Five of Cups
Five of Cups, minor arcana. loss, regret, grief, disappointment.
A cloaked figure looks down at three spilled cups while two upright ones stand behind him, with a river and a bridge in the distance. The card is about grief and the temptation to see only what was lost.
Upright
- loss
- regret
- grief
- disappointment
A cloaked figure looks down at three spilled cups while two upright ones stand behind him, with a river and a bridge in the distance. The card is about grief and the temptation to see only what was lost.
Reversed
- acceptance
- moving on
- recovery
- finding the remaining cups
Beginning to turn around and notice what is left. Reversed, it points to forgiveness, recovery and picking the two cups back up.
Not every reader uses reversals. Many treat a reversed card as the same theme, blocked, delayed or turned inward.
Astrology and numerology
In the Golden Dawn scheme that most modern decks follow, each numbered minor card from two to ten is given a planet in a sign. For Five of Cups it is Mars in Scorpio. The suit's element, water, comes from Cups.
Its number reduces to 5, which numerology associates with change, freedom, curiosity. See every card that reduces to 5.
Yes or no
In yes or no tarot, Five of Cups counts as a no when upright, and as a yes when reversed. This follows a common convention and not a rule from the deck's makers.
Tarot is a tradition of symbolism. This page says what readers traditionally associate with the card. It does not predict anything and it is not advice.