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
Upright: Love, Emotion, Creativity, Intuition, Relationships, Healing
Reversed: Blocked emotions, Codependency, Unhappiness, Manipulation, Repression
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, subjective world.
Lots of Cups Cards In A Reading
When you get lots of Cups cards in a tarot reading, it indicates that relationships and emotions are very important in the matter. People’s perspectives on the matter are subjective and prone to offence, bias or wishful thinking rather than facts or clear communication. Emotional expressions may be artistic, romantic, indirect or illogical.
Mastery over the Cups Suit requires empathy, emotional awareness and regulation, rather than reactivity and suppression.
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.
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 emotional overwhelm, irrationality and social isolation. Mastery over the Suit of Cups requires emotional intelligence, self-honesty, and practical integration of ineffable, numinous experiences.
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 cultural and creative fields or human services. These cards ask: "Does your work align with your Soul’s calling?" Financially, they can suggest making decisions based on intuition and ethics 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 worship and devotion.
“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.”
The Cups Cards: Modern RWS Meanings
Click on a card to explore its modern RWS meanings in depth.
Additional Notes on the RWS Cups Suit
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.
Continue Learning: Read The Full RWS Cards In Context Series
This article is one part of a comprehensive series on all 78 cards in the RWS tarot system. You can explore the full series by clicking the button below.
