The Tarot of Eli, LLC

Above all things, know thyself.

The Princess of the Waters; Lotus of the Palace of the Floods; Princess and Empress of the Nymphs or Undines. Throne of the Ace of Cups. 

The Princess of Cups as the Grail Made Flesh

The Thoth Tarot Princess of Cups represents mastery of emotional objectivity often achieved through the conscious working-thoughts of manipulation, jealousy, possessiveness, and seduction. She is not naïve feeling, but feeling made lucid. Her power lies in the ability to remain emotionally loyal without being emotionally entangled—offering devotion without ownership, love without grasping.

Mundanely, the Thoth Turtle (Tortoise) emerging from the seashell symbolizes this capacity for emotional loyalty combined with non-attachment. The Turtle sheds the drama of others and remains steady, objective, and undaunted.

In Hindu mythology, the Turtle is the force of motion that supports the world: the Earth rests upon four elephants—symbols of the four directions and four Elements—who stand upon the shell of the great Turtle. This cosmic tortoise is Akupara, bearer of Earth and Sea, while Kurma, the Turtle Avatar of Vishnu, supports the churning of the cosmic ocean. The Universe itself is envisioned as a Serpent coiled upon this foundation.

Thus, the Turtle signifies the foundation of Life-Force—slow in evolutionary terms, yet persistent, patient, and inexorable. Emotional maturity unfolds in this same way: not through haste, but through endurance.

In the realm of personality, the Princess (or Page) of Cups appears as a dreamy youth enchanted by fairy tales and rich imagination. She often represents the Inner Child, where the seed of creativity longs to be recognized and nurtured.

On the Thoth card, she is an emotional re-weaver—one who spins new perspectives from subtle vibrations of feeling. She teaches us that everything is a dream—until it isn’t. Reality itself crystallizes from imagination through sensation.

Visually, the Thoth Princess of Cups dances in a flowing, crystal-edged robe, signifying her ability to both flow and crystallize. The crystalline facets of her garment indicate emotional clarity—the capacity to see things as they are, rather than as she wishes them to be. She is therefore an active, not passive, expression of the Great Mother: she weaves energy into form, image, and manifestation.

Her active determination is reinforced by the Swan taking wing. The Swan is the sacred symbol of AUM, the primordial vibratory harmony of Universal Creation. Emerging from her head, it denotes emotional security and the ability to communicate feelings, desires, and concerns with truth and coherence. This capacity is echoed by the Dolphinfish—not the dolphin mammal, but the royal fish associated with Apollo, the Solar Logos.

The Dolphinfish disporting in the foaming sea represents her union with the Divine Androgyne, the creative power that unites opposites. Alchemically, it signifies First Matter—the raw, luminous substance from which all form arises. The free-floating Lotus Blossom expresses her trusting heart: unpossessive, non-controlling, and open to possibility. She is curious, receptive, and inwardly spacious.

Traditionally, this card has also been linked to Elaine the Virgin Moon-Goddess of Arthurian legend—the Keeper of the Grail who wove the tapestries of life, death, and fate within the Grail Temple. In this mythic role, the Princess of Cups becomes the Dream-Weaver of emotional self-perspective, reminding us that all identity is a dream made real through the body’s sensations. She is the Dispenser of Joy, bearer of hidden knowledge, and bestower of feminine wisdom.

The Ace of Cups, which she personifies, is the Root of the Powers of Water. Cradled in her arm as a scallop-shaped Grail, it represents the Wisdom-Womb of the Great Mother. The Princesses are thus the Personifications of the Grail within their Elements. For Cups, this is Water in its most arcane form: Life-Fluid—the Dew of the Mother—ritually symbolized as water, blood, or wine.

This Great Mother is Binah—Hathor, Isis, and Maat—Sphere of Understanding and Dark Sea of Creation. In the Thoth Ace of Cups, she appears simultaneously as Sea, Cup, and Lotus, the Lotus being the fertile expression of the Mother’s two-in-one nature. A ray of light descends into the Grail, symbolizing the Holy Spirit or Whole Self, while the Moon rests beneath, anchoring the mystery in the psychic realm.

The waves of Life-Fluid form a web of energy from which the tapestry of Creation is woven. To many Native Nations, this weaving is the work of Great Spider Woman, spinner of First Matter. In Western Hermetic Tarot, the Princess of Cups embodies the Earthly aspect of Water—blood plasma, emotional substance, and the alchemical faculty of coagulation.

She is the Grail’s power of manifestation: Water that gives substance to idea by enclosing it in nurturing emotion. She forms the basis of alchemical solution and chemical combination, transforming dream into lived reality.

All four Princesses—Wands, Cups, Swords, and Disks—give character to their Root Powers. As the Thrones of the Great Mother, they represent her rule upon Earth. Root Powers themselves are neutral, without will or focus. The Princesses are the means by which these powers become personal, embodied, and alive.

The Princesses /Pages are the Intelligently Focused Energy of a Root Power (Elements) and are thus aware and personalized intelligences with conscious characteristics. These Great Daughters of the Great Mother have their own peccadillos, and it behooves the practitioner of magic(magick) to know them. For instance:

1. The Princess of Cups has an infinitely gracious character that is voluptuous, sweet, gentle, and kind, romance, and the perpetual dream of rapture are her very nature. 
2. Unlike the Volcanic nature of the Princess of Wands who is the very act of combustion.
3. The Princess of swords is a sharp wit which can cut 2 ways and is a mood-fighter, Valkyrie. and/or Shield Maiden. 
4. The Princess of Disks is Persephone, the power of renewal, springtime growth, and earthly Fecundity.

To the shallow thinker, the Princess/Page of Cup's dreamy rapture, may seem indolent and selfish, the fact that she goes about her work silently and effortlessly dispels such interpretations.

The Arcane Tarot – Page of Cups: The Playful Messenger of the Waters

The Arcane Tarot Page of Cups remains close to traditional tarot imagery, presenting an effeminate youth as the Hermetic Princess of Water. Here, a finely dressed young man dances lightly, holding a large golden cup emblazoned with a ship upon the sea—a classic emblem of emotional voyage, imagination, and the psyche’s passage through feeling. His coquettish smile and playful stance suggest curiosity, openness, and the delight of emotional discovery.

Behind him, fanciful blue ocean waves form the background, reinforcing the fluid, imaginative nature of Water. The sea here is not threatening but inviting—symbolic of emotion as a realm of wonder rather than ordeal. This Page has not yet been tested by the deeper initiations of feeling; instead, he delights in its possibilities.

In his left hand, held over the heart, is a large golden coin. This detail subtly unites Water with Earth, suggesting the desire to value emotion, to give worth and form to feeling. It hints at emotional sincerity and the early attempt to ground inspiration into something meaningful—though still in a youthful, experimental way.

As a personality type, the Arcane Page of Cups represents inspiration, creativity, playfulness, and emotional curiosity. He is the poet before discipline, the artist before mastery, the dreamer who has just discovered that imagination itself is a gift.

Divinatory Meanings

Upright:
A sudden burst of inspiration or creativity may arise from an unexpected source. Emotional openness and curiosity invite new ideas and opportunities. This is a time to remain receptive and allow imagination to guide you forward.

Relationships:
Playfulness, novelty, and shared experiences refresh emotional bonds. Exploring new activities together rekindles joy, spontaneity, and youthful affection.

Career:
A new project or role captures your interest. While unfamiliar territory may present challenges, the work stimulates growth, learning, and creative satisfaction.

Reversed:
Emotional self-expression is blocked or distorted. Self-doubt may inhibit creativity, or sensitivity may slip into immaturity. This reversal can indicate difficulty articulating feelings or a tendency to retreat into fantasy rather than emotional responsibility.

Hermetic Placement 

Where the Thoth Princess of Cups shows the crystallized Earth of Water—emotional maturity and objectivity—the Arcane Page of Cups reflects Water in its earliest personal stirring. He is the first glimmer of feeling becoming conscious, the messenger of the heart before emotional mastery is achieved.

The Princesses as Elemental Intelligences and the Peril of Dream

The Princesses of the Tarot do not merely represent personality cores; they are also Elemental Intelligences of Earth and may be consciously communicated with. In Western Hermetic tradition, these intelligences correspond to the elemental beings of nature:
Undines of Water, Sylphs of Air, Dryads of Earth, and Salamanders of Fire.

However, the dreamy nature of the Princesses—particularly the Princess of Cups—places the practitioner in direct union with a force beyond ordinary egoic control. Without discipline, this contact may draw consciousness into the Astral Waters, where distinction between inner vision and outer reality dissolves. Like the mythic fate of Narcissus, the unwary magician may be seduced into a reflective world from which return becomes difficult.

For this reason, tried-and-true ritual forms of magic(k) are essential. These rites do not suppress elemental power; they contain it. Without containment, the Princess of Cups may overwhelm the practitioner’s personality with rapturous dream states, blurring the boundaries of day-to-day functioning. Reality itself can appear distorted—as if viewed through deep, moving water—and the personality may lose its footing in consensual, man-made reality.

The myth of Narcissus is therefore a precise allegory for the danger inherent in unmediated contact with the Undines.

Narcissus, a hunter and son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope, was renowned for his beauty. Though many fell in love with him, he returned only disdain. The Oread nymph Echo, cursed to repeat only the words of others, fell hopelessly in love with him. When she revealed herself, Narcissus rejected her cruelly. Echo, consumed by unrequited love, wasted away until nothing remained but her voice—an echo.

Some traditions hold that Narcissus was drawn into the reflecting pool by the Undines who dwelled within it, while others tell that Nemesis, goddess of retribution, led him there as punishment. In either telling, the outcome is the same: Narcissus gazed upon his reflection, mistook it for another, and fell in love with an image that could not reciprocate. When he realized the truth, despair overcame him, and he perished—transformed into a flower rooted forever at the water’s edge.

Hermetically, this is not merely a moral tale—it is a magical warning. To fall in love with one’s own astral reflection is to confuse image with essence, dream with reality, symbol with Self.

Few recognize that the sixteen Court Card archetypes—as they manifest through human personality—are simultaneously Elemental Forces of Earth. Through centuries of divided thinking, humanity has forgotten that our bodies themselves are elemental beings, animated by a Solar intelligence. We are not artificial intelligences generated by the brain; we are Prana, the vital life force, incarnating through matter in our own name.

Originally, we were not elemental at all. We began as Spiral Entities of the Celestial “I AM”, Solar identities that inherited the Elements rather than arising from them. Thus, the modern idea that one must “become spiritual” is fundamentally inverted. To seek Spirit as something external is like a fish searching for water.

We are already Celestial Awareness.

The Great Ocean of Binah—the Universal Collective Unconscious—is the Sleeping or Dreaming Self. Humanity, as Solar Consciousness, is the Awakened Witness moving through that dream. The Princess of Cups stands precisely at this threshold: she teaches how dream becomes form—but also how one may drown if form is forgotten.

The Princess of Cups and the Sonata of the Whole Self

The Princess of Cups reminds us that we are a living reflection of the Divine Creative Trinity—woven of Spirit, Mind, and Body. This triune pattern may be understood as I AM ME:
Spirit as “I”,
Mind as “AM”,
Body as “Me”.

Here, consciousness is not abstract—it is relational. Spirit interfaces with existence through Mind, and Mind becomes meaningful only when embodied as sensation.

From this understanding, the popular New Age notion of enlightenment as an ethereal state of “eternal happiness” is revealed as a misconception. Happiness is not a disembodied condition; it is an experienced resonance, and experience requires a body. Only the material self can feel.

We are I AM—the force of existence itself—yet we must build a Me, a manifested awareness capable of receiving and translating information into sensation. Spiritual Will is not known until it becomes in-form-action: embodied, sensed, and lived. The Princess of Cups governs this alchemy—the moment when subtle meaning condenses into felt reality.

True happiness arises not from escape into Spirit, nor from indulgence in matter alone, but from the harmony and synchronicity of the Whole Self. When Spirit, Mind, and Body resonate together, the result is coherence—and coherence is joy.

This Trinity functions as a sonata of frequency and vibration, the music of both invisible and visible worlds. All existence moves to this rhythm—breathing, unfolding, dancing through cycles of becoming. The ancient Name I AM is not merely a declaration of being; it is the identity of the Conductor.

I AM the Conductor of my own Sonata.

Remembering as the Heroic Ordeal of the Self

The journey toward remembering—what is often mislabeled “enlightenment”—is rarely a state of uninterrupted happiness. More often, it is strife-ridden, unfolding as a true hero’s or heroine’s journey. Friction is not failure; it is the necessary tension through which awareness sharpens.

To move through this ordeal without becoming lost, the “Me” must cast off the shackles of indoctrination and dogma. The manifested self is not meant to operate by inherited belief, social programming, or borrowed authority. It exists to express the Will of the “I AM”, which seeks Self-Knowledge and Self-Awareness through Self-Thought—the generation of information about itself.

That information must be experienced to become knowledge. Thought, idea, and insight remain abstract until they are translated through a sensual interface and made manifest as lived reality. This is the precise function of the body. It is not an obstacle to Spirit, but its instrument.

In this sense, the body is a sensor of Spiritual Presence, just as a fish is a sensor of the ocean. Through sensation, information is examined at close range, tested, refined, and expanded into knowing. Without embodiment, awareness has no mirror by which to recognize itself.

You are not striving toward the Divine as a distant goal—you are the fulfillment of the Divine Creative Will-to-Be, made conscious in form. You are I AM Being, Spirit knowing itself through presence, perception, and participation in the world it animates.

The Body as the Sacred Instrument of Knowing

Therefore, as a conscious I AM, I did not come to seek spirituality—for I AM Spirit. I came to cultivate presence, so that I might examine my own Celestial Self-Information—that is, my creativity and imagination—for distortions or errors that could impede the Great Work of “As Above, So Below.”

I stand as a Western Hermetic Qabalist—a Receiver. I know myself to be an intimate Spiritual Being, a Celestial Energy Intelligence, and I also know that the material body grants me proximity to Self-Awareness. Through embodiment, awareness becomes intimate; through intimacy, knowing deepens.

It was as Spiritual Will-to-Be that I chose to navigate the Ocean of Emotion. This voyage was not imposed upon me—it was willed. Emotion is the sea upon which consciousness learns movement, balance, and direction. Without water, the ship cannot sail; without feeling, Spirit cannot know itself in motion.

Here, the Princess of Cups appears not as an end, but as the Wind in our Sails. She does not command the vessel, nor determine the destination. She animates the journey—teaching us how to move with the currents of feeling without drowning in them, how to let imagination carry us forward without losing the helm of awareness.

The body is therefore not an impediment to Spirit—it is its ally. It enables the very purpose for which I AM. The purpose of us all is not to escape the world, but to Be the Divine Self consciously, here and now. Knowledge is not merely accumulated; it is experienced. Wisdom arises not from abstraction, but from lived being.

For this reason, I am also a Tantric. Tantra Yoga means to expand and liberate through communion. It affirms that realization occurs through union, not denial—through participation, not withdrawal. The Qabalistic axiom “Above all things, know thyself” does not exclude the body. On the contrary, the body is the field in which that knowing becomes real.

To know the Self without the body is to know an idea.
To know the Self through the body is to know Truth.

The Great Dark Ocean of Mother Binah is a profound symbol in Western Hermetic Magick, particularly within the Qabalistic framework and the Princess/Pages are the Maid of the Maid, Mother, Crone that is the trinity of Binah the Creatrix who is the third sephirah on the Tree of Life and represents understanding, form, and the crystallization of divine force into structured creation. The imagery of a “Great Dark Ocean” attributed to Binah conveys deep esoteric concepts regarding the nature of manifestation and the feminine principle of containment.

Here’s an exploration of its layers:

1. Binah as the Womb of Form: The Great Mother

Binah, often referred to as Ima (Mother) or the Great Sea, is associated with the primordial feminine force that takes the infinite, formless energy of Chokmah (Wisdom) and gives it boundaries, form, and limitation. While Chokmah is pure, unstructured creative potential (the spark or seed of creation), Binah is the womb in which this potential gestates and takes shape.

• The “Great Dark Ocean” symbolizes this process of gestation—darkness being the state before full manifestation, just as an embryo develops in the dark womb before birth.
• The waters of the ocean symbolize the primal, boundless depths of potential, akin to the amniotic fluid in the womb.

This concept of “darkness” is not negative. Instead, it reflects the mystery and hiddenness of the creative process—the concealed aspect of divine wisdom.

2. The Abyss and the Void: Crossing Into Manifestation

The Great Dark Ocean also connects to the concept of the Abyss in Hermeticism and Qabalah. Between Binah and the lower sephiroth lies the Abyss, representing the threshold between the purely archetypal forces above (supernal triad) and manifested reality below.

• Before creation takes its final form, it “dissolves” within the oceanic waters of Binah. This is why Binah is considered both the womb of life and death—she births all things but also represents the return to primordial darkness when life ends.
• In many Hermetic teachings, this ocean is connected to Tiamat, the chaotic sea goddess of Mesopotamian myth, and the idea of chaos being subdued and given structure.

3. Saturnian Influence: The Restriction of Form

Binah is also associated with Saturn (Shabbathai), the planetary force of time, limitation, and boundaries. The oceanic imagery aligns with Saturn’s restrictive qualities—giving form and imposing limits upon the infinite, fluid creative forces.

• Just as an ocean contains life but also represents vast mystery and depth, Binah embodies both nourishment and the boundaries that enable growth.
• Her association with the “great sea” (Yam HaGadol) reflects the simultaneous nurturing and constraining aspect of this sephirah—Binah’s nature is to limit infinite energy into manageable, defined existence.

4. The Waters of Understanding: Reflection and Depth

In Hermetic Qabalah, understanding (Binah) is the ability to reflect and comprehend. The ocean represents a deep reservoir of knowledge that is vast, sometimes unfathomable, and often concealed beneath the surface.

• Just as the depths of the ocean hide unknown mysteries, so too does Binah hold hidden wisdom that cannot always be accessed directly. This wisdom is gained through meditation, intuition, and reflection on the deeper meaning of life’s limitations and structures.

In this sense, Binah’s ocean is often depicted as dark because true understanding requires diving into the subconscious, shadow aspects, and the unknown.

5. The Feminine Power of Return and Dissolution

The waters of Binah also symbolize dissolution—the return of form back into formlessness. The Great Dark Ocean is the cosmic matrix to which all things return upon death or dissolution.

• In this way, Binah is often linked to the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess in neopagan systems and the Marah (bitter sea) of biblical symbolism.
• She is not only a womb of birth but the place of disintegration and rebirth, reflecting the Hermetic principle of cycles—life, death, and resurrection.

6. Binah’s Relationship with Chokmah: Dynamic Interplay

In Western Hermeticism, Binah’s Great Ocean cannot be understood in isolation—it is the complement to Chokmah’s dynamic force. The Great Dark Ocean “receives” Chokmah’s energy, similar to how the moon reflects the sun. This dynamic reflects the Qabalistic concept of polarity: the masculine and feminine principles working together to generate creation.

• The ocean, in this sense, becomes the receptive principle—it is not chaotic but holds and nurtures the divine spark until it is ready to manifest.
• Without the containment of Binah’s ocean, the force of Chokmah would remain chaotic and unformed, much like lightning dissipating into the air.

Correspondences of Binah and the Great Dark Ocean

• Planet: Saturn (Shabbathai)
• Element: Water (the primordial waters of creation)
• Tarot Card: The High Priestess and the Empress (reflecting the hidden and manifest feminine forces)
• Symbols: The womb, the sea, the black cube (of Saturn)
• Title: Ima (Mother), Yam HaGadol (Great Sea), Marah (Bitter Sea)

7. Practical Application in Hermetic Magick

The Great Dark Ocean of Binah plays a significant role in initiatory practices. When working with this archetype in ritual or meditation, magicians seek to:

• Embrace and understand limitation: Recognizing that limitation is necessary for manifestation and personal growth.
• Dive into the subconscious mind: Accessing deep wisdom that can only be reached by confronting hidden fears and truths.
• Connect with the feminine power of creation and dissolution: Acknowledging that both birth and death are part of the cycle of creation.

By attuning to the waters of Binah, practitioners learn to balance their inner creative chaos (Chokmah) with the need for structure and wisdom (Binah), bringing their spiritual understanding into practical, manifested reality.

For rituals and invocations of the Creatrix Binah, log onto (above button) my Western Hermetic ritual website Meditation Ritual:

1. The Womb of Understanding 
2. The Ritual of the Sea of Marah (Bitter Sea) a ritual for release
3.  The   Ritual of Saturn’s Cube: Building Form from Chaos 
4.  The High Priestess and the Great Sea Ritual

These rituals will help you establish a deep meaningful and intuitive connection with your inner Divine feminine who heals and enhances your self-awareness and the truth of who you are.

Divinatory Meanings: Princess of Cups / Page of Cups

When the Princess or Page of Cups is thrown for a woman, it implies:

• She is objective and realistic of heart, capable of love without emotional distortion.

• Emotionally affectionate and sincere rather than attached, clinging, or possessive.

• A peaceful inner strength of character rooted in emotional clarity.

• An insatiable romantic, guided by imagination and feeling rather than cynicism.

• Highly imaginative, intuitive, and inwardly creative.

• A call to listen to the Inner Child, whose voice seeks expression and renewal.

When the Princess or Page of Cups is thrown for a man, it implies:

• Contact with his inner feminine nature (Anima)—the receptive, intuitive, empathic aspect of the psyche.

• A capacity for emotional longevity, loyalty, and devotion expressed in non-possessive ways.

• An awakening of sensitivity, imagination, and intuitive perception.

• A time to release repression and allow the Inner Child to re-enter consciousness.

As an inner or relational archetype (applies to all genders):

• Represents the Mysteries of the Divine Feminine experienced as intuition, emotional awareness, and subtle self-observation.

• May signify a person in the querent’s life—often one’s own age or younger—who teaches lessons about emotional release, gentleness, and the creative use of imagination.

• Indicates emotional perception that is inwardly observant rather than reactive.

When the Princess / Page of Cups appears generally in a reading, the querent may be experiencing:

• Emotional detachment free of jealousy or possessiveness.

• A gentle, rapturous state of being—kind, tender, and emotionally refined.

• A personality rich in romance, dreams, poetic vision, and aesthetic sensitivity.

• The role of Dispenser of Hidden Insight and Wisdom
  (see Elaine, the Moon-Goddess and Grail Keeper).

Associated qualities include:

• Aesthetic appreciation

• Fantasy and imagination

• Intuition

• Emotional modality

• Poetic charm

• Gentleness

• Sensibility

Ill-Defined or Afflicted, the Princess / Page of Cups may imply:

• Flightiness or emotional shallowness

• Inability or refusal to accept reality

• Misuse or distortion of love

• Deception or self-deception

• Seductive or illusory emotional influence

• “Bubbles in the air” — fantasies without substance

• Loss of emotional grounding or self-assurance

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