3 of Cups. Celebration of the female.

   The three of Cups has a simple design and a simple message. The three women on the card are raising their glasses in celebration. What is interesting about this card is the triplicity. In astrology if three points on a chart are 120 degrees from each other they form a triplicity or a trine. This means that there is a element of kinship, comfortableness and co-operation between the three similar facets.
    The three ladies on the card here look as though they could be sisters. Each wears a different coloured robe, but the colours function well together and there is no antagonism between those elements. The red represents passion, the white purity and innocence and the yellow clear thought.
   The number three has always had magical connotations, especially where it concerns the female element. Three witches, three sisters, three phases of the moon and the triple faced goddess. This card represents the cups or emotional element and as such the female aspect is ascendant. This doesn't mean that men are excluded, it simply means that the female aspect within us all is ascending powerfully.
    As such it represents a time of celebration. For me it is bringing an awareness of thankfulness for the women in my life, for without whom I would not be where I am today. The card represents union and support, kinship and the bond between friends. One source calls this the card of sisterhood, but I feel that doesn't quite fully touch upon this energy. As a man, I naturally am excluded from sisterhood, but that doesn't mean this card is excluding me. I would use the phrase the fraternity of man, but then I fall into the other side.
        Today I started to understand what this card means to me. I have had some recent financial woes and I have found that there has been a outpouring of support from the women in my life. Zoe is always there for me, standing beside me even when things look dark. The women at my workplace have been very understanding of my situation and offered to work with me through this time. Lilly, a recent friend of mine has offered to induct me into the deeper mysteries of the shaman despite my troubles and her own. Laura has stepped up with advice on how to move through this situation without me even asking! I can only feel deeply thankful and grateful for these and other women in my life and the support they offer.
      As a man, I have learned to soldier on through life on my own. We are taught to shoulder our burdens without complaint, to do everything oneself and that any mistakes or slips are our own faults. In this I am learning that being open the female element within oneself opens up a great power, one that many women enjoy naturally. Men do have camaraderie and brotherhood and these too are open to women also. They feel different though, more like warriors together to combine strengths than gently supportive of ones weaknesses. Often in our moments of weakness we need that support more than the gruff goading. It is a shame that more men cannot be open to this element, even within themselves and with other men and women. We all have weaknesses that need supporting and an admission of that is often a more powerful show of strength than a misguided show of bravado.
    Within the card fruits litter the floor and one can see oranges, grapes and pumpkins. I am sure everyone is aware of the symbolism of the pumpkin in relation to the story of Cinderella. It is only through the guidance of the good fairy (the higher female element) that Cinderella is able to transcend the mundane triplicity of her false sisterhood. In that instance the shadow side is apparent in which women rather than supporting each others weaknesses seek to take advantage of them.
    This card however relates to the fruits that can be gained from partaking of this trine and celebrating a common cause in which kinship is the important ideal. This itself is a cause for celebration. It is the conjuction of passion, purity and clear thought.

    Oh and if you would like to read an alternative Cinderella short story by Zoe you can find it here!