The Suit of Cups: Modern RWS Tarot Card Meanings
The 14 Suit of Cups cards in the Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.
RWS Suit of Cups Overview
The Suit of Cups is the realm of the heart, governing the deep currents of emotion, intuition, and connection. It represents the fluid, creative, and receptive nature of our inner world.
Upright Keywords: Love, Emotion, Creativity, Intuition, Relationships, Healing
Reversed Keywords: Blocked emotions, Codependency, Unhappiness, Manipulation, Repression
Element: Water
Zodiac Signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
Lots of Cups Cards In A Tarot Reading
If you get lots of cups cards in a tarot reading, the situation is primarily driven by emotions, relationships, and intuition. Logic and practical action may be taking a back seat to what is being felt. This can point to a period of great creativity, deep love, and spiritual connection. However, it can also warn of being overwhelmed by emotions, seeing a situation through wishful thinking, or a lack of grounding. The path forward requires emotional intelligence, honesty with oneself, and listening to the wisdom of the heart without being drowned by its currents.
The Cups Cards: Modern RWS Meanings
Click on a card to explore its modern RWS meanings in depth.
Cups Suit Meanings In Life Areas
Cups in Love & Relationships
This is the natural home of the Suit of Cups. These cards speak to the entire spectrum of love and connection, from the first spark of attraction (Ace of Cups) and the formation of a partnership (Two of Cups) to deep, communal joy (Three of Cups) and lasting family happiness (Ten of Cups). They also explore the challenges of love, including heartbreak (often seen with the Three of Swords), loss (Five of Cups), and the difficult choice to walk away from what is no longer emotionally fulfilling (Eight of Cups).
Cups in A Money and Career Context
In a career reading, Cups point towards the need for emotional fulfilment in your work. They often signify careers in the arts, healing, or service industries. These cards ask: "Does your work align with your heart's true purpose?" Financially, they can suggest making decisions based on intuition and values rather than pure logic, or the joy that comes from using wealth to support loved ones and community.
Cups in a Spiritual Context
Spiritually, the Suit of Cups represents the journey of the soul towards divine connection through intuition and unconditional love. It is the path of the mystic. It governs our intuitive faculties, our psychic abilities, and our capacity to connect with the divine through feeling and devotion. The Cups teach that the heart is an organ of spiritual perception, and that emotional healing is a prerequisite for clear vision.
“The Suit of Cups represents the path of the heart. It teaches us that true spiritual sight is not achieved by the mind alone, but by a soul that has been purified through love, loss, and the courage to feel everything. The greatest challenge is not to control our emotions, but to allow them to flow through us without attachment, becoming a clear vessel for Divine insight.”
Additional Notes on the RWS Cups Suit
Cups And The Water Element
The Cups cards get their main themes from their correspondence to the occult element of Water. Water represents the subconscious, intuition, emotions, and the astral plane. Like water, this energy can be calm and reflective or a turbulent, overwhelming storm. It is a receptive, feminine element, contrasting with the active, masculine energy of Fire. To master the Cups is to learn to navigate these deep currents without being pulled under.
Cups Cards Elemental Dignities
Elemental dignities is a way of seeing how cards play out by looking at the relationship between the 4 main occult elements. Using this technique, the effects of the Cups cards (whether good or bad) are strengthened by Pentacles (Earth) cards, weakened by Swords (Air) cards, and are neutral but hostile to Wands (Fire) cards. For example, if you get the Ten of Cups (Water) next to the Ten of Swords (Air), the profound emotional fulfilment of the Cups may be undermined or intellectualised away by the painful, logical endings of the Swords.
The Spiritual Journey of the Cups
The Suit of Cups tells a story of emotional and spiritual maturation. It begins with the Ace, the pure, overflowing gift of divine love. It moves through the Two and Three, where that love is shared in partnership and community. It faces its first tests of disappointment and loss in the Four and Five, but also learns the lessons of nostalgia and innocence in the Six. It requires the courage to seek something deeper in the Eight, leading to the personal fulfilment of the Nine and the ultimate communal joy of the Ten.
Distinguishing Cups Cards: The Two of Cups vs The Lovers
A common point of confusion for students is the difference between the Two of Cups and The Lovers (KEY VI of Waite’s Major Arcana) . Today, the RWS Two of Cups represents a beautiful, harmonious partnership and a meeting of hearts. It is a pure, emotional connection. The Lovers, however, represents a more profound choice at a soul level. It is about alignment, values, and a fated decision that will define one's path. Whilst this can often involve a partnership, it often encompasses a much broader spiritual and karmic significance. To wit; the Two of Cups is a beautiful relationship; The Lovers is a defining choice about relationships themselves.
