defenders. This card allowed me to play with more feminine themes that I normally don’t touch on, and so I decided I may as well run with it.

6 thoughts on “The Six of Cups – And Pink

  1. Rachel says:

    My favorite so far! But they are all wonderful. What an awesome undertaking. Kudos to you and your Animal Spirit Helpers!

  2. Joy Phillip says:

    Just as a thought Lupa, are you writing a supplementary book for this tarot? You should. The LWB is fine if that’s all you have, but with the specialization these cards have, and the unique symbolism, I think it would be worth your while to add a book to it. Sell alone, or with the tarot as a set. I know that if I saw the Tarot of Bones on the shelf, and I went through it, if it didn’t have a book I would most likely pass it by, but with the book I’d get the tarot, even if I was purchasing the book later.

    • lupa says:

      I am, yes! I even mention it on the front page of the Tarot of Bones website: “A full companion book will also be available, detailing my intended symbolism for each card as well as potential avenues for further personal exploration, along with sample layouts and other material of use to the reader.”

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