The Tarot of Eli 2: Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot- Page of Cups & The Archeon Tarot -Herald of Cups

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The Page of Cups in the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot and the Herald of Cups in the Archeon Tarot both symbolize an emerging mastery of emotional objectivity—a grace cultivated through the waters of emotional complexity. This mastery does not arise from avoidance but is won through direct engagement with the shadows of manipulation, jealousy, possessiveness, and seduction. These emotional trials are initiatory gates, through which the soul passes to become more self-aware, spiritually resilient, and capable of compassionate detachment.

The Page of Cups in the RWS system is a youthful, almost androgynous figure, standing with serene curiosity and holding a cup from which a fish emerges. This image is not just whimsical; it is deeply symbolic. The fish is the gift of the unconscious—a message from the depths of the soul. The Page listens and receives rather than acts, indicating an openness to intuition, dream, and inner truth. His emotional strength lies in receptivity, not control.

In contrast, the Herald of Cups in the Archeon Tarot presents a more modern and introspective rendering. This figure seems caught in the mists of reflection, the gaze turned inward. Surrounded by shadowy waters and muted hues, the Herald evokes the liminal space between emotion and expression, emphasizing not youthful innocence but emotional maturity born of having wrestled with inner tides. The Herald represents not only receptivity but the beginning of emotional integration, suggesting a phase where one begins to understand the deeper psychic motivations behind one’s feelings and those of others.

In both cards, we see the Water Element at work—fluid, reflective, and shapeshifting. However, in the Rider-Waite-Smith, the Page is the threshold of emotional awareness, a vessel just beginning to feel the stirrings of soul. In the Archeon, the Herald implies a further step—emotional individuation—where the Cup is no longer something held lightly, but a chalice of meaning drawn from personal myth and psychic exploration.

In the Western Hermetic Qabalah, this archetype was transformed from the “Knave” of older decks to the Princess of Cups in the Thoth system, due to a deeper Qabalistic understanding of the four-fold Divine Name—YHVH (יהוה). The formula breaks down as:

• Yod (י) – Fire – Father – Knight

• Heh (ה) – Water – Mother – Queen

• Vav (ו) – Air – Son – Prince

• Heh (final ה) – Earth – Daughter – Princess

Thus, the Princess is not simply a subordinate Page but is the Earthly Root of the Element, the embodiment of form, and the one who holds the power to manifest the entire Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh structure into material reality. She is the Shekinah, the Divine Feminine in exile, who holds the key to the renewal of the entire system when reunited with the primal Fire (Yod).

Both the Page and the Herald, when viewed through this lens, can be seen as early expressions of the Princess archetype—the soul as it begins to become conscious of its own emotional body and to prepare for its role in the alchemical marriage of spirit and matter.

For a deeper esoteric exploration of this transformation, I recommend Robert Wang’s The Qabalistic Tarot and Aleister Crowley’s The Book of Thoth, which detail how the evolution of the court cards mirrors initiatory development and Qabalistic unfoldment.

The Archeon Tarot's Herald of Cups is the deck’s esoteric counterpart to the traditional Page of Cups. Yet in this iteration, there is a heightened emphasis on youthfulness, emotional sensitivity, intuitive depth, and a spark of creative curiosity. The Herald is not just a messenger of the heart but a celebrant of new beginnings. She holds out her cup not merely as a token—but as an invitation from the Muse herself.

This card signals the stirring of something wonderful and mysterious beginning to unfold within consciousness or creation. The emotional body is alive with anticipation, dancing on the edge of inspiration. The cup becomes a chalice of good news, imagination, and intuitive downloads. It is a message from the psychic threshold, asking the querent to listen—not with logic, but with wonder.

Here, we must contemplate the Muse—an ancient archetype that survives in our modern decks as the intuitive spark that inspires creation through playful innocence. The Muse is not just poetic metaphor; she is an inner emissary of the Neshama (Soul), whispering from the astral waters, pulling beauty from the depths of one’s inner world. The Herald of Cups bears her frequency: a soft voice that brings visions, ideas, dreams, and subtle emotional resonance. To heed her is to allow play to become practice and wonder to become wisdom.

This is creative self-care as spiritual practice—a reminder that the emotional body, when honored through curiosity and imagination, becomes a fertile vessel for manifestation. Whether this energy heralds something truly new, or a revision of something familiar that now feels fresh, it remains a moment of self-recognition through joyful expression. Opening to the world as a realm of symbolic play awakens the child within—the one who knows how to love life simply by engaging with it.

In the Western Hermetic Qabalah, the Princess (equivalent to the Page or Herald) is the final Heh (ה) in the Divine Name YHVH (יהוה)—the Earthly Daughter who, though appearing as the least, holds the power to reawaken the entire Tree. She is Malkuth, the Kingdom, and thus the gateway to all manifestation. In certain Hermetic traditions, such as those taught by Aleister Crowley, the final Heh (Princess) must ascend to the Throne of the Mother (Binah, the first Heh) in order to "stir the Eld of the All-Father", Yod (י), the primal seed of fire. In this cosmic cycle, the YHVH becomes a circuit—a spiraling dance of creative emanation and return.

As the Zoroastrian dictum describes it, the Divine Name is not static but “a rebounding, whirling forth, crying aloud.” This reflects the vibratory power of the Tetragrammaton as a living formula—a spinning Mandala of Divine Action, not merely a theological concept. The Princess/Herald is therefore not a passive recipient of divine energy, but the very catalyst of its renewal—the force that calls the heavens to respond.

This profound Hermetic mystery is absent in more exoteric decks, such as the Rider-Waite-Smith or the Animal Totem Tarot, which present the Page as a relatively static or naïve figure. These decks preserve the outer symbolism but omit the inner Qabalistic mechanics that reveal the Page/Princess as the Divine Womb of Manifestation—the one who both receives and enacts the Will of the Higher Spheres.

In Summary:
The Herald of Cups in the Archeon Tarot is more than a Page—she is the Muse in human form, a mirror of the Princess of Cups in Thoth Tarot, a living glyph of the final Heh, and the whisper of creation made audible. To heed her is to open the gates of intuitive knowing, to trust the waters within, and to begin the sacred work of manifestation through emotional alchemy and joyful imagination.

The Qabalistic word Tetragrammaton (יהוה, YHVH), the four-letter name of God, is one of the most central and profound symbols in Western Hermetic Qabalah. It represents the Divine as a unified, all-encompassing principle and serves as a key to understanding the nature of creation, the self, and the spiritual path. Its layers of meaning unfold through its connections to the Sephiroth on the Tree of Life, the four elements, the four worlds, and the process of spiritual realization.

The Four Letters and Their Symbolism

1. Yod (י):

   • Elemental Association: Fire (Wands)
   • Sephirotic Correspondence: Chokmah (Wisdom)
   • Meaning: Yod is the seed, the primal point of energy or creative force. It represents the beginning of manifestation and the Divine Will that initiates creation. For the aspirant, Yod signifies the spark of inspiration and the realization of their divine origin. Yod, is represented by the King or Thoth Knights in each suit.

2. Heh (ה):

   • Elemental Association: Water (Cups)
   • Sephirotic Correspondence: Binah (Understanding)
   • Meaning: Heh represents the receptive, formative aspect of creation. It is the vessel or matrix where the seed of Yod begins to take shape. In the aspirant's journey, it symbolizes the cultivation of inner understanding and the ability to nurture the seed of spiritual insight. The first Heh represents the Queens of each suit.

3. Vav (ו):

   • Elemental Association: Air (Swords)
   • Sephirotic Correspondence: Tiphareth (Beauty)
   • Meaning: Vav is the connecting force, the mediator between the higher and lower aspects of the Tree of Life. It signifies the process of uniting opposites—spirit and matter, divine and human. For the aspirant, Vav represents the path of integration, where one seeks harmony and balance through the application of spiritual wisdom in daily life. Vau/Vav represents the Prince of each suit.

4. Final Heh (ה):

   • Elemental Association: Earth (Pentacles/Disks)
   • Sephirotic Correspondence: Malkuth (Kingdom)
   • Meaning: The final Heh represents the physical manifestation of the Divine Will, the completion of creation. It is the material world as the reflection of the divine blueprint. For the seeker, it emphasizes grounding spiritual realization into practical life and seeing the divine presence in all aspects of existence. It relates to the Princess of each suit, who is the youngest member of the Court Cards.

The Four Worlds

The Tetragrammaton also corresponds to the Four Worlds of Qabalah:

1. Atziluth (Emanation): Yod – The archetypal, unmanifest realm of Divine Will.
2. Briah (Creation): Heh – The world of Divine understanding and creative blueprint.
3. Yetzirah (Formation): Vav – The astral and formative realm where patterns take shape.
4. Assiah (Action): Final Heh – The material world of physical manifestation.

Through this model, the aspirant learns that creation flows from the highest spiritual planes into the material world. This flow mirrors their personal evolution, as they refine their consciousness and align themselves with the divine plan.

Tetragrammaton and the Aspirant's Path

For the Western Hermetic seeker, the Tetragrammaton is not merely a name but a map of spiritual ascent and integration:

1. Unity with the Divine Will (Yod): Recognizing the divine spark within and aligning one's will with the greater cosmic order.
2. Cultivation of Inner Understanding (Heh): Developing receptivity, intuition, and the ability to hold and shape spiritual insight.
3. Integration of Opposites (Vav): Bridging the gap between spiritual ideals and material realities, living as a conduit for divine energy.
4. Manifestation of Divine Purpose (Final Heh): Embodying one's spiritual insights through action, bringing the divine presence into the physical world.

The Name as a Tool for High Magick

In High Magick, YHVH is often invoked as a symbol of power, balance, and divine authority. It is used in rituals, meditations, and visualizations to align the aspirant with the universal forces it represents. For example:

• The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram invokes the four letters to balance the elements and cleanse the space.
• Meditation on the letters helps to unlock their deeper meanings and integrate their energies into the practitioner's life.

Practical Reflections for the Aspirant

The Tetragrammaton encourages the seeker to view themselves as a microcosm of the Divine. By contemplating its structure and meditating on its meanings, they come to understand:

• Their spiritual origin (Yod).
• Their inner capacity for growth and understanding (Heh).
• Their role as a mediator of divine energy (Vav).
• Their responsibility to manifest their divine purpose (Final Heh).

In this way, the Tetragrammaton becomes a sacred tool for self-realization and a guide to harmonizing with the mysteries of creation.

In the Qabalistic Tarot of Thoth, an individual’s significator—the card that best represents their core personality in a reading—is traditionally determined by their Sun sign in Western Astrology. Because the Thoth Tarot is rooted in Western Hermetic Qabalah, it adopts a more esoteric structure than earlier Tarot systems. One such evolution is the transformation of the traditional “Page” into the Princess—a crucial aspect of the elemental Court hierarchy and the final Heh (ה) in the sacred formula YHVH.

To determine a significator in a reading such as the Celtic Cross, many adepts use the Tarot Birth Wheel, a Hermetic-Astrological tool that links Court Cards to specific birthdates. This wheel maps the twelve Zodiac signs across the sixteen Court Cards (Knights, Queens, Princes, and Princesses), offering insight into the core personality archetype of a querent based on their incarnation’s astrological timing.

While each of us contains aspects of all sixteen Court archetypes, the significator reflects the “seed pattern”—the personality that dominates this current manifestation. It is the archetypal lens through which the Soul expresses its intent, challenges, and strengths in this lifetime. In a deeper sense, it is not merely a surface trait but a karmic tendency, a mode of selfhood the Soul is learning to evolve through.

For example, on the Birth Wheel, the Princess of Disks corresponds to the traditional Page of Pentacles or Knave of Earth. She represents the Earthy manifestation of Earth—practical, fertile, grounded, and deeply connected to cycles of nature, growth, and physical manifestation. When appearing as a significator, this Princess may denote an individual whose soul’s path is to nurture and manifest potential through discipline, patience, and connection to the material plane.

Additionally, like all Princess (Page) archetypes, the Princess of Disks can represent a youthful presence in one’s life—a child, student, apprentice, or a message-bearer. Her appearance in a reading may indicate someone entering or leaving the querent’s sphere, especially when connected to matters of family, work, education, or health.

Hermetic Insight:

In Thoth-based Western Hermetic Tarot, the Princesses are more than passive youth; they are elemental roots, embodiments of the Earth phase of their respective suits. The Princess of Disks, in particular, is the Manifesting Daughter—the Earth of Earth, the fixed presence of growth, gestation, and potential made form. Her symbol is the womb of manifestation, and her action is the stirring of the Divine Seed within matter.

As final Heh in the YHVH formula, the Princess serves a redemptive role—she is the one who reignites the cycle of divine emanation by becoming the Throne upon which the Mother (first Heh) can descend again. This is why the Pages, renamed as Princesses in the Thoth system, carry profound esoteric significance as initiators of cycles, keepers of inherited potential, and mystical thresholds between spirit and form.

The Page of Cups, or Herald of Cups in the Archeon Tarot, may be likened to Nimue—the enigmatic Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legend, both consort and nemesis to the wizard Merlin. In Druidic lore, Nimue (or Viviane) is a goddess of dreams, mystic knowledge, and elemental renewal—a muse of the astral tides and initiatrix of magical consciousness. She represents the Maid of the Triple Goddess (Maiden, Mother, Crone)—the ever-youthful feminine face of emotional initiation and sacred curiosity.

As the youthful initiator, Nimue brings inspiration, but also illusion. So too does the Page/Herald of Cups invite the querent into the inner sanctum of the soul, where dreams shimmer like reflections on water. Yet here lies a Hermetic caveat: If one does not remain anchored, they may drown in the very waters that promised renewal. Fantasy, if not met with discernment, can become a form of emotional escapism. The soul’s eye must remain open, and the dreamer must remember the shore.

To truly understand the depths of this archetype is to meditate upon the Page/Herald of Cups as the gateway to the Ultimate Womb—the archetypal Sea of Binah, the Great Understanding from which all form arises. This is the Womb of the Goddess, whose depth is not to be understood by logic but by intuitive gnosis—the Eye of the Soul. This card invites us to read not with the eyes of the world, but with the “I” of I AM.

In a world where love is often treated as a commodity—an exchange measured by profit, possession, or validation—it is difficult for many to grasp the transcendent truth:
“Love built Me to be Itself.”

Love is not an object nor a need—it is the very Essence of Being, the Divine Verb of the I AM. Love is Now, and it fears no future. It is not anticipation, but Presence.
 

The Goddess, in her deepest aspect, is Love—the radiant, nurturing, chaotic, and tender force that shapes creation not through demand, but through Understanding.

And this is the profound secret of manifestation:

We are not merely born—we are “Understood” into being.

In the Hermetic Qabalah, this is the role of Binah, the Supernal Mother—She who gives form to the seed of Chokmah (Wisdom), the Divine Father. She does not force; she receives, contains, and gives understanding, and through this, births.

The Herald of Cups carries this inner echo—the youthful impulse to feel, to create, and to trust the intuition of the heart. When upright and integrated, she is the emissary of the Neshama, bringing the first drops of divine insight into the vessel of the self. When inverted or ungrounded, she becomes like Nimue—mystic, seductive, and dangerous to those who seek power without inner truth.

Final Reflection:

To work with this card is to open the soul to the Mystery of the Divine Feminine in her most vulnerable and vital form—the mystery of emotional birth. She whispers, "Creation is Love of Being", and if you listen closely, you will know that you are Her image made manifest, formed in the Womb of Divine Understanding and called forth by the resonance of Love itself.

Aleister Crowley (Thoth Tarot), in his interpretation of the Tarot, associated the Princess of Cups (also known as the Page of Cups in some decks) with the mythological goddess Venus. Crowley’s Tarot deck, the Thoth Tarot, is known for its complex symbolism and correspondences, and his assignment of Venus to the Princess of Cups reflects his integration of classical mythology with his own esoteric system. Venus, as the goddess of love and beauty, complements the emotional and intuitive qualities represented by the Princess of Cups.

When the Page/Herald of Cups card is thrown in a divination, it implies:

• A fair young person, one impelled to render service and with whom the Querent will be connected.
• A studious youth.
• News.
• Message.
• Application.
• Reflection.
• Meditation.
• Also, these above things directed to business.
• Pages/Princesses represent young people but also often show opinions, thoughts, ideas, -either in harmony with, or opposed to the subject.

When thrown in reversed:

• Taste.
• Artifice.
• Inclination.
• Attachment.
• Seduction.
• Deception. 

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