Curiosity, intrigue, dalliance, flirtation. A card of looking-over rather than action: you can study a partner for a long time — or lose interest in a couple of seconds.
A half-naked girl, ankle-deep in water, has noticed a little boar — or maybe a tapir — in the pond, and leans toward it out of curiosity: what kind of guest is this, is it worth getting acquainted? She seems to have forgotten that the beast is wild and could maul her by accident. The animal is almost entirely in the water, in its own element, and at any instant it could leap out — or keep playing a long game of give-and-take with her. Any sudden move of the heroine's could provoke an unpredictable reaction.
🐗A wild beast in the pond — animal instinct beneath a feigned safety: the partner is unpredictable, a sudden move is dangerous
👀A curious lean toward the water — interest and the wish to take a closer look — but not a decision and not action
💦A girl ankle-deep in water — she is not ready for deep sensual "swims" — only flirtation at the edge
🌿Jungle all around — the beast's alien territory: it is in its element, you are a guest merely taking a look
Interpretation
The Six of Water is about curiosity, intrigue and flirtation. Don't look here for deep feeling: there is interest, the wish to take a closer look at a partner who has caught your eye, but it is too early to talk of decisions or actions. You can keep looking like this for a long time — or lose interest in a couple of seconds.
This is a card of studying each other, not of union. The girl stands only ankle-deep in the water: she is not ready for deep sensual swims. The attraction is so far at the level of "who is this guest and is it worth getting acquainted," not "I'm plunging in headfirst."
The beast in the pond is in its own element, and so it is unpredictable. Most of your notions about the person are hidden under a veil of illusion or a lack of knowledge. A sudden move can provoke unwanted aggression: you can flirt, but carefully.
The neighbors set the coloring. Beside static cards the flirtation gets especially bogged down in place — looking-over with no resolution; beside the airy suit, keep it at the level of conversation, messaging, hints, but not action.
Beside the fiery suit the flirtation may develop swiftly — and burn out just as swiftly. The flash of interest will flare brightly and burn through fast. Watch the neighbors: The Sun warms the light play with warmth, The Moon adds fog and the risk of mistaking an illusion for interest.
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Advice & forecast
✦ The card's advice
Take a closer look and don't rush to conclusions. Right now you know less about the person than it seems — there is more conjecture than fact between you. Don't make sudden moves, so as not to spook the other or provoke aggression: flirt, but carefully, especially beside static cards. With the airy suit, keep the play at the level of hints and messaging, not action. Give the interest time to show itself.
🔮 What the forecast holds
Ahead lies flirtation and mutual study, not a solid union: even the likelihood of closeness is so far doubtful. This is a light looking-over that may drag on or fizzle out. Beside fiery cards the flirtation can flare up swiftly and burn through just as fast; beside static ones — get stuck in place with no resolution.
↓ Six of Water reversed
The reversed Six of Water is curiosity gone to extremes. In one direction — you are stuck in eternal looking-over: for years you circle the pond, daring neither to draw close nor to leave, substituting a living contact with an endless "what if," building up the person's image from conjecture instead of getting to know them. Flirtation for flirtation's sake, a collection of sparks that never caught. In the other — the reverse, you rush to the beast without a backward glance: you plunge into the water headfirst where you should only have taken a look, not noticing that the partner is wild and may wound. A sudden move — and instead of play, aggression. The reversed advice: regain sobriety. Admit that you so far know almost nothing, and either honestly get to know the person step by step, or let the interest go without inflating it into drama. Beside static cards especially: looking-over threatens to become your way of never drawing close.
The card in spreads
The same card reads differently depending on the spread and the question — compare real spreads:
Spread "The state of attraction"
Whether there is a spark and where it leads
«What is really between us?»
What is
Six of Water
What hinders
Ace of Air
Where it's heading
Ace of Water
In the "what is" position the Six of Water — between you so far is pure curiosity and flirtation: you are taking a closer look at each other, but making no move. The hindrance Ace of Air — surplus thoughts, conjecture, the unspoken that muddles the picture. Where it's heading Ace of Water — toward passion and desire with no promises, if the interest grows into a spark. Don't hurry it: right now you know less than it seems.
Spread "The partner's feelings"
What this person feels for you
«What does he really feel for me?»
Head — thoughts
The Moon
Heart — feelings
Six of Water
Body — desire
Ace of Water
In the heart position the Six of Water — he is interested in you, but it is curiosity and flirtation, not a deep feeling: he is curious to take a closer look. In the head The Moon — fantasies, he enchants himself with an image; in the body Ace of Water — a light desire with no anchor. Don't build seriousness in for him. Let the interest show itself in deeds, not in your imagination.
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Spread "Advice"
How to behave
«How should I behave with this person?»
Advice
Six of Water
Support
The Emperor
Outcome
The Sun
As advice the Six of Water answers: take a closer look, don't rush to conclusions, make no sudden moves. Your support The Emperor — your composure and the right not to hurry events. If you flirt carefully and let the person be known gradually, the outcome The Sun — warm clarity: it will become plain whether this is a spark or a mirage. Don't plunge into the water headfirst where for now you should only take a look.
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Spread "Past · Present · Future"
Where the relationship is heading
«What awaits us with this person?»
Past
Six of Water
Present
Ace of Water
Future
Three of Water
In the past the Six of Water — it all began with curiosity and a light flirtation, with looking each other over. In the present Ace of Water — the interest has grown into passion and desire with no particular promises. Ahead Three of Water — a lull and living through yourself, a gentle flow without drama. The play has matured into a sensual experience; don't turn the cozy current into stagnant water if you want more.
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How it differs from Waite
Rider-Waite-SmithSix of Cups
vs
Manara Erotic TarotSix of Water
In Waite the Six of Cups is children in a garden, a boy offering a girl a chalice of flowers: warm memories, nostalgia, innocence, a gift from the past. Manara turns the note in a different direction: not the memory of childhood, but a curious flirtation at the water with a wild beast. Where Waite warms with the past, Manara lives in the interest of the instant — to take a look, to flirt, but not to dive in. This is a card of flirtation and intrigue, not of sentimental warmth.
WaiteManara Erotic Tarot
SceneChildren in a garden, a boy gifts a girl a chalice of flowers.A girl by a pond leans toward a wild beast out of curiosity.
AboutNostalgia, innocence, a gift from the past.Curiosity, flirtation, the wish to take a closer look at a partner.
DepthWarm memory, a heartfelt bond.Surface interest: it can fizzle out in seconds.
Symbolism & correspondences
The Sun in Scorpio — hidden strength and resolve, a tendency to swing to extremes. Outwardly a light interest, beneath which smolders a sharp desire — capable of burning — to unravel another to the very depths.
Element
Water
◆
Arcana
Minor
Suit
Cups
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