The Cup as Sacred Container
When I work with the imagery of the tarot Cups, I never perceive the vessel as an empty object. The cup becomes a sacred container, holding emotional potential, intuitive depth, and the seeds of transformation. In traditional tarot symbolism, Cups embody the element of water, representing emotion and subconscious flow. In my art, that water becomes fertile ground, allowing botanical forms to grow with their own internal rhythm. The cup becomes the birthplace of an entire world, a portal where emotion takes physical form.
When Emotion Becomes Botanical
The moment a plant begins to emerge from the cup, I feel as though emotion itself is sprouting. Tarot Cups often represent feelings that overflow or expand beyond their boundaries, and I translate that expansion visually. Instead of water spilling over, I allow vines, petals, and tendrils to burst upward. They stretch, curl, and twist as if they were alive, turning emotional energy into organic motion. This transformation reflects my belief that feelings evolve and reshape everything they touch.
Roots as Emotional Foundations
Roots play a crucial role in my interpretation of the tarot Cups. Although the suit is associated with fluidity, emotional journeys often begin with grounding. By anchoring my botanical forms with roots emerging from the cup, I suggest that emotional growth requires depth. Slavic and Baltic traditions linked roots to ancestral strength and hidden nourishment, drawing power from what remains unseen. When I depict rooted botanicals, I highlight the structures that sustain emotional life, reminding myself that renewal rises from inner foundations.
The Cup as Life Source
In historical ritual contexts, vessels were not passive. Folk goblets in Slavic households held consecrated liquids meant to protect and sustain the family. Mediterranean ritual cups carried symbolic water from sacred springs, believed to bring vitality and healing. When I depict a tarot-inspired cup, I draw from that lineage. The vessel becomes a life source rather than a container, nourishing the botanicals that grow from it and turning the artwork into a symbolic ecosystem where emotion and heritage merge.
Botanical Movement as Intuitive Flow
Movement is essential in my botanical worlds. The tarot Cups connect deeply with intuition, dreams, and the subconscious, and the movement of my plants reflects that fluid realm. When stems arc or petals bend as if responding to unseen currents, they embody intuitive flow. Their motion feels instinctive, guided by internal knowing rather than external force. This movement becomes a visual metaphor for emotional navigation, showing how intuition shapes growth.
Eyes and Inner Perception
Some of my botanicals carry eye-like forms, watching or sensing their surroundings. In tarot symbolism, inner sight and emotional perception play central roles, particularly within the suit of Cups. When I integrate eyes into the plants growing from the cups, I emphasize awareness that arises through feeling rather than logic. The artwork suggests that emotional insight is alive, constantly observing and responding. These botanical eyes become symbols of inner perception, making the emotional world feel sentient.
Entanglement and Connection
Many of my compositions feature intertwined stems or mirrored blooms emerging from the same cup. This imagery reflects the relational themes within the tarot Cups, where connection, partnership, and shared emotional growth are common motifs. Entanglement expresses how emotional experiences weave together, shaping multiple lives at once. The shared cup becomes a source of mutual nourishment, illustrating how connection can foster resilience and transformation.
Heritage and Symbolic Lineage
The idea of a vessel giving life appears across many cultural traditions. Slavic embroidery often featured cup-like motifs sprouting stylised plants as symbols of prosperity and protection. Mediterranean ceramics depicted overflowing vessels tied to abundance and spiritual blessing. When I incorporate similar imagery, I connect my work to that heritage. The cup becomes part of a symbolic lineage that honours emotional vitality, cultural memory, and quiet magic.
Why This Symbol Endures in My Work
The image of the cup continues to inspire me because it captures the essence of emotional potential. It holds space for growth, allowing new forms to emerge. Each time I return to the symbol, I discover new layers of meaning. In my art, the tarot Cups become fertile vessels where emotion transforms into life, movement, and botanical presence. They remind me that feelings are dynamic and generative, capable of creating entire worlds when given room to flourish.
