Five of Cups

Five of Cups

Lord of Loss in Pleasure

Season: Summer

Timing: 5 Months

Dates: October 23-November 2

Astrological Correspondence: Mars in Scorpio

Yes or No Question: No

 

Five of Cups Description and Symbolism

Under a gray and somber sky, a man cloaked in a long black cape stands with his head cast down to the ground. His black cape is absorbing all his regret, angst, and gloom. On the floor in front of him are three spilt cups, which he seems to be intensely focused on. Behind him are two other cups, still upright and full. He doesn’t seem to recognize those other two cups. His back is turned to them while he focuses with an almost obsessive gaze to the cups that are emptied. He seems to be full of regret and loss.

There is a river in front of him with a beautiful little bridge that arches over the water. A golden color castle stands erect and stable across the river bank. The bridge suggests that while you may have a tendency to focus on what you have lost, there is always another way to look at something. Just take the bridge to the other side.

 

Five of Cups Interpretation and Divination

The Five of Cups signals a break up, a divorce or other emotional loss. You could have a falling out with a good friend or spouse.

The Five of Cups urges you to see the light in the darkness. If you choose to see only the empty cups then it is truly a loss, but you can turn around and see the open cups. You don’t have to see the “glass half empty”, but “half full”.

The bridge in the Five of Cups indicates that not all your bridges are burned. It can suggest that you need to take some time out and reflect on your relationship. Not all is lost.

The Five of Cups can indicate that inheritances are not what they seem. You may not be getting all the inheritance that you deserve.

 

Five of Cups in Love

When a breakup happens it usually happens because there is trouble in a relationship. Trouble can brew because of a lack of love or even physical and/or emotional abuse. Perhaps the breakup was a good thing. The Five of Cups indicates that your relationship was imbalanced and now you can move away and correct the imbalances.

 

Five of Cups as Feelings

You (or someone you are asking about) is feeling regret, remorse or loss. You maybe regretting how a situation turned out and would like to rectify things. Someone can even feel left out from the loop or community.

 

Five of Cups as Advice

As a “half full vs half empty” card, we have two sets of advice depending on the situation. You can chalk up the experience to a learning experience and walk to better days. Or you can analysis what went wrong in a break down so that you can understand it better.

If you are in a relationship, the advice also maybe simply to break it off with someone. Or it might be telling you not to look at the negative side of a situation, but to see it in a more positive light. So stop focusing on all the negative, dreary things and think about all the good you have in your life! Because I know you do! No matter how bad it is, you can take refuge in a beautiful sunset or a family memory that makes you feel good.

No matter what there is loss with the Five of Cups, so don’t dwell on it. This loss is necessary to make way for growth. Fives’s can be about adaptation and meditation. Perhaps some emotional meditation needs to happen.

 

Five of Cups Professions

Grief Counselor. Pharmacist. Chemist. Scientist. Bartender.

 

Five of Cups Reversed

Ouch! You may run into an old friend or lover that has hurt you.  You may want to patch things up.

Five of Cups Tarot Card Combinations

 

Five of Cups and Lovers
a. Being sad over the wrong person. You’ve been spending too much time looking at those empty cups.
b. You drop the cloak, turn around, see the full cups, the bridge and finally realize the angel was with you guiding you towards the right person after all.

Five of Cups and Tower 
a. A disappointing seggual experience.

Five of Cups and Judgement
a. The breakup forces them to look at their relationship and do a complete soul assessment.
b. Mundane: She calls him after the breakup to tell him how sorry she was.

Five of Cups and Four of Swords
a. After a breakup, all you want to do is rest.

Five of Cups and Seven of Swords
a. He doesn’t want to be tied down in a relationship, so he runs the other way, while in his wake leaving her heartbroken.

Five of Cups and Eight of Swords
a. She obsesses over the breakup, unable to see anything else.

Five of Cups and Two of Cups
a. Still sad over your break up and perhaps not seeing a new connection because of it.

Five of Cups and Four of Cups
a. There is regret, apathy and boredom all tied into the breakup.
b. Feeling depressed and needing time alone.
c. Feeling really hung over.

 

Tarot Decks Worth Owning

Lovers Oracle

Find out exactly how he feels with these easy to read lovers oracle deck! 

After Tarot Deck

“After Tarot explores what the cards would look like just moments after the usual scenes with which we are most familiar. For instance, what would happen to The Fool moments after putting his foot over the cliff? Find out in the revolutionary After Tarot.

Kit includes 78-card deck and a 160-page guidebook.” Excerpt from Amazon

Oracle of the Mermaids

“Overflowing with Mermaid magic, legends and lore, the 168-page guidebook features in-depth messages and clear, accurate card spreads to help you to find answers for yourself, your loved ones, or your clients. Features 45 illustrations by renowned fantasy artist Selina Fenech.” excerpt from Amazon

Ciro Marchetti Oracle Deck

“Through lush, Victorian-influenced images, the Oracle of Visions deck offers unique perspectives for insightful and intuitive readings. Rather than relying on a single theme, this eclectic oracle deck introduces archetypal figures from many areas of life, including the theater and the carnival. Ciro Marchetti’s imaginative scenes encourage us to set aside pre-conceived ideas and open ourselves up to new ways of looking at our choices, decisions, and potential outcomes. Oracle of Visions set includes 52 cards and 140-page illustrated guidebook. Following a career in advertising and graphic design, Ciro Marchetti has devoted the last decade of his life to the creation of several divination decks, including the Gilded Reverie Lenormand deck and the Tarot of Dreams. His award-winning digital artwork is popular around the world.” -Amazon

Ciro Marchetti Gilded Tarot Deck

“One of Llewellyn’s bestselling tarot decks has been updated with brilliantly refreshed art and an updated guidebook. With borderless cards, richer colors, and stylish design improvements, the deck retains its powerful readability with a more contemporary look to engage its many fans and new users alike. Following the RWS style and abounding with medieval magicians, priestesses, emperors, and knights, the Gilded Tarot Royale will continue to inspire tarot readers for years to come.” Amazon Staff Writer

Rider Waite Tarot Kit

The kit comes in a beautiful gift box and has lots of extras, including 78 beautiful tarot cards, in-depth guide, instruction booklet, luxurious velvet tarot card bag, 3 piece of tarot card holder stands, 7-color chakra stones, crystal pendulum, divination tablecloth and 2 decorative feathers. You will feel like you are participating in a personal ritual every time you pick up your tarot deck gift set.

Rider Waite Classic

Rider-Waite Tarot has set the standard for hundreds of other tarot decks, which follow the archetypal images created by Pamela Colman Smith in 1909under the direction of Arthur Edward Waite. This edition includes Smith’s original hand drawn titles.”A unique feature of the Rider-Waite deck, and one of the of the principal reasons for its enduring popularity, is that all of the cards, including the Minor Arcana, depict full scenes with figures and symbols.

We make a small percentage from purchases through the Amazon Affiliate program.

Additional Reading

Seventy Eight Degrees

A simple introduction to tarot by international author, Rachel Pollack.

A Complete Guide to the Tarot

One of the first books I read on Tarot. I bought mine from a used book store when I was 15-years-old. Eden Gray’s Tarot Book remains a staple must-have and a timeless resource.

“The Tarot is a symbolic record of human experience. Through deeply rooted mystic powers, the cards accomplish miracles of psychological insight, wise counsel and accurate divination.”—from A Complete Guide to the Tarot

Paul Foster Case

Paul Foster Case takes you deep inside the esoteric elements of the Major Arcana.

The Element Tarot Handbook

For a deeper, esoteric dive into Tarot, I recommend Naomi Ozaniec’s book. She takes cues from the Golden Dawn, Qabalah and Western Mysteries.

The History of Tarot

For a complete history of tarot, follow world-renowned author and researcher, Robert M. Place.

We make a small percentage from purchases through the Amazon Affiliate program.