Cosmic Tribe Tarot

FIVE OF CUPS

Disappointment

Disappointment is the flip side of hope and expectation. The higher the hope and the bigger the expectation, the deeper the potential for disappointment. We often don't realize the extent of our fantasies until we are disappointed by them. In addition to letting us know something we cared about has passed, disappointment helps us by clearly revealing our emotional attachments. This is the essence of self-knowledge. And it doesn't mean hopes or expectations should be avoided. Indeed it's practically impossible to give up hope; attachment, and expectation: we seem wired with them. But we learn through experience that disappointment, like an unwelcome rainy day, is a drag and we incorporate its possibility into our perceptions.

In the card flames consume the rainbow of our dreams. Does the immolating rainbow imply that we grasp at substanceless fantasies, inappropriate to our situation? The flames are the exposure of our unrealistic desires. We can't make the lover return to us. We can't make the rain stop. We don't win the lottery. This burning releases the energy stored in our fantasies and transforms us. Smoke clouds the sky and we can no longer see clearly. We pose our innocence. From the deep waters of the unconscious, five tarnished cups arise and collect the rainbow's ashes. In them lie our visions of futures not realized and our memories of what we hoped would be better. The cups overflow with the charred illusion that everything would always be blissful for us. A faint pentagram pointing downward straddles the cups and drags our sky-high hopes back down to reality. Disappointment is held in the cups of the emotional realm until we clean it up or deal with it, sifting through the ashes and mourning the loss of a particular dream. This rainbow may disintegrate painfully, but the capacity for rainbows still exists.

Divinatory Meaning

Should the Five of Cups rain on your reading. contemplate the role of disappointment in your life. If you are living life fully and taking the necessary risks. you will be disappointed from time to time. Give yourself credit for trying. The trick to surviving disappointment gracefully lies in awareness. The more aware you are, the easier it is to see your own expectations as they arise. To minimize disappointment, risk only that which you can afford to lose and still maintain your emotional balance. But knowing how much is too much is a process of trial and error. Don't cling to blame because you may never know how much of your disappointment was your own doing and how much was beyond your control. During deep disappointment, console yourself with the thought that you are learning valuable lessons. When you’re done cursing fate, get up and apply what you've learned to your next rainbow raising.