Five of Cups Tarot Card Meaning

Five of Cups Tarot Card Keywords

Loss, disappointment, heartache, new hope, regrets, feeling deprived, acceptance.

Five of Cups Tarot Card Description

Traditionally, fives in the tarot pack are not the kind of cards to have you bouncing about the room bubbling over with mirth. So add the general downbeat vibe of a five with all that heady emotion of the cups, and things are bound to get a bit intense for a while.

Upright Meaning

The Five of Cups is associated with loss and endings. Obviously, few of us relish such circumstances, but when the Five of Cups appears, it is at least possible to make the most of the situation. This card may mean you have, or will soon have, to part with something, but in the long run this can clear the way for something better. Whatever it is that is lost, there will be no point trying to get it back, what’s gone has gone, the only way is forward. Remember, such a loss could involve a profound and cherished belief system, or the realization that a long held ambition will not be fulfilled. Sometimes the Five of Cups’ meaning is more direct, it can point to a loss of something such as a key, piece of jewellery or relationship. You may well feel that the end of a romance is more extreme than losing a key, but the point is the strength of emotion the loss brings rather than the loss itself. Thus the unsurprising ending of an unhappy relationship could be less stressful than losing you car keys in a strange city car-park late at night, when the last bus is but a distant speck disappearing over the horizon, and your pockets are devoid of cash for a taxi. As you might imagine, this card is particularly associated with relationships, and yes, it could mean a current romance is drawing to a close. Alternatively, you could find yourself looking back to a past liaison and wistfully wondering what might have been. Solemn as it seems, the Five of Cups points to a brighter future as long as you keep positive, in which case, you can move forward to find hope and a new direction.

Reversed Meaning

When it comes to the tarot, reversed cards are seldom the bringers of good news, but the Five of Cups is actually a little more cheerful when it appears upside-down. At worst, it warns you that you have become so saddened by your loss that you can no longer see the advantages which have opened up before you. Nevertheless, the Five of Cups points to a better phase ahead, and that your sorrow and regrets will diminish with time. You will soon find yourself building a new future, and even if there are a few sharp pebbles in your path at first; the past has provided you with the skills and experience to move forward and realize your goals.