Tarot Blog Hop: The Knight of Cups Sings His Heart Out

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Welcome to the Summer Solstice edition of the Tarot Blog Hop! I hope you are enjoying the longest day of the year if you too find yourself in the Northern Hemisphere. I love me some long summer nights, even though it actually doesn't stay light out that late where I live in Tennessee since we're right on the edge of Central Time. It's all good! Someday I'd love to spend the Summer Solstice in Alaska or northern Norway to see the sun stay up, up, up above the horizon for days at a time. #goals!

To me, "The Things I Regret" is so the theme song for the Knight of Cups. First off, it has a jaunty beat that reminds me of the pace at which the Knight of Cups would ride his horse. It's not too fast, not to slow, but constantly moving. It feels like a spirited trot, constantly seeking, constantly exploring, constantly idealizing. You can feel the movement and action and determination of the Knight energy in the music and in the voice of Brandi Carlile as she sings in her ever so earnest way.

Then come the lyrics which are all about love, longing, open-heartedness, romantic ideals dashed, heartbreak, and soul searching. The lyrics speak to me of the push and pull of the emotional landscape of the Knight of Cups. Love is the key to the deepest happiness but it is also the easiest way to fall into the blackest of despair. Love is destined, it is out of our hands, but it is also all our fault when it unravels. Love will set you free but it will also keep you trapped in an endless loop of doubts and regrets. Love is the only thing worth living for but it makes love unspeakable hard.

Here are the lyrics for you to read through so you can see what I'm talking about:

There’s a hole in my pocket where my dreams fell through, From a sidewalk in the city to the avenue There’s a leak in my dam ‘bout the size of a pin, And I can’t quite remember where the water’s getting in

But when you’re wearing on your sleeve, All the things you regret, You can only remember what you want to forget You feel it tugging at your heart, Like the stars overhead, ‘Til you rest your bones on the killing bed

Let them roll over me. Let them roll over me, When I doubt you Let them roll over me. Let them roll over me, When I doubt you

With the weight of the world resting on my back, And the road on which I've traveled is as long as it is cracked But I keep pressing forward with my feet to the ground, For a heart that is broken makes a beautiful sound

But when you’re wearing on your sleeve, All the things you regret, You can only remember what you want to forget

Let them roll over me Let them roll over me, When I doubt you. Let them roll over me Let them roll over me, When I doubt you

I walk through my days like a ghost in a dream, But the field carries on and my past follows me It’s hard moving on from the things you done wrong, When they play in your head like an old fashioned song

But when you’re wearing on your sleeve, All the things you regret, You can only remember what you want to forget

Lonely miles, Without you

Lonely miles, Without youLet the ground keep my bones Let the water be my home Let the dust hold my soul,                                                               Like a holy rolling stone

You'll notice there are quite a few references to water in this song, which reminds me of the suit of Cups representing the Water element. The water is his home and his emotions are a leaky dam. There is so much emotion and water in here, and it isn't the kind of mature, self-assured emotions you would expect from a Queen of a King. It also isn't that fresh and trusting emotional naiveté of a Page. Here we are somewhere in the middle of learning about love and feelings and getting our hearts trampled but also not being the best of partners. We all can relate to these growing pains, hopefully learning from our mistakes and responding differently next time we experience challenges.

There is hope in the Knight of Cups. He will "keep pressing forward with my feet to the ground" even though it's lonely and miserable, disorienting and seemingly endless work. That's life! That's love! There's not much we can do about it but keep trying. Through it all is a sense of the deep beauty of love, "for a heart that is broken, makes a beautiful sound." That is just the kind of romantic language that the Knight of Cups would spout out to a friend over a few drinks at the bar. That friend is probably a songwriter who will turn that heartache into something as beautiful as this song.

Okay, that's enough of my song analysis :) I hope you are enjoying the Tarot Blog Hop and hop along to the next post, or go backwards, it's all in the fun of the thing!  Happy Summer Solstice!!

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