Suit of Cups in Love Readings: Emotions, Imagination, Love
The golden chalices of the Tarot Suit of Cups overflow in abundance, love, and harmony. The Suit of Cups in the tarot represents love, relationships, emotions, intuition, imagination, connecting, and pleasure. The Cups suit corresponds to the element water, which is flowing, deep, vast, sometimes soothing, sometimes overwhelming, and ebbs and flows like the tide. An imbalance of Cups energy can lead to emotional instability, being lost in dreams, being too comfortable to change, or deep emotional wounds that fester under the surface. However, these cards are positive in their basic nature, and the tarot Suit of Cups in Love Readings represents friendship, alliance, fulfillment, happiness, enjoyment, and love. A tarot reading full of cups signifies deep heart-to-heart connections, bubbly and frothy friends, still reflection, and gushing emotions. This is the suit of romance! Check out all my posts on Tarot Cards Love Meanings.
Cups for Emotions
The basic symbolic meaning of the element water is “emotions.” Our emotions are hard to define or limit. They crash over walls and roll and recede like waves. They well up uncontrollably, and overflow in joy or pain. Our sensitivity is illogical, but real. The tarot Suit of Cups captures this cascade of feeling. But calm waters mean smooth sailing. Our watery emotions let us have fun, experience abundance, and love life. When the Suit of Cups shows up in your tarot reading, watch for emotional highs or lows.
Cups for Intuition and Imagination
Symbolists consider the moon, the ruler of the water sign Cancer, to be watery in nature. Placid water reflects like a mirror, and the moon reflects the light of the sun. The moon governs the ocean’s tides and rules the darkness of night, symbolic of the unconscious. The watery tarot Suit of Cups, like the poetic moon, brings dreams, heightens our intuition, and lets our imagination run wild. Cups in the tarot indicate that your psychic abilities are high and your creativity is flowing. We associate sensitivity with artistry, so when your spread is full of cups, it might be a suggestion to write, draw, paint, compose, craft, or design. This is a great time to create something that speaks on a deeper level and connects universally.
Cups for Love and Relationships
The Ace of Cups, Two of Cups, Six of Cups, and Ten of Cups are all wonderful cards for love and romance! They also represent all happy and fulfilling relationships, whether social, family, or workplace. Add to this the Three of Cups, which signifies friendship, for a complete roster of cards that indicate heart-filled community and communion. A spread full of cups is a spread full of love!
Tarot Cups Court Cards
In addition to the moon-ruled sign of Cancer, the Cups court cards are associated with the other astrological water signs: Scorpio and Pisces. The Queen of Cups is Cancer, the King of Cups is Scorpio, and the Knight of Cups is Pisces. Water signs are moody, nurturing, and compassionate. These sensitive souls are awash in the emotions of others. Water signs blend with other people, losing themselves like two streams of water flowing into one.
Tarot Suit of Cups in Love Readings Card by Card
Find the heart of your readings when the Suit of Cups washes through your spreads. Card by card, we’ll contemplate the love interpretations for the tarot Suit of Cups.
Ace of Cups
When asking about love, the Ace of Cups indicates a new relationship! If you’re already in a good relationship, it will indicate new opportunities to connect emotionally or romantically. It can also indicate a baby, if you’re wondering about growing your family. Most importantly, the Ace of Cups reminds us to find the love, tell someone that we care, or be confident in our knowledge that we are loved.
Two of Cups
The Two of Cups means “Love,” so this is the card for romance! The Two of Cups is deep connection, shared love, and abundant affection. This card indicates that the feelings are shared, because both characters in the card are focused on each other and touching.
Three of Cups
“Friendship” is the primary meaning of the Three of Cups. Although it symbolizes enjoyment, appreciation, and mutual support, it is helpful to set this card aside as an indication of “just friends” so you don’t confuse one type of relationship for another. However, if you’ve already found your match, this card can remind you how important your friendship with your partner is and encourage you to develop that part of your relationship.
Four of Cups
The Four of Cups has a lost-in-thought, day-dreamy feel to it. It represents apathy or ambivalence. The character is offered something new, but either doesn’t see it and doesn’t seem to care. In love readings, the Four of Cups might suggest that you are rebuffing the advances of someone, or otherwise too preoccupied to accept a new relationship or the next step in the current relationship. Learn more about the Four of Cups on my blog Completely Joyous.
Five of Cups
The tarot’s Five of Cups represents loss, sadness, and melancholy. The card can indicate rejection, breakup, or feeling hurt or abused. Most readers note that the character is more focused on what is lost than on what is there: the resulting advice might be to take what is good and start fresh. In love readings, the Five of Cups can advise us to withdraw, nurse our wounds, and regain our openness to receiving love.
Six of Cups
Most illustrations of the Six of Cups show children playing together. Frequently, there is a component of the external viewpoint, as if someone is outside the scene viewing or remembering it. This card represents childhood, happy memories, and sharing. When I see this card, I think of how simple relationships are for children: when you’re a little girl, and a little girl moves in next door, you’re automatically best friends. It’s that easy. The Six of Cups in love readings embodies pure, simple, true love, as easy as meeting your best friend for the first time. Check out my article on the Six of Cups.
Seven of Cups
The cloudy, confused Seven of Cups represents having a lot of options but not knowing which one to choose. A good problem to have! The card is about illusion. What are you failing to see clearly? Sometimes there is the false belief that choosing one thing, such as the victory wreath, means you can’t have something else, such as the jewels or castle. Must you really choose only one option? On the other hand, sometimes the card indicates that none of your current considerations is the right one. True clarity, and the right choice, lies behind the insubstantial mist. The Seven of Cups in love readings reminds us to regroup, let all pretenses fall away, and discover what is true and real for us. Read more on the Seven of Cups.
Eight of Cups
The Eight of Cups represents walking away from something. When the Eight of Cups wanders into your love reading, it most likely will indicate that you are ready to leave a relationship, or at the least give up on something. This is always by choice. Part of the meaning of the card is that you have done everything you can to make this work, and you willingly give it up. Read more about the Eight of Cups on Completely Joyous.
Nine of Cups
The tarot’s Nine of Cups represents happiness, particularly a self-indulgent satisfaction as opposed to a deep emotional fulfillment or spiritual connection. Many depictions of this card show only one person, so there is a loneliness or sense of separation. At best, this card reminds us to find contentment in what we have. In love readings, the Nine of Cups represents the sense that while everything appears good, there is a yearning for something more.
Ten of Cups
The Ten of Cups is pure emotional fulfillment. It represents love, marriage, family, happiness, and ongoing success. The Ten of Cups in love readings brings you all the happiness you desire and promises a blissful future. Being together is all you need. This love endures beyond riches and possessions. I have two articles on the Ten of Cups: Meditations on the Ten of Cups and Ten of Cups: Mars in Pisces.
Page of Cups
The Page of Cups is insecure about love. A sensitive, child-like individual, the Page of Cups is lost in dreams or artistic visions. But this Page has a strong intuition and is able to hear its caring guidance. With any Page, beware of immaturity or childish behavior in you and/or your partner. But the Page of Cups in love readings represents the tenderness and vulnerability of someone opening their heart to love. The Page of Cups can also indicate a baby on the way, if that is your desire!
Knight of Cups
The cup represents the heart, and the Knight of Cups rides up holding out his heart to you. Knights are sometimes flighty and not ready to settle down, but this Knight is loving and caring, and willing to try. The sensitive Knight of Cups maybe be indecisive, lost in fantasies, or more romantic than practical. But he loves you and is ready to move forward.
Queen of Cups
The Queen of Cups is one of the mother symbols in the deck. This can indicate already having children, starting or growing a family, or, more generally, the nurturing, attentive qualities associated with a caregiver. If the Queen of Cups plays a role in your relationship reading, watch for equality between the people cards. If she shows up with the King of Cups, or another King or Queen, great! They are equals. But when the Queen of Cups shows up with a Page or Knight for a partner, unless all parties involved are under age thirty, she is more likely to end up mothering than partnering. But when she’s met her perfect mate, the Queen of Cups is creative, empathic, and ready for love.
King of Cups
The King of Cups is a steady, loyal, loving partner. He cares about everyone, and loves to express his creative depths. He’s most comfortable at home, whether it’s with his partner, his family, or maybe just his dog (or fish!). Still waters run deep, and he is a man of few words. He might not look like’s he’s paying attention all the time, but nevertheless he’ll remember everything you say. The King of Cups likes feeling good, although sometimes he can overdo it with drinking or other relaxants. The fascinating thing about the King of Cups is that underneath the calm exterior is a roiling, intense passion. All the Cups courts are sensitive, but the King of Cups is more likely to lash out if his feelings are bruised. The benefit of his ardor is that his adoration will keep you up to the break of day.
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