Bohemian Gothic Tarot

NINE OF CUPS

Lighter or more conventional meanings

Simple earthly pleasures * Feeling well-off, even if you aren't rich * Minor indulgences such as good food and drink * Feeling relaxed and happy * Getting your basic, everyday wishes granted * Enjoyment of a few simple luxuries.

Darker, shadow or more hidden meanings

Doing something that gives you pleasure but that you know is risky * Dangerous indulgences * Selfishly "treating" yourself, but no-one else * Being wilful about getting what you want, disregarding others * Experiments with drugs or other hazardous substances.

A man sits in what looks like a cross between an alchemist's kitchen and a Victorian laboratory. In his hand is a glass filled with a lurid-looking green potion, which he is clearly, and unwisely, about to drink...

The mad scientist is a stock character of the Victorian Gothic genre. He - it is always a he - is usually well-intentioned but can end up acting on the side of either evil or good. It's often been supposed that the knowledge of science and, perhaps, magic, comes from a satanic source and those who appear particularly skilled in such fields as alchemy, medical research and physics have been treated with suspicion. Dr. Van Helsing, who leads the fight against the monstrous vampire Dracula, Dr. Frankenstein, who arrogantly creates a monster, and Dr. Jekyll, who becomes a monster himself, are all examples of the "dangerous doctor" type. The message in the stories that centre on these characters is that science, and the misplaced over-confidence that can result from scientific knowledge, are often perilous to the soul and spirit.

The image on this card shows a man who looks isolated and locked away. There could also be a hint that he is a little unsure of what he's about to do, his expression is somewhat uncertain and distanced, almost frozen. On one level, the glass holds the result of his long quest and years of experiment; to finally put it to the test will fulfil all his intellectual desires at last. On the other, however, the fact that his motivation may be quite wrong (academic vanity maybe, based on a wish to show his cleverness) could lead him down a slippery slope. Once the mixture is drunk, there is no going back and the effects, however bizarre, will have to be lived with. The image captures the moment between the longing for wish fulfilment and the realisation of the possible consequences. Now the moment has come and he must make a decision - we wonder if he will or won't drink.

In a reading, this card can initially seem more typical of Swords than Cups, after all, the "mad scientist" is first and foremost an intellectual, rather than the emotionally-driven character more common to Cups. This gives us a clue as to how to interpret the card, because in fact, it's fundamentally about the emotions involved in experimenting with the wilder sides of science and pseudo-science and seeking to manipulate nature. It's not about the knowledge itself but rather about how wielding this knowledge might make us feel. This card could indicate someone trying to perfect themselves through cosmetic surgery or the use of rare lotions and potions. It could suggest an attempt to overcome natural forces by harnessing them mechanically or by other means; possibly in the form of someone trying to control climate or alter the landscape. In either case the card speaks of someone who is fulfilling their wishes, though the way in which they are doing this is unwise.

On a more mundane level, this card can point to someone who is experimenting with drugs or any mind or body changing substances. Again, it suggests someone in the indulgent and happier phase of such experimentation; they still feel themselves to be in control. So far.

Some further ways to consider this card

How does this card relate to The Devil? When the two fall near each other in a reading how might this strengthen the indication of addictions and obsessions?

On the other hand, if the card appears in association with other Cups, or with Swords, in what way could this alter its focus between emotional aspects and intellectual ones?

He put the glass to his lips and drank at one gulp. A cry followed; he reeled, staggered, clutched at the table and held on, staring with injected eyes, gasping with open mouth; and as I looked there came, I thought, a change - he seemed to swell - his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter - and the next moment, I had sprung to my feet and leaped back against the wall, my arm raised to shield me from that prodigy, my mind submerged in terror. "O God!" I screamed, and "O God!" again and again; for there before my eyes - pale and shaken, and half-fainting, and groping before him with his hands, like a man restored from death - there stood Henry Jekyll!
- Robert Louis Stevenson Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

I made my way as well as I could through the numberless dilapidated chemical instruments with which the room was littered. A French chafing dish supported on an iron tripod had been overturned, and was lying across the floor, while the charcoal, still warm, was scattered around in various directions. Crucibles, alembics, and retorts were confusedly piled in various corners, and on a small table I saw distributed in separate bottles a number of mineral and metallic substances, which I recognized as antimony, mercury, plumbago, arsenic, borax, etc.
- Fitzjames O'Brien The Golden Ingot Stories by Modern American Authors.