six of cups in work, career or business ✨
When I allow myself to be genuinely seen, I create the possibility of receiving something I could never access any other way.
themes: vulnerability, being seen, self-expression, connection, being received, being accepted, belonging, nostalgia, felt truth, inner child, open heart, community, healing
how this plays out:
honestly speaking up in a meeting and being well received
someone pulling you aside and thanking you for your honesty, vulnerability or authenticity
being witnessed and appreciated publicly or in a group
sharing an idea you genuinely care about before you know whether anyone else will believe in it or support you
telling you team, “I don’t know” and allowing them to meet you there, vs. pretending like you have the answer
giving someone heartfelt praise without minimizing your admiration or worrying that it makes you look less powerful, weak, or less than
letting a colleague or client see that something matters deeply to you, vs. hiding behind professionalism, detachment or tact
asking for help before you’ve exhausted yourself trying to prove (to yourself) that you can do it alone
allowing yourself to be visibly excited about an opportunity, vs. tempering your enthusiasm to appear more sophisticated or nonchalent
saying what you actually want for your career or business before you know whether it is realistic
reaching out to someone you admire and sincerely telling them how their work has affected you
receiving someone else’s vulnerability with tenderness rather than using their openness to gain status, leverage, or control
discovering that the thing you were most afraid to reveal is precisely what allows other people to trust, understand, or connect with you
invitation:
The six of cups is really about being seen, witnessed, held and even admired and appreciated in your vulnerability. The six of cups represents the growth and expansion that occurs when we are seen and received fully by another person or group of people. Therefore, it invites us to share a little more than we normally would, to own what we are feeling or thinking or intuiting even and especially when we aren’t sure how others will react.
In business, this card might show up as the pitch you make, truth you tell, work you share, the help you ask for, the affection you express, or the desire you admit that results in the new relationship, opportunity, insight or level of trust. Where, the result only becomes available to you because of your vulnerability.
It’s about asking for the promotion, or speaking up that something isn’t right.
Whatever is on your heart (or being kicked around the corners of your mind), the six of cups asks you to share it.
Not only can this be a moment of healing, growth and expansion internally, but seeing the results of that growth and expansion externally as well.
Something important to note here is that the sixes tend to represent harmony, and almost always involve “the other”. As in, it’s not typically a card that is about expression or ownership of truth to the self. It’s typically asking you to open your heart and be vulnerable with others. There is also an element of healing in the sixes of tarot — and so I tend to interpret this invitation to share as one that will yield good things.
It’s really about the courage to be sincerely and fully seen, along with the connection, trust and expansion that becomes possible when we allow it.
In reverse, it can indicate a reluctance to share, a fear of judgement from others, or that now is actually not the moment to step forward vulnerably. More on that in another post.
About the Cups Suite: The cups of tarot represent the human journey and experience of developing emotional awareness, connection, intuition and ultimately maturity across these realms. The cups are vessels that can hold the entire range of feeling and emotions (from despair to joy and everything in between) and they really bring out the wisdom when it comes to matters of the heart. Therefore, the cups also rule our relationships and how we relate from parenting, to romance, to friendship, to partnership in work and business, to how we work and collaborate with others, in addition to our core wounding and default emotional states. They invite us to move fluidly through our relational roles, out of performance and into integrity, truth and authenticity.
Some themes throughout the cups suite include:
safety, self-tending, compassion, empathy, boundary work, creativity, wisdom, intuition, expression, clarity, murkiness, healing, softness, fluidity, connection, how we relate to self and how we relate to others, integrity
Note: Integrity is not a matter of the mind, but rather a matter of the heart.
A major question offered by any of the cups could be “what is the most loving thing that I can do for myself right now?” And a part of growing through the journey of the cups is to be able to answer that question honestly and then to honor it with action.
The six of cups in tarot represents an important step in the journey of emotional wholeness — belonging and acceptance for who and what we are (which requires us to show up and be ourselves fully, which often requires a tremendous amount of self-trust and courage).
So I leave you with some questions to ponder and perhaps journal with:
What wants to be honestly expressed through you right now, even if it feels vulnerable to share?
Where are you protecting yourself from being full seen and what might become possible if you opened instead?
What tiny act of openness, sincerity or courage could you take today (maybe even right now) that would allow someone to truly see and meet you?
There is always risk involved when it comes to being received. But, it’s well worth it. The six of cups is inviting you to try it and see for yourself.
