five of cups

Five of Cups - Sadness, Loss, and Discontentment

You have gone through a dark time recently. However, now it’s time to let go of your attachments. Whatever it is that you are scared to lose, realise that you cannot control all outcomes in life. Loss is a natural process of the world’s functioning. And in order to gain something new, we have to let go of the old.

This Card is Telling You To:

• Accept the Circumstances: To optimise your life for a better future, you need to start by taking radical responsibility for your present circumstances. You cannot take complete control of your external circumstances, but you can choose your reactions to the situation. Accept that you cannot control all the circumstances around you, but you can choose to react.
• Turn Challenges into Opportunities: It’s easy to get lost in the storm of darkness and lose sight of where you are heading. But what if the challenges you are facing right now are preparing you to be more resilient? If you look with a more positive perspective, then every challenge carries an opportunity for growth.

Astrologically, this card is linked with Mars in Scorpio. Scorpio is a sign of transformation associated with death and rebirth. Scorpio is a sign associated with loss of your old self. A reminder to let go of the old patterns to chase bigger dreams.

Five of Cups - Symbols and Meanings

The symbolism in the Five of Cups card points towards a period of grief and mourning. As if the person is being consumed by their pain and focusing too much on their own pain. Refusing to face the situation. The liquid from the cups is spilled over the floor, representing that the loss is irreversible.

Five of Cups - Emotional Confusion

The first step in solving the emotional chaos is to acknowledge your feelings. Don’t try to suppress your feelings, as it will complicate the healing process even more. Having the company of friends and family and sharing your concerns with them can help you feel less isolated. Even reaching out to a professional counsellor can provide you with strategies for dealing with your loss healthily. Know that learning to deal with challenges and loss is an essential part of your self-love journey.

What Is the Five of Cups Card Trying to Tell You?

When the Five of Cups shows up in your reading, it is telling you to maintain hope. When encountered with challenges, it’s easy to feel disheartened and lose hope. Tough times teach us important life lessons and force us to mend our ways. They are blessings in disguise, which teach us resilience and prepare us to handle complex situations. Carrying grief and disappointment for way too long can lead to suffering.

Symbols and What They Mean- The Five of Cups Tarot Card

• Man in Black Coat: A man standing in a black coat is a sign that he feels powerless. He is yet to notice that he still has two chances left. While it is not possible to change what happened in the past, it is possible to make the best of what is left.
• Three Spilled Cups: Represent the gone past and lost opportunities. It’s up to the reader’s interpretation to decide whether it’s spilled wine, water, or blood.
• Small Building: A small building can be observed far across the river. Home represents security, stability, and comfort. A sign that the man has left behind all comforts in the past and is now moving on towards the journey of self-realisation.
• Two Standing Cups: These cups represent that there is still hope left for the future. New opportunities are around the corner, but it is up to you to choose. If you choose differently, then the future may change.

How Does the Five of Cups Tarot Card Help in Prediction?

When this card shows up in your reading, you are probably feeling sad and regretting the lost opportunities. Loss is not always about letting go; it is also about going with the flow and embracing change. You are viewing the world right now with a very black and white perspective and forgetting that the joy of life lies in embracing the mundane. Focusing too much on the lost relationships, jobs, and opportunities can close our eyes to the new possibilities right in front of us. Learn to understand the duality of life, no experience in life can be absolutely negative. Just like Yin and Yang represent the two sides of a single reality, where one cannot exist without the other. It’s about realising that opposites can exist without conflict. Together, they make up the same reality and bring balance to life.

If you draw it as a ‘blockage card’, then you are too focused on the past. Don’t ignore new opportunities in front of you just because you are grieving the past. Remember that every challenging life event holds potential for growth and transformation.

If it comes out as a ‘future card’, then moving ahead requires grace. You need to forgive yourself for your mistakes. Forgive yourself for any bad decisions or mistakes. Soon, you will get back into your flow of life and forget about the past.

Five of Cups Tarot Card Meaning (Upright): Loss, Regret, and Emotional Healing

This card is all about regretting the missed opportunities. You are unable to let go of the past and move on. That you are also missing out on the joys the future can bring. The association of this card with water elements indicates that the problem is on an emotional level, rather than on a physical plane. You may have given up too easily and need to reconsider your actions.

Acknowledging your feelings of hurt and pain is an important part of the healing process. These emotions can hold you back from reaching your fullest potential. Whether you are disappointed with yourself or someone else, forgiving the past and moving on is essential. While life can only be understood in retrospect, we must keep moving forward.

Love and Relationships (Upright)

If the Five of Cups showed up in your love reading, you are probably grieving over a lost relationship. You are probably going through a breakup or have recently argued with your partner. It’s a period of questioning your beliefs about relationships and self-reflection. Try to shift your focus to what is remaining. Learn your lessons from the past and let it go. Perhaps this breakup has given you an opportunity to explore your hobbies and interests. And you are finally taking out time for yourself to do the things you love.

Suppose you are stuck in a cycle of arguments with your partner. It’s beneficial to take a step back and gain a perspective on the situation. Is this argument leading to something constructive or adding to the misunderstandings? Five of Cups represents that there is still a possibility of things working out in your favour. But perhaps you may need to change the way you are dealing with things. And try to understand the situation from your partner’s perspective.

Finance (Upright)

This card, showing up in a finance reading, shows that you are going through periods of financial loss. Or in general, there is a lack of resources around you. That is putting you under stress and making you feel insecure about the future. You may need to limit your expenses temporarily until you reach financial security. However, this card signals that you have not yet reached a dead end. There are still ways you can save this situation.

Career (Upright)

You may have recently lost a job or experienced a break in a business partnership. A project that you invested a lot of time and effort into didn’t work out as you hoped. While it can be hard to navigate challenges after a setback, try finding a way forward by focusing on small, achievable goals. You are so consumed by your regret and grief that you are unable to see the new opportunities. Maybe you are overlooking the opportunities to learn a new skill or missing a valuable connection. If you are regretting a career decision you took, then start by evaluating what led to the regret: was it the job itself or something else?

Health (Upright)

Your emotional pain and sadness may manifest into physical diseases. You are currently isolating yourself from the social world. You are overthinking about the past, which may lead to anxiety and depression. Caring for your mental health is as important as caring for your physical health. These feelings of sadness and loss can feel like a heavy burden on your shoulders. And you may feel low on energy. If you are tired of carrying this burden alone, it’s best to ask for help from friends or a professional.

Five of Cups Tarot Card Meaning (Reversed): Acceptance, Forgiveness, and Moving On

Instead of feeling hopeless in the face of challenges, you are now learning to see them as opportunities for growth. You are using your pain as a fuel for growth. Extreme experiences in life, even when negative, help us push the boundaries of our comfort zone. The difficult feelings you have dealt with made you resilient and gave you strength. You are now ready to come out of your shell and experiment with new opportunities that are coming your way. Remember the two cups that are still full and standing. You are taking up new responsibilities and moving on in your life with a new sense of self and purpose.

Love and Relationships (Reversed)

When the Five of Cups appears reversed in a love reading, it signifies that you are learning that love is about letting go rather than holding on. You are choosing to love yourself more rather than investing your time and feelings into someone else. You are realising your worth and getting out of any relationships in which you are no longer respected. You are emotionally clearing out the past to make space for meeting new people. And getting into relationships, where you are respected and receive unconditional love.

If you are already in a relationship, then this card suggests that any misunderstandings or tension between you and your partner are getting resolved. You both are ready to forgive each other and move on from the past. And starting to understand each other again.

Finance (Reversed)

You are accepting your current financial situation, and instead of feeling hopeless, you are planning ways to make use of what’s left. You are using the leftover money for investments or starting a new business. You can expect the period of financial instability to be over soon as well. It may take some time, but gradually you will be able to enjoy financial security and spend money without worry.

Career (Reversed)

If you have recently lost your job or experienced losses in business, then drawing out the Five of Cups reversed is a sign of hope. The period of uncertainty and feeling insecure is now over. You are realising that taking a break from your career has allowed you to work on improving your skills. And you are now finding positions that align with your goals and provide better compensation for your skills. You may have taken up an entirely new career direction, or if you were working in a job before, you are now planning on starting your own business.

Health (Reversed)

By letting go of your past, you are opening up new opportunities for healing. And allowing more positive energies to enter your life. Releasing this emotional heaviness, you are moving ahead in your life. Instead of locking yourself in and dwelling on your pain alone, you are seeking help from friends. You are willing to talk about what’s troubling you; by trusting other people and letting them help you, you are able to let go of the past.

Five of Cups Tarot Card For Timing

In general, the suit of cups is associated with a time frame of months. And things are moving slowly. And for the most part, the timing of the event is dependent on your emotional state. Unless you are ready to work through the past and stop wishing to change the past, the event is unlikely to happen.

• Upright: It shows that before your desired event happens, you have to heal emotionally. As soon as you shift your focus from the spilled cups to other opportunities you have, you can move forward. It may also represent that the event is delayed or the events leading to the event are unfolding slowly.
• Reversed: It shows that you have moved on, and are looking forward to the future with hope. You can expect the event to happen soon as you have already done the inner work.

Five of Cups: One Card Pull

Another way to find answers to your questions is by a one-card pull. It’s a simple and easy way to ask yes or no questions. Shuffle the cards, and pull out a card while asking a particular question in your mind. Here’s how to interpret a Five of Cups in a one-card pull.

• Upright: It’s most likely a no, you may have to face disappointments and setbacks in your situation. Even though there is still some hope left, it’s unlikely that the situation is going to work out in your favour.
• Reversed: It’s likely to be a yes, it indicates that your life is about to change for good. You have accepted and moved on from the past, making you ready to take on new challenges and responsibilities. There is a shift in your attitude and you are now open to trying out new things.