Prince of Cups

Seduction and relinquishment – these two key words (which every good story is about) rule this card.
The prince of cups won’t leave anyone cold, for the better or worse.
He is ruled by emotion, not logic. This knight of our dreams and can be either the hero of his story or the villain. In any case, there will be desire, drama and lasting transformation.
His conscience and moral is flexible, to say the least. Therefore he can be perceived as a trickster by those, who have stricter values. As a sign of that, the serpent crawls out under his skirt. Like the prince, this serpent is agile and won’t stick to her commitments and duties. This particular serpent does not climb up but stays in the waters of this protagonists own subconsciousness. The prince is deeply connected to his inner feminine principle, which is quite rare. He can be a passionate and romantic lover, but the second, the passion fades, he is gone, to chase some other adventure or partner. His argument would may be, to not take everything so seriously. The prince doesn’t mean to be the bad guy, he is just not used to be restricted.
The blood which drops from his hands symbolize his self sacrifice. He is vulnerable and not protected by armour. If he is exposed to attacks, he won’t fight back. This feature can impress and astonish.
He is eager to act for the right reasons, but lacks endurance and has trouble staying on one path. Due to his watery nature, he will renounce any liabilities which cross his path.
Therefore he is not able to transcend his actions into a state of consciousness in tiphareth (referred to as real sacrifice)
If he is a false prophet, he isn’t aware of that. He often appears like a liberator and redeemer. He can be a priest-like figure, but doesn’t understand what it means to be an ambassador of something „real“ or lasting. Instead, with his passionate behaviour he tries to engross the current, which he wants to represent, for himself.
His naive, but narcissistic nature prevents him from teaching and others from learning something useful from him. This doesn’t mean that he has no talent. Quite the contrary. He is persuasive, and charismatic. Other people may even admire his vibrancy. The eagles, representing the ( highest emanation of the ) element of water in it’s purest form will carry him to illusive greatness. What a pity for him, as for everyone else, that he only wanders from one illusion to the next. Eventually his behaviour will leave him unsatisfied and empty and he has to journey on, to refill his tanks. Money could be an issue here too, since it is only a means to an end to him.
There is huge potential in this card. In a world ruled by restrictions and barriers, the prince of cups can help to break apart one’s own habits and follow the own heart. The nascent desire and eagerness which awakens can be a gate to real transformation. As being empathic and rousing, he can be the hero who captures/or rescues one from a self made prison and persistent suffering. Being tempted and seduced may help to let go of restrictions, but is may also be dangerous for one’s own lifestyle. Eventually one has to rule over his own desire and not be possessed by it. To be aware that the love, now felt will not last, is also an important advice, to not get trapped again in a cycle of heartsickness and sadness.
This prince is illusion to some, imagination and creativity to others. Which of both sides of this medal is the case is impossible to differ in this state of life. The aftermath will show, which eventually was the case.