The Page of Cups, Magic and Divination Part I

I finished teaching my course on How to Read the Tree of Life Spread this weekend, and part of the last class was an examination of the Pages in the RWS deck. In the discussion, I shared two stories from the Kabbalistic tradition about cups and magic.

You may know biblical story of Joseph and the cup he used for divination. How did he do this? The practice of scyphomancy, or divination using a cup or goblet, is ancient. In the Kabbalistic tradition, it involves bringing a soft gaze to a goblet or a bowl of water (preferably a crystal goblet or bowl because of the way it refracts the light). In the Middle Ages, there was a custom of having a child gaze into a cup or bowl to induce a trance and connect with an angelic teacher, who would share esoteric information.

One meaning ascribed to the Page of Cups is psychic ability, which has its origin in this practice. I shared a story about this practice from the Sephardic tradition called The Scholar Who Fell Into the Water. Here’s a short version:

Once there was a young scholar of Kabbalistic magic who wanted to study with the masters. He decided to travel to Egypt, since it he knew the greatest Kabbalists practiced in Alexandria as well as in Safed in the Holy Land.

On the journey he spent a night at an inn. The next morning, the innkeeper asked where he was going. The young scholar told him, and the innkeeper said, “I can reveal to you that I am such a master magician, and you can learn these practices from me.” The young scholar didn’t believe him and treated it as a joke, saying, “Since when have innkeepers been great Kabbalists?”

 The innkeeper knew better than to tell him of his lineage. He simply brought the young man a bowl of water, saying, “Since you’re headed into the desert, please freshen up with some water first.”

When the young man leaned over the bowl to bring some water to his face, he lost his balance, and tumbled into the water. He looked around and all he could see was water in every direction. Then the sky darkened with a great storm, and he fought the waves trying to keep above the water.

 Just when he thought he was going to drown, a ship appeared, and the mariners threw him a rope. After they lifted him on deck the mariners learned he was a wise scholar. They told him if he went with them to their country, they would make him the governor. So he agreed and completely forgot the journey he was on.

 He ruled the land with wisdom for many years until one day the country was invaded by an enemy army. He was taken captive and sold into slavery. He spent years in bitter servitude until one day he saw a change to escape and fled into the desert. There he found a cave to rest during the heat of the day. He fell into a deep sleep but was awakened by the piping of a bird’s song just outside the mouth of the cave. As he stepped outside the cave, he saw that he was looking down into a bowl of water.

He could see his face reflected in the water along with the face of the innkeeper behind him. “Young man, you’ve been washing your face in this bowl for a very long time,” said the innkeeper. The scholar immediately understood that he was indeed in the presence of a great magician. He apologized for his rude reply and asked to stay and apprentice himself to the innkeeper. In time he became a great magician himself.

The next story will have a fish in a cup, just like the Page of Cups! Tune in tomorrow!