Five of Cups Tarot Card Meaning

Five of Cups upright

The Five of Cups speaks of a loss and the sorrow that follows it. The Fives concern struggle and sometimes pain, and in the Cups they show the emotional reaction to a loss. The card carries the name Disappointment. It comes after the Four, the card of passivity: you may regret lost opportunities or a serenity that has disappeared. The disappointment strikes when you least expected it, in the middle of a period of ease, and the pleasure you were waiting for is frustrated. Left unchecked, abundance leads to luxury, then to boredom, frustration and disappointment. This card corresponds to Mars in Scorpio. In this area, ardor arrives too fast and burns the relationship up before it could develop slowly.

It touches mostly love and friendship: disappointed love, a broken marriage, a friend's lack of kindness, the loss of a friendship. It also signals the end of a pleasure, grief, betrayal, deceit, ill will, generosity or kindness poorly repaid, and worries that come from places you did not expect. It also adds quarrels, breakups, error, imperfection and regret. It can also be simply a day when nothing goes right, or the feeling that your fears of abandonment are coming true. In the Marseille deck, the card says a lack of harmony, a vague project that comes to nothing, or a material prosperity that does not last.

The image shows a figure wrapped in black in front of three spilled cups, with two cups still standing behind her. Black stands for mourning. It also stands for ignorance, limitation or fear. The figure is androgynous: grief unites men and women. Three cups are lost, but two remain. These two cups often point to the support of a lover or a friend, as in the Two of Cups. The bridge stands for awareness and determination: it leads from the loss toward a new start, and the house at the end stands for stability and continuity. The scene shows several stages of grief: the loss, anger and despair, picking up the pieces, crossing toward a new stage, then returning to yourself. You are at a turning point.

This card also speaks of inheritance, estate and what is handed down, but not matching what you hoped for. Something precious can come out of the situation, like a bequest. Conversely, you may have spilled the cups in anger, and in turn leave a legacy of violence and rage. It also evokes the abuse and grudges passed down in a family.

Your strengths

You can accept that this happiness is gone, then turn around and recognize what remains. You can see that what you lost matters less than it seemed at the moment of loss.

What holds you back

You focus on what is spilled and forget what remains, which narrows your options.
You fill yourself with reproaches or self-pity, with "if only."
You stay turned toward the past out of melancholy and sadness.
You have not yet understood or accepted your loss, and so you do not see that something remains.
You may have spilled the cups yourself, through carelessness or by taking what you had for granted.
You may feel betrayed or deceived, or see your hopes overturned and your plans go awry.

What helps

First accepting that this happiness is gone, then turning around, picking up the two remaining cups and crossing the bridge.
Turning toward what remains, for example the support of a lover or a friend.
Asking yourself whether you spilled the cups yourself, and accepting your share of responsibility.
Leaving the past behind and moving forward.

Love

This card signals a romantic disappointment or a broken marriage. It can also show a marriage lived with bitterness or frustration, or without love. It sometimes indicates that your ardor is moving too fast for the relationship.

Family

It evokes an inheritance or an estate that does not meet your expectations. It can also signal abuse and vendettas passed down in the family.

Five of Cups reversed

The upright Five of Cups speaks of loss, grief, disappointment and regret. Reversed, it is generally hopeful: it indicates recovery and renewal, meaning that you move away from what you lost and take up your life again. Taking that step can bring unexpected rewards. This position also speaks of healing rifts and leaving the past behind. It touches your ties with others: news, alliances, affinities, returns and invitations. You may form alliances and personal relationships that will serve you later. It also touches family, lineage and ancestors. You may become interested in your family history and genealogy, and find in it "black sheep" and inherited flaws as well as heroes and handed-down talents. This card also links your path to affinity groups around political or environmental causes, often born of concern for species, habitats and future generations. On a more symbolic level, it evokes communication with the dead and the first stage of a descent into yourself, where you must shed all pride and ornament before discovering what truly has value.

Your strengths

You are able to recover from a loss and start again. You know how to reconnect with others and accept a friend's quiet support. You build alliances that will serve you.

What holds you back

This card is sometimes harder, especially when you deny a loss or a sorrow or refuse to move past your mourning.

You do not really connect with others and you see yourself as a victim or a martyr.
You keep your sadness and loss secret and show a false cheerfulness.
You project this block onto others: you see them stuck in the past or wasting their abilities on lost causes, and their setbacks frustrate and worry you.

What helps

Acknowledging your loss and grief instead of denying them. Moving forward rather than staying in mourning. Leaving the past behind and mending rifts. Accepting a friend's support, reconnecting with loved ones and turning to people or groups who share your affinities. Exploring your family history.

Friendships

You may be surprised to find old friends again, be invited to a reunion or discover that a friend is quietly supporting you. You may also form alliances and personal ties that will serve you later.

Family

You may reconnect with relatives you had not seen for a long time, or explore your family history and genealogy. Separated parents and children may look for their family of origin or find each other again, depending on the other cards in the spread.

What the card shows

The Five of Cups shows a figure in a black cloak, looking sideways at three cups spilled on the ground. Behind the figure, two other cups remain upright. In the background, a bridge leads to a small fortified house.

The black of the cloak is the color of mourning and grief. It also stands for ignorance, limitation or fear. The figure stands stiffly, like someone who must first understand and accept the loss. The figure can be a woman or a man: grief unites the two sexes. It resembles the Hermit, who also wraps himself up to look inward.

The three spilled cups are what has been lost: a happiness that vanished all at once. The figure does not yet see what remains, because it is looking at what has fallen. The two upright cups show that something of value remains and that support exists, for example from a loved one or a friend. They also stand for the solid foundation of a life, which does not tip over easily. The question of responsibility links this card to Justice.

The river stands for the flow of grief. The bridge stands for awareness and determination: it leads from the past, meaning the loss, toward the future, meaning new beginnings. The house stands for stability and continuity. Once the loss is accepted, the figure can turn around, pick up the two upright cups and cross the bridge to the house. The image therefore shows several stages of mourning: the loss, anger and despair, taking up what remains, moving on to a new stage, and then coming home.

The five cups form an inverted pentagram, a sign that matter prevails over spirit. The petals are torn and the sea is dry and stagnant. This card bears the title Disappointment. It stands for a disturbance that comes just when you think you are at peace: the pleasure you expected is frustrated.

The number five brings movement and tension after the stability of four. It follows the passivity of the Four: here you may regret lost opportunities or a serenity that has drifted away. The card evokes grief, sadness, disappointment and sacrifice you did not choose. It also describes the feeling of "if only," self-blame and self-pity. It can signal a betrayal or deception discovered, hopes overturned and plans going wrong. It can also be simply a day when nothing goes right. In a spread, it is often tied to a happiness or hope that failed, and the two upright cups point to the support of a loved one or a woman friend. It is also a card of a vague plan that comes to nothing, and of material prosperity that does not last.

The card also speaks of inheritance, legacy and handing down, which do not match what you expected. It can also point to what you leave behind, including abuses and grudges passed down in the family. It marks a turning point. It recalls the spiritual feeling of loss and separation, that of a fall or an exile.

Reversed, the card is rather favorable: it indicates healing and renewal, detaching yourself from the loss and going on with your life. It can then announce news, alliances, family ties, the return of a friend or relative, or a reunion. It can also mean that you do not accept the loss, which leads to false plans or mistakes, that support comes from other people after a sad event, or that you become aware of what remains important and lasting. It is harder if you deny the loss and the grief or refuse to move beyond mourning: you then make no real contact with others, you see yourself as a victim or a martyr, and you hide your sadness behind a false cheerfulness.

Your strengths

You can recognize what is still solid in your life. You can draw something of value from what happens to you.

What holds you back

You focus on what has been spilled and do not see what remains, which limits your options.
You blame yourself for what happened and see yourself with pity.
You stay fixed on the past out of melancholy.
You may fear being abandoned.
You deny your loss or refuse to move beyond your mourning.
You see yourself as a victim or a martyr and put on a false cheerfulness.

What helps

Accepting that this happiness is gone.
Letting the tears flow and living your grief.
Asking yourself whether you spilled the cups yourself, and owning your part.
Picking up the two upright cups and crossing the bridge.
Treating the event as past and moving forward.

Friendships

It evokes a friend's lack of kindness and the loss of a friendship. Reversed, it announces a friend's return and ties being mended.

Family

It touches on inheritance, transmission, and inherited abuse or grudges. Reversed, it can bring relatives or friends back, bring the family together and spark a wish to explore family history.