Upright, the 10 of Cups suggests that everything is perfect. Upside-down, not so much. But — everything is always perfect in some sense, we just don’t always realize it. And in the King of Cups (well, King of Chalices, since this is the Samurai Tarot) card, we have an appearance from the Buddhist monk Nichiren, one of the rare people who has ever survived an execution (apparently a bright round object, as bright as the moon, appeared on the execution grounds and frightened his executioners, so he was exiled instead). This is what I mean by a near miss!
I wonder how many of us feel like exiles from our own lives, right now. And why are we exiled? Is it because, like Nichiren, we bravely spoke our truth to power?
If so, Nichiren tells us that’s okay. It may not feel fine, it may feel like the Ten of Cups reversed, but it is fine. We can proceed with fortitude and pick our way along even the rockiest path. It may feel as though everything is going wrong, but we can handle this, even if our problems seem to be the size of Mount Fuji. It is simply a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and finding our way. If we proceed in this way, even with a mountain of a problem and even with a rocky path, we can still enjoy being out in the fresh air, getting some exercise, with the refreshment of our own thoughts for company.
Quiet Mystic 
These are lovely cards – love the colours in the illustrations *makes mental note to go and explore the deck*
I like what you say about Nichiren, however, I wonder how many people feel exiled from their lives because they did NOT speak their truth to power? 🙂
Ali x
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Hmm, I don’t know the answer to that! But thank you for the comment–I’m so glad you liked these cards.
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