Welcome to My Tiny Tarot Practice. I'm Amelia Hruby, and this podcast is where I share my tiny tarot practice

as I learn and explore the tarot card by card,

starting with the Suits of the Minor Arcana.

Today's card is the Nine of Cups.

In the Rider-Waite-Smith edition of the tarot, the Nine of Cups features a person seated on a stool or a chair or a bench of some kind. Their

arms are crossed in front of them, their legs are spread and feet flat on the ground. They have a

big red feathered hat on their head and a smile on their face. And behind them, we see a blue

blue curtained or gray stone wall with nine cups atop it.

And I sort of a semi-circle behind this person, seated, smiling.

And something I've noticed is that when pulling this card, people will interpret the smile in different ways.

Some see it as a smirk of self-satisfaction.

Some see it as a smug grin. Some see it as deep joy.

And I think it's so interesting to see how we interpret this thin line drawn on this figure's face.

For me, I always think of this card as the card of having a jolly good time all by yourself.

With the suit of cups, we saw with the three of cups,

the sense of having a wonderful time with others.

Cups aloft, cheersing each other.

Here we have someone who's collected all their cups is sitting in the center of them, happy with themselves.

I think it is that sense of self-satisfaction I mentioned earlier.

But I find it interesting that we all have such different relationships to self-satisfaction,

and often it will depend on who is feeling self-satisfied, how we judge the feeling itself.

I myself have judged people for seeming a little too satisfied with their own actions

or accomplishments. But at the end of the day, I want self-satisfaction for myself.

I want it for you. Especially thinking of what the cups stand for. Our emotional

well-being, our spirituality. I want us to all be seated sovereignly among our

feelings. And I want that to bring a smile to our face. I think there's also

of something to be said in this card that this person is on their own, by themselves.

We don't see any other people in the card. And I think it can often be very hard

to be satisfied with ourselves or even proud of ourselves.

Without needing external validation from other people or measured accomplishments to tell us they're proud of us.

Can we say to ourselves that we're proud of ourselves?

Could we whisper it right now? I'm proud of myself. or say it louder, I'm proud of myself.

While I do think that it's important to be able to reflect on why we're proud of ourselves and

to be able to recognize the ways that we were supported in getting where we are, sometimes we

just need to sit with our nine cups and be proud of ourselves all on our own. There are so many

other moments in the suit of cups where we get to celebrate with others. I mentioned the three of

of cups already, also in the 10 of cups, but at the end of the day, thinking of cups again,

thinking of our emotions, our feelings, we are the only one who gets to feel our feelings.

We can communicate our feelings, we can try to share them in words or in art or in movement

or in embodiment, but we are the only one that gets to feel them firsthand.

And so with the nine of cups, we get to sit and feel them, really feel them.

In this moment, in this Nine of Cups moment, that brings a smile to our face.

And that is something I want to celebrate and invite in having a jolly good time with myself more often.

Thank you for listening to this episode of My Tiny Tarot Practice.

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As you reflect on the Nine of Cups, I hope you're able to find a moment to be proud of yourself.

Much love, and more soon.