The Archetype and the Tarot: The Advocate and Eight of Cups
Through the Advocate and Eight of Cups, this week we’re being called down a path of self-discovery and self-expression. Can we communicate what we need to be fulfilled?
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The Advocate Archetype
To me, the Advocate feels a little like the Warrior, Liberator, and Rescuer mixed together, but can have a gentle touch that’s not always present in the others.
The Advocate possesses tremendous powers of communication, both on the listening, as well as expressing, side of things. As listeners, they capture information and discern what is most important. They fundamentally understand what is in the best interest of those they advocate for. As speakers, they are clear, persuasive and know how to make compelling arguments.
Using these powers of communication, the Advocate comes to the aid of those who can’t or won’t speak for themselves (including parts of ourselves). When the Advocate comes up in a reading, I think we’re being called to tap into these powers of communication.
There’s an old song by Jewel that comes to mind when I think of the Advocate in the light. It’s called Hands and has the lyric: “Where there’s a man who has no voice, there ours shall go singing.” This is what the Advocate in the light does. Becoming the voice for another means being knowledgable, reliable, and trustworthy. The Advocate always considers what is best for those they represent, focusing solely on their well-being.
In the shadow, The Advocate might take on a cause for all the wrong reasons. They might advocate in order to receive accolades and appreciation. Their sense of self could be tied to their role as an advocate, leading them to overstep moral and ethical boundaries. The shadow Advocate may also harbor feelings of discontent or inadequacy as there is always another cause to support. Most commonly, however, the Advocate in shadow simply does not do the advocating that’s needed.
Some questions to consider this week:
Is there someone you can turn to to advocate for you when you can’t advocate for yourself?
Do you think there is a correlation between your inner Advocate and the process of manifestation?
Does the process of advocating enliven or exhaust you?
When have you been an advocate for yourself or another in the past?
Eight of Cups
Here we see eight cups in the foreground, five on the bottom and three on top. They form a sort of structure, but there appears to be one missing, an empty space between the cups on the top. Through that empty space we can see a figure, their back turned to us, walking into the distance. Shallow waters flood the landscape and there is an eclipse happening in the sky, the moon is passing over the sun.
Traditionally, this card carries a meaning of abandonment, of turning away from something that had once been meaningful. But that doesn’t seem quite right to me. I see the eights in the tarot as a time of turning inward, when we shift our focus from what is happening to us (from the outside) to what is happening within us.
I think the person on this card is not turning away from anything, but, rather is turning inward. To me, the suit of cups represents the emotional realm. This Eight of Cups person has experienced all these wonderful emotions through their relationship with the world outside of them. From joy to suffering, and everything in between, they have built a structure, a foundation, from these cups and it has served them well.
But now they realize there is something missing. They haven’t yet had a drink from their own inner cup. And so they turn within themselves, knowing that inside their own heart is the only place they’ll find the missing vessel.
I believe in the Eight of Cups we are called to discover the truth of our own heart.
How does this pair work together?
I really like this pairing. What I see is the Advocate holding space and making sure the person in the Eight of Cups is set up for success. They stick with the Eight of Cups person, turning inward with them and asking all the right questions. Together they discover what the missing cup is and work to bring it into experience.
This, then, is our task this week: Can we discover what we are missing and can we advocate for ourselves to get it?
Jenna,
Wow.
Three years ago, I moved out of and sold my beloved home in my beloved neighborhood. It was one in a series of releasements given to inward turning. On Saturday, I arrived back in my old neighborhood to housesit for the month of May for dear friends. It is a time of focused writing.
And so, this Advocate/Eight of Cups pair echos in my mind and heart; the timing could not be more eloquent; and, as is so every week, I am ever inspired by your interpretation of them.
My sense of the Eight of Cups ***by that, I mean your interpretation*** is that it is only when an outer edifice is breached, leaving a gap in our perceptions of reality, that we, of our human outward-turning nature, turn inward to tend soul and advocate for and enact another, more integrated way.
Thank you so.
Self-discovery, yes... but advocating for that part of myself? This is tougher. Thanks Jenna. I've come to await your Sunday posts wondering, what is it this week?