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Five of Cups - Tarot Card Meanings

Key Symbolism

 

loss, heartache, disappointments, sadness, regret, self-pity, bad luck, setbacks, having something taken from you, failure.

five of cups tarot

Description

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A man wearing a black cloak is standing before three cups that have fallen over. The sky looks dreary and grey. The wine that was inside the cups has been spilled. The man looks down on the fallen cups, regretting the loss. Behind the mans back we see 2 more cups in upright position. He does not pay attention to them. In the distance there is a castle and a river flowing between him and the building. Also, a bridge can be seen, that leads to the other side. It symbolizes hope.

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Meaning

 

The number five refers to changes after a time of stability. It indicates sadness, a loss or something you regret. But not all is lost - the other two cups in the picture remain standing and indicate there is hope. It can also mean that you find it difficult to move on and keep on looking back at things that went wrong in the past. Five of Cups can advise you to move on and accept what you can't change anyways.

Love Meaning

 

In a love reading Five of Cups can symbolize a situation that you regret or that you are disappointed or sad about. It can also indicate a loss. This card can represent a phase after a break-up or a fight, when you think about what caused it and regret that things have turned out this way. But there is also hope, symbolized by the remaining cups. If the break-up is fresh, there could be the chance for a reconciliation. The Five of Cups can also symbolize that you have a hard time moving on from a past relationship, because you keep on thinking about what went wrong.

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As Feelings

 

If you ask how someone feels for you Five of Cups can mean that the person in question feels sad. They might regret something that has happened and can either be disappointed or regret what they have done. They might feel like they lost something. When something has happened some time before they might keep looking back and think about what went wrong with a feeling of regret.

© Illustrations from the Radiant Rider-Waite 2015 reproduced by permission of U.S. Games Systems Inc., Stanford, CT 06902. c. 2015 by U.S. Games Systems Inc. All rights reserved.

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