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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Daily Draw- Two of Cups (Isabella & the Pot of Basil)

Ghosts & Spirits Tarot- Two of Cups
This image is based on the poem by John Keats (1795-1821) called Isabella, or The Pot of Basil, A Story of Boccaccio, which you can read in the entirety here, if you are so inclined.

Love sees no class lines, and Isabella fell in love with a servant, who loved her in return.  As often the case, the lovers were blind to everything except their love, while people around them were less than enthused with the situation.  Isabella's brothers murdered the poor servant, whose only crime was to love their sister.  In her grief, she retrieved his head and planted in a pot of basil so that she could always keep a piece of her lover near to her.

She cares for the the plant, watering it with both tears and well water, which so often in tarot symbolizes emotions and the unconscious.  She could not keep her beloved in his living form, but she kept his memory alive and her basil, symbolizing their connection, thrived all of her life.

This is a sad story, but it also illustrates the enduring nature of true love, something that spans both time and space, without beginning, without end.  It also illustrates a basic fact that distinguishes actual love from mere affection or damaging obsession- love feeds itself in a perpetual  cycle, and it is impossible to be truly in love with someone who does not return the emotion, because the synergy of love is needed to complete the cycle.







This card is from Ghosts & Spirits Tarot by Lisa Hunt, published by U.S. Games System, Inc.

5 comments:

  1. What a beautiful story this card describes and I love your lesson on how to differentiate love from obsession. Beautifully done MandySue for such a powerful story.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by, and for your kind words! I know a little something about love and obsession both, having been on both ends of each emotion. I'm older now, hopefully a little wiser.

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  2. What a very sad take on the Two of Cups. Still, I guess it falls in the category of - better to have known true love, than to be an obsessed psychopath ;)

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    1. It IS a sad story, but there is value even in sadness. As for me, I would rather have known love and hurt forever than never have. I am not passing any judgments, but I am not sure keeping your boyfriends' head in a potted plant, and maybe even eating the leaves, doesn't require some kind of mental issue. I'll go with Adam Levine's word and just say, "It's called a metaphor." :-)

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