The Five of Cups shows us a moment of pure sadness. There’s very little to be seen in the traditional rendition of this card. It is dominated by a downcast figure standing sadly beside overturned cups. What happened? It doesn’t really matter. Whatever those cups held is now gone, and someone is left to deal with the consequences.
Much has been written about the il-fated Burke and Wills Expedition but Sarah Murgatroyd’s book stands out.
In 1860, the Government of Victoria, then Australia’s richest State, decided to sponsor a lavish expedition to make the first south-north crossing of the continent to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Eighteen men, twenty camels, and over twenty tons of provisions started out from Melbourne in August on their ill-fated trip led by Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills.
The party reached Cooper Creek by December and having built a stockade, Burke and Wills started north, along with Grey and King, with four men remaining at the stockade camp. They followed the Corella River into the Gulf and found vast salt marshes lay between them and the sea. Disappointed they left the Normanton area in February 1861 and headed back south.
Increasingly worried by the failure of the men to return as planned, Brahe, waited at the camp for over four months, well past the agreed time, desperately hanging on in the hope that Burke and Wills would make it back to the stockade.
Finally Brahé left, on 21 April 1861, sure that Burke and Wills’ Party had all perished.
That evening, only 9 hours later, on the very same day, 21 April 1861, Robert Burke, William Wills and John King arrived at the abandoned Dig Tree camp. Charley Gray had died on the return journey from the Gulf.
A carving on the tree read DIG. Supplies were basic, but sustained life. Burke, Wills and King were too weak to head south in pursuit of Brahé’s party.
After resting at the Dig Tree, recovering some of their strength, Burke, Wills and King headed south in an attempt to cross the Strzelecki Desert. It was a gruelling few days staggering beside their dying camels. When eventually their camels died, Burke, Wills and King headed back to Cooper Creek.
Exhausted and starving, Burke and Wills soon died. Only King survived, aided by local Aboriginal people. A search party finally arrived to find him still alive in September 1861.
The death of Burke, Wills and Charles Gray during their return from the Gulf of Carpentaria led the expedition to be mythologised in Australian culture as a heroic failure. It ultimately prompted the discovery of vast grazing lands, enabling further European settlement of the interior. Needless to say this is a Five of Cups scene for the indigenous inhabitants whose life was irrevocably changed.
Some positives can be gleaned from the most dire of 5 of Cups situations. Back in the early days of the internet, when I was building the Soul Food Cafe, I created a feature about this ill-fated expedition. The Dig Tree feature follows the fated Burke and Wills Expedition and explores what creative people can learn from this historic period. My son did the graphic art! See the shovels! Each takes you to a page. Choose a shovel, dig and fuel for your imagination.
Working with the Five of Cups
Take the Five of Cups out of the deck and meditate on it. In your journal jot down the thoughts that come to mind, what you perceive to be five of cups moments in your life, the memories that rise up as you view this card.
Pop the card back in the deck and shuffle. Then flip through until you find it again. The card in front of it sheds light on the nature and cause of the situation.
The card behind the Five offers mentorship and a way to perceive things differently.
Given that Tarot card messages can be on the cryptic side you may need to pull yet another card to gain further clarification.
A Rather Wild Garden 