Four of Cups

Protest Photographer:  Kate Churchill

Designer: Rafael Cervantes

The traditional image used to represent the Four of Cups in the Smith-Rider-Waite deck is a figure sitting behind a tree, their face turned away from a hand offering them a cup.  Traditional interpretations view this card as signifying regret, missed opportunities, lack of motivation, boredom with life.  In 78 Acts of Liberation, Lane Smith provides a different interpretation of the act of turning away.  For them, turning away from the cup is a rejection of the traditional, the "normal," the assumed.  It is a card that embodies peaceful protest.  This card, takes the notion of student protest and invites us all to consider, very literally, what is in the water.  What are we consuming?  What are we accepting as normal?  As tradition?  If we are dissatisfied with what we find, we can move to protesting peacefully.  Photographer and student, Kate Churchill, captured the the spirit of protest at St. Catherine University through her photos of the protests of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a student group catalyzed by the genocide in Palestine.  SJP has worked diligently to bring awareness to and create action to stop the ongoing injustices in Palestine.