The Suit of Cups

Water, emotions and bonds

Cups are linked to the element of water. They speak of what you feel: love, friendship, joy, nostalgia, intuition, but also disappointment and weariness. This is the suit of relationships and your inner life. It doesn't say what you do, it says what you're going through.

What the Marseille Cups look like

The cups of the Marseille Tarot are large, ornate chalices with a carved stem and a finely worked bowl. On the numbered cards, they're stacked in rows, surrounded by stems and flowers. The Ace is a monumental cup that looks like a small building with towers. Look at the flowers: whether they're open or still in bud colors the reading.

From Ace to Ten

• Ace of Cups: the heart opens. New love, sincere emotion.
• Two of Cups: meeting someone, mutual attraction, union.
• Three of Cups: friendship, celebrations, shared moments.
• Four of Cups: boredom, the feeling that something is missing.
• Five of Cups: disappointment and regret. You're focused on what didn't work.
• Six of Cups: happy memories, tenderness, a return to the past.
• Seven of Cups: lots of dreams and possibilities, not all of them realistic.
• Eight of Cups: you walk away from a situation that no longer fulfills you.
• Nine of Cups: the wish card, satisfaction and dreams come true.
• Ten of Cups: lasting happiness, harmony at home.

The four court cards

• Page of Cups: a tender message, a budding sensitivity.
• Knight of Cups: a proposal, an invitation, romance.
• Queen of Cups: a gentle, intuitive person who really listens.
• King of Cups: someone calm and generous, in control of their emotions.

A reading dominated by Cups

Lots of Cups: your question is playing out on an emotional level, even if you asked about something else. A work question that comes up Cups is often about the atmosphere, your relationships with colleagues or how the job makes you feel. The trap of this suit: waiting for things to happen and staying in your feelings without taking action.

Cups in love and at work

In love, Cups are the leading suit: meeting someone, tenderness, attachment. They're mostly positive, except for the Four, the Five and the Eight, which speak of weariness, disappointment or leaving. At work, they point to good relationships, a job that feels meaningful, or work focused on other people and creativity. For a detailed reading of the heart, try the love reading.