The Knight of Cups

Minaret, Gary, and I have travel 800 miles to get to this point. A milestone for us and there was the promise of rest as we arrived. There’s no doubt in my mind that this has been the hardest thing I have ever done, and equally the most rewarding and fulfilling thing I have ever done. But now it’s time to take a break. We’ve arrived in Bishop, and what do you do in Bishop during Memorial Day weekend? You go to Mule Days and look at a whole lot of ass. Mule’s that is…

With the rest over, my mom is with me now as the main support crew member driving the truck and trailer as I continue to ride north along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range. I’ve moved Minaret & Gary north to Susanville, to where it all began. The two of them have given me everything and more, and they deserve a long rest over the next couple of weeks. Its Banners turn to stretch his legs as we navigate this lowland section until we can get back on the trail. While I’m off the PCT and riding in the low lands, I’ll be meeting up with the chuck wagon (Truck & Trailer) every night. I won’t need a pack horse, and this way I can navigate the cow trails, dirt roads, streets, and towns without anyone else but Banner and I to worry about. As Banner is the greenest of the three and has the least amount of time in the saddle, this will be the perfect time to bring him in and watch him grow on the trail. Minaret and Gary grew in ways I couldn’t have imagined in these last 800 miles, and miles will do that to anyone or anything. It’s such a joy to witness these moments, and now I get to be a part of Banners growth.

Banner and I will have to ride all the way to north of Reno before we can find the trail again under all the snow that’s up there. But what a blessing the snow has been for the southern section and even now as we travel in the low lands. The plentiful water coming off the mountains and green grass has made this journey truly possible, I’ve been only resupplying ever 5 days and have been relaying on the trail to provide the feed. And don’t even get started on the flowers. 

Somewhere around PCT mile 488 there was a snow storm that moved in the high country and rain where I was camping that night. I woke up around 3 am to rain on my face. I was sleeping under a shelter with no walls at the ranger station. I pulled my bed roll over my head and went back to sleep for about another hour. When I woke up I was hoping that the rain would have stopped. It didn’t. It got worse. So, I studied the maps a bit over a cup of coffee and decided that I would re-route around. I didn’t want to put the mustangs through a night of snow just after they lost their winter coat. And reports said that the Upper Shake Campground wasn’t very good with the water difficult to get to. So, I decided to re-route around it and stay at a lower elevation and hopefully stay out of the wind. After about 3 hours of riding the sky where I was beginning to break but the mountain was still hidden in the clouds. Around this time, I happened to look down at the ground, and there it was. A Taro card with a knight on a white horse holding a gold cup, looking right back at me. I looked at it for a while pondering if I should pick it up or not. I decided whether good or bad, fate and mother nature brought me to this place not traveled by many, and so I should put it in my saddle bag and take it along with me until I could learn/understand the meaning of this better on a later date.

This is what I have come to understand about the Knight of Cups….

“The Knight of Cups is seen as a young knight, riding along on his white horse. Holding a cup as if he is a messenger of some type. Unlike the Knight of Wands or the Knight of Swords, the Knight of Cups is not charging along but rather his horse moves slowly forward. Giving an impression of calmness and peace. The horse represents power, energy and drive, and of course the color white is a symbol of purity, spirituality, and light. The knight wears a cloak covered with the images of fish, the symbol of the sprit, consciousness, and creativity. His helmet and feet are winged, a symbol of an active and creative imagination.

The Knight of Cups is the most feminine of knights. Although that does not mean he is any less of a knight. It simply implies that he is in touch with his intuition and emotions, and he uses them for his own good. During his quest of romance and seduction. He is charming and attractive to others, regardless of their sex, while still expressing the romantic, poetic view of life hi his unique way. This knight also looks to his emotions to provide a map for his life direction. He is someone who’s ruled by his heart rather his head when faced with a decision, he will always go with what his heart tells him, whether it is logical or not. Decisions will be made without much thought and instead they are made drawing upon inner direction. With the experience of warmth, friendliness, love and the need to share these qualities with everyone.

As with all court cards, the knight of cups can manifest as an event, a person in your life, or as a part of yourself.

The Knight of Cups often appears as a messenger or invitation or the arrival of someone or something with an emotional experience that will bring high energy and lift you to an exhilarating state as new situations appear from nowhere. In addition to the physical source of information, the Knight of Cups can also represent wisdom that comes from your dreams and that helps you to surmount life’s obstacles.

The Knight of Cups represents the undertaking of the creative adventure hinted at by the Page of Cups. Whereas the page encounters the mystical fish out of the golden cup and is thus initially inspired with creativity. The knight has already encountered his inspiration and is about to undertake the journey of imagination and creativity to which the unconscious has impelled him.”

In these first 800 Miles there has been a truth that I can’t deny. There have been more experiences, encounters, and conversations that I never thought would be as rich and full as they have been before I started this ride. Every moment of everyday whether there’s pain or joy, I’m being shown that this is where I need to be. Two years ago, I put my life on hold. I quite my fulltime job of being a winemaker and viticulturist where I was making more money than I had ever made in my life. I gave all of that up to not deny what my inner voice was telling me to do. To help create the voice for the Ataxia community and work with our American mustangs. I’d be a fool to say that there wasn’t fear in my heart with the decision I knew I had to make, but If you are about to start a new creative project, you need to direct your imagination into the ‘real’ word. True imagination feeds on action, thus if you do nothing with your dreams they will remain vague and unrelated to the rest of your life. Be mindful about getting too caught up in fantasy and the romanticism of life. Fantasy excites but it lacks any real meaning as you deny your basic commitment to the world and your imagination produces nothing. You do not need to go at a cracking pace but it is important to balance your ideas with action and ensure that you are taking proactive steps to achieve your goals and ambitions.