Suit of Cups: Tarot Card Meanings
The Suit of Cups is representative of the element of water. The Suit of Cups Tarot card meanings deal with the emotional level of consciousness and are associated with love, feelings, relationships and connections. Cups are about displays of emotion, expression of feelings and the role of emotions in relation to others. The Cups Tarot cards indicate that you are thinking with your heart rather than your head, and thus reflect your spontaneous responses and your habitual reactions to situations. Cups are also linked to creativity, romanticism, fantasy and imagination. The negative aspects of the Suit of Cups (i.e. when the Cups cards appear reversed) include being overly emotional or completely disengaged and dispassionate, having unrealistic expectations and fantasising about what could be. There may be repressed emotions, an inability to truly express oneself and a lack of creativity. The Suit of Cups traditionally represents the west and autumn. If using an ordinary deck of playing cards, Cups are represented by the Suit of Hearts.
Suit of Cups Personality Characteristics
The people represented by the Suit of Cups (i.e. typically the Court Cards) are emotional, artistic, humane and creative. They are connected with their emotional selves and will draw energy from what they feel within. They are said to correspond to the water signs in the zodiac (Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio) and to water as a symbol of the subconscious mind and reason.
Cups Cards in a Tarot Reading
Should a Tarot reading be predominantly Cups cards, then you can be sure that the client is seeking solutions to what are primarily emotional conflicts, love matters and emotions.
Suit of Cups – Tarot Card Meanings
Click on each Tarot card below to find out more about its Tarot card meaning, including the upright and reversed Tarot card meanings.
| Tarot Card | Keywords | Tarot Card | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ace of Cups
|
Upright:Love, compassion, creativity, overwhelming emotionReversed: Blocked or repressed emotions |
 Two of Cups
|
Upright:Unified love, partnership, attraction, relationshipsReversed: Break-up, imbalance in a relationship, lack of harmony |
 Three of Cups
|
Upright:Celebration, friendship, creativity, communityReversed: An affair, “three’s a crowd”, stifled creativity |
 Four of Cups
|
Upright:Meditation, contemplation, apathy, re-evaluationReversed: Boredom, missed opportunity, being aloof |
 Five of Cups
|
Upright:Loss, regret, disappointment, despair, bereavementReversed: Moving on, acceptance, forgiveness |
 Six of Cups
|
Upright:Reunion, nostalgia, childhood memories, innocenceReversed: Stuck in the past, naivety, unrealistic |
 Seven of Cups
|
Upright:Fantasy, illusion, wishful thinking, choices, imaginationReversed: Temptation, illusion, diversionary tactics |
 Eight of Cups
|
Upright:Escapism, disappointment, abandonment, withdrawalReversed: Hopelessness, aimless drifting, walking away |
 Nine of Cups
|
Upright:Wishes fulfilled, comfort, happiness, satisfactionReversed: Greed, dissatisfaction, materialism |
 Ten of Cups
|
Upright:Harmony, marriage, happiness, alignmentReversed: Misalignment of values, broken home or marriage |
 Page of Cups
|
Upright:A messenger, creative beginnings, synchronicityReversed: Emotional immaturity, creative block |
 Knight of Cups
|
Upright:Romance, charm, ‘Knight in shining armour’, imaginationReversed: Unrealistic, jealousy, moodiness |
 Queen of Cups
|
Upright:Emotional security, calm, intuitive, compassionateReversed: Emotional insecurity, co-dependency |
 King of Cups
|
Upright:Emotional balance and control, generosityReversed: Emotional manipulation, moodiness, volatility |
Learn more about the Suit of Cups Tarot card meanings, including what each card means in a career, work, finance, relationship, spiritual or health reading, in my latest Tarot Guide The Ultimate Guide to Tarot Card Meanings. This comprehensive 330+ page Guide has everything you need to know about the Tarot card meanings and much more.
