Challenging the 4 of Cups: Tuned Out or Tuned In?

Preface: This article is one of several in our “Challenging” series. The purpose of these articles is to flip the script on cards that we usually view as difficult, providing a fresh and more positive perspective. If this type of exploration is of interest to you, then feel free to check out the other cards we’ve tackled: The Hierophant, The Devil, Judgement, 5 of Pentacles, 8 of Swords

If ever there was a “bummer” card in the tarot - this might be it! Anyone who works with tarot can probably relate to the deeply unsatisfying feeling that comes with drawing this one. I know I often describe cards in our “Challenging” series by the physical gestures or vocal expressions I make upon pulling them - but seriously, this is eye rolls and sighs every time.

Here we have an individual sitting under a tree, seemingly over it, bored and full of indifference. Their arms and legs are crossed, indicating they are likely rejecting or ignoring the offering in front of them. Woe is them!

And seriously, if a disembodied hand descending from the heavens can’t rouse them, then what could? For the average person, they would be ecstatic (or maybe extremely disturbed). Either way, they’d have some kind of reaction! But not our protagonist in the 4 of Cups. Nope, they are simply too full of apathy to care…or are they?

Now of course, even in the context of this scene, we have to assume all of these images are symbols - metaphors for something else. If we applied this same scenario to the “real world”, it wouldn’t look like hands coming down from heaven. In actuality, it would probably look more like the mundane miracles that happen every day and go unnoticed because we’re too busy, bored or distracted to care. How many opportunities do we miss when we don’t look up? How many bad moods have spoiled an otherwise amazing occasion?

The 4 of Cups isn’t having it, but maybe we should stop to question why. There is an element of suffering evident in this scene because of course we suffer when we can’t see and feel the good around us. Of course we suffer when we cut ourselves off, close ourselves up and isolate ourselves. So, we have to follow this scene back in time and ask: What brought this individual to this specific spot, under this particular tree?

In the story of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, upon learning of the suffering of the world, sets off to find some answers. After many attempts, teachings and trials fail to produce the results he is looking for, it is determined that there is now nowhere left to go, no one left to turn to and nothing left to do. Siddhartha Gautama makes his way to the Bodhi tree and simply sits. It is finally in this space of having given up, The Buddha reaches enlightenment and realizes what he was looking for has been with him all along. But before that pivotal moment, maybe he too was the 4 of Cups.

Buddha under the Bodhi tree from Wikimedia Commons

And it is along this train of thought that leads us to believe there is more happening in the 4 than what meets the eye. Maybe we too are being fooled by perception. There is so much messaging in our culture insisting we focus on the positive, look on the bright side, take the high road and get back on that horse! But sometimes we need to dwell on what sucks, we need to go into those deep dark places and we have to confront the shadow side of our experiences. When we deny the position in the 4 of Cups, we deny our wholeness and the lessons that discomfort can teach us. Sometimes those lessons are the actual gifts, rather than the shiny objects designed to distract us (also known as Maya in Buddhism).

And with that, maybe it’s just not as simple as saying “he refuses to take what’s being offered! Look at that glorious gift! Such a shame to look a gift horse in the mouth!

As we know, blessings aren’t always blessings, and perhaps this person is just being cautious. Maybe they are taking a much needed pause before they react. Could it be they are waiting for the right moment - like a cobra lying in wait? Not to mention, this scene looks strangely familiar to a certain Major Arcana whose number is 12. In The Hanged Man, we have a figure hanging from a tree with an illuminated halo which points to their enlightenment. Maybe in the 4, what we’re observing is the scene right before the reversal takes place. It could be one last test of faith where we prove our commitment to liberation by demonstrating the mantra “everything I need is within”.

Whether the figure here is being indignant or deliberately seeking their salvation can’t be known. But, we think it’s important to recognize the benefit of embodying that 4 of Cups energy from time to time. It’s ok to take a break. It’s ok to isolate. It’s ok to cross our arms at the world. When we afford ourselves this gift, we also allow space and time for things to unfold.

Moral of the story: If you pull this card, don’t feel badly about yourself or what’s to come. This, like the divine hand suggests, is a blessing. Maybe a blessing in disguise, but a blessing none the less. You may not recognize it at first, because it’s going to look like any other day - any ordinary thing - but that’s exactly where we find all of our miracles. Buddha found this thing under the Bodhi tree and we too have the opportunity to do the same. In the Spirit of Morpheus letting Neo in on a very special trick:
There is no cup.
Just a symbol.
A metaphor.
A visual substitute for what you already have plenty of within. Go find it.