In the shadows and sparkle of a (literally) underground rave, three trans women dance ecstatically and with total freedom around a bubbling cauldron as the sun rises on the horizon and the fog machine manifests a shadowy Hecate: goddess of witches, the crossroads and in-between spaces, and protectress of the marginalized and othered.

Reversed: codependence | unsupportive or nonreciprocal friendships | isolation | exclusion

The Three of Cups invites us to celebrate, appreciate and deepen our closest friendships and sense of community. It represents the gift of reciprocity and support from the ones we love, our chosen family. The Suit of Cups represents the Water element, which correlates to the emotional landscape. And as we move from the solo Ace and paired Two into this first group dynamic in the Three card, we welcome an expansion of our understanding of what it means to be in true community with one another.

When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
When the hurlyburly’s done
When the battle’s lost and won.
That will be ‘ere the set of sun.

In our deck, the characters and images chosen as Cups cards also reflect the fluidity of Water, which transitions over time through multiple forms (solid, liquid, vapor) and can easily separate and then seamlessly merge without rigid barriers or boundaries. A cloud becomes drops of rain which fall to the ground and run in a rivulet into a drain which feeds into the expanse of the ocean. Ever expanding, merging and then separating again, without the need for strict classification or static definition. Why can't we be just as free in our expressions and ways of being?

The Cards (and the Witches) are Mirrors not Fates

Like all of the cards in the Tarot, the Three of Cups is inherently neither good nor bad. It simply represents certain themes, energies and ideas. In the case of this card, some of the themes may have positive connotations, but in fact every card has both positive and negative qualities baked in (as seen in the keywords listed above).

The Tarot offers us a mirror for self reflection (in both senses of the word). What do you see when you look in the glass? Who is looking back at you? What message do the cards have for you…not because of some supernatural forces outside of yourself, but rather because of what you see and what stands out to you in a particular image?!

The same can be said of the Witches in Macbeth. While they are often held responsible for the play’s tragic events, the visions the Wyrd Sisters offer to both Macbeth and Banquo are prophecies of abundance, open to interpretation by the recipient. They do not offer Macbeth the crown in exchange for committing regicide. That is simply what he and his wife perceive as necessary in order "to catch the nearest way"...a plan they seem to have identified and contemplated long before this encounter occurs. But what if this literal reading of what was meant by the Witches' greeting ("all hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter") isn't the only way to interpret it?

There are any number of ways a person can be a king, both literally and metaphorically. What Macbeth (and his Lady) see in that prophecy tells us much more about him and his secret desires than anything else. He is offered a choice–live into the values of community, abundance and connection which the Three of Cups card offers, deepening his relationships with Duncan (his king and relative) and Banquo (his dear friend) and enjoying the mutual support they both tried to offer him; or sever that connection (literally, through killing them both) in the pursuit of individual power.

At the end of the play, Macbeth has not only lost the friendship of the Three of Cups but has also become disconnected from–and completely lost–his devoted partner and soulmate (Two of Cups). We find him at the point of his own death fearful, volatile and on the verge of madness thanks to his choice to abandon connection in favor of taking a shortcut to individual fulfillment at the expense of the people around him. And ultimately the choices he makes lead to his own demise. Not because the Witches made it happen, but because he chose the shadow side of Three of Cups: betrayal, mistrust and disconnection.

Design Starting Point: Rider Waite Smith Tarot deck

With each card design, we start from the traditional Rider Waite Smith (RWS) deck, which for this card depicts three smiling, graceful young women. Wearing floral crowns and holding large chalices, their arms intertwined, the women dance in a close circle. The bright blue sky evokes a clear day, while an abundance of fruits, plants and vegetables spills over the ground, encircling their feet.

This image inspired some of the posture and elements of our design, while some of the imagery presents more of a contrast. In our image, the clear blue sky becomes an early morning sunrise creeping across the horizon, which our dancers experience from deep inside a cave (a literal underground venue). Compared to the RWS dancers who move calmly and gracefully, our women dance in a freer form of self expression, one of them topless. Instead of the three chalices, our Three Cups are represented by three prismatic bubbles rising out of a cauldron, while the shape of goddess Hecate emerges from the fog machine smoke. The sparkling disco ball, replacing the sunny daylight of the original card, is a nod to a real nightlife venue in Brooklyn, NY which a lot of queer and trans folks frequent.

The Cave

The image of the cave draws on photos of Smoo Cave, a combined sea cave and freshwater cave in Durness, Scotland. This is a nod to the Scottish setting of the play, but also the crossing over of salt and fresh water as catalysts for the creation of this cave's shape is yet another representation of the boundaryless, merging nature of the Water element shown in the Suit of Cups. Caves are symbolic of liminal space, the entrance to the underground–a location where the veils thin and we gain heightened access to the otherworldly and the edges, and perhaps therefore where our own subconscious has more space to emerge.

View of outside from the inside of Smoo Cave.

The Sunrise

The sunrise in our image reflects yet again the liminality of this space and our encounter with the Wyrd Sisters within it. Neither fully day or night, our dancers have been up for long enough to see the deepest, darkest moment of the night turn to the first streaks of color across the early morning sky.

The Figures

For the figures of the Witches, joell took inspiration from photos of real people taken during recent nightlife outings, as well as a Picasso painting (Les Demoiselles d'Avignon) and a vintage photograph from one of Studio 54's iconic Halloween parties.

In our design, the posture of the topless woman in particular has echoes of both images, hands flung up and breasts liberated in total freedom of expression. The physical connection, affection and joy in the Studio 54 photo is also reflected in all three of these women's body language.

The weird sisters, hand in hand,
Posters of the sea and land,
Thus do go about, about:
Thrice to thine and thrice to mine
And thrice again, to make up nine.
Peace! the charm’s wound up.

A Queer Nightlife Representation of the Wyrd Sisters

For many queer and trans folks, the underground rave scene is more than a party or a night out–it's a spiritual practice. An underground rave, existing in the liminal and the margins of society, felt like the obvious place to find the Witches in today's world. And with the goddess Hecate (protectress of the marginalized and othered) as their patroness, and a card which is all about expansion through community and more specifically sisterhood–what better representation of these three than as a trio of trans women, finding deep connection in their shared surrender to the flow of the beat, summoning up the goddess herself in the fog from the smoke machine?

When we look at the keywords for this card, it is clear that the overall energy is one of joy, celebration and connection. These energies are reflected in the way the women interact with each other, one touching another's shoulder with a warm look, while the third dances with abandon in an expansive expression of queer joy and liberation. "Open locks, whoever knocks."

The hopefulness of the sunrise, the peaceful facial expressions and the harmony of the overall composition reflect that deeply nourishing feeling of peaceful exhaustion that comes after a night spent communing with friends and moving the energy of the week through our bodies in a somatic release (much like any good workout provides). We've filled up our cups here at the Altar of the dancefloor and get to bring some of that abundance, nourishment and peace home with us…until next time.

"Every good rave that has ever happened or will ever happen makes contact with the continuum."

— McKenzie Wark, Raving