The Five of Cups stands for law on the creative level of human expression. Five of Cups upright: technique. Five of Cups reversed: conventionalism.
The Five of Cups resides below the Three of Cups on the Creative Tree. The Three of Cups stands for contexts and the Five of Cups for the laws that govern contexts.
Natural laws govern the external world and creative laws rule creativity. An example of a creative law is that negative visualization is impossible.
Craft is the ability to make use of laws, for example, the laws of carpentry. Technique is the creative use of laws, and conventionalism means doing things the (bad) old way.
Creativity and desiring are essentially the same things. Hence, the faculty of the Five of Cups allows us to craft desires. The better we craft desires, the better we manifest.
In Tarot, a cup symbolizes imagination. The Five of Cups calls for learning the laws of visualization, for example, to visualize results as concretely as possible and as a present reality.
Conventionalism can lead to failure and, hence, discouragement. This is where the secondary meanings of failure, loss, and abandonment come from, as well as emotional reactions to failure, like disappointment, regret, and pessimism.
An auspicious Five of Cups calls for finding creative solutions to challenges and being unconventional when needed. This is where the secondary meaning of the ability to introduce needed changes comes from.
If the Five of Cups turns up inauspicious during a Tarot reading, it may indicate that the querent has engaged in vague or negative imagination. It may also be that she’s lost in the weeds of her desires. In this case, she needs to return to the roots of her desires, which are motives. A neighboring Seven of Wands (Motive) would confirm this.
Further, an inauspicious Five of Cups may indicate impending karmic feedback, in the meaning of be careful what you wish for. This is where the secondary meanings of defeated desire, disappointment, and loss of cherished desires come from.
An inauspicious Five of Cups may also indicate that the querent indulges in her desires and avoids facing challenges, overcome resistance, and solve the conflicts needed to realize her desires.
Last but not least, an inauspicious Five of Cups may indicate creative anxiety. The querent may fear the consequences of her desires and the changes they may bring about. Or she may fear the potential loss of a fulfilled desire. For example, she may not want to enter a relationship because she fears the breakup.
Five of Cups Symbolism
The five cups in the picture form a pentagram.
We know from the Five of Wands that the pentagram signifies the rulership of the soul over the four basic human faculties: intent, imagination, intelligence, and bodily action.
On the creative-feely level, the pentagram symbolizes the soul’s ability to make creative use of the four human faculties.
The Five Psychological Core Meanings of the Five of Cups
We derive the psychological meanings of Tarot cards from their position on the Tree of Life.
In the Enlightenment Tarot framework, the Five of Cups represents Geburah of Netzach, i.e., law on the creative-feely level of human expression.
Every Tarot card represents a faculty or power of consciousness. We can use faculties of consciousness constructively and destructively, which produces either a fortunate or an adverse state of mind. Hence, every Tarot card has five core meanings.
These are the five core meanings of the Five of Cups:
- Power of consciousness: Crafting
- Constructive use: Technique
- Destructive use: Conventionalism
- Favorable internal experience: Encouragement
- Adverse internal experience: Discouragement
Techniques make creative use of applicable laws. Conventionalism signifies a lack of creativity in making use of laws. Techniques that work are encouraging. Techniques that don’t work are discouraging.
Reflective Questions
If the Five of Cups appears in your spread, you may want to ask yourself the following reflective questions:
- Do I practice creative-mental techniques?
- Do I consciously craft my desires?
- Do I allow discouragement to weaken my creative intent?
- Do I learn from failures to refine my creative techniques?
- Do I maintain some desires as dreams, not making efforts to realize them, and if yes, what kind of desires are these?
- Am I scared to fulfill some desires because I fear the loss of the result?
Five of Cups Summary
The Five of Cups reminds us of practicing creative craft, the skilled and constructive uses of mental faculties that enable us to formulate potent desires.
Where Do Tarot Card Meanings Actually Come From?
The meanings of Tarot cards come from various sources. The most common are:
- The position of the Tarot cards on the Tree of Life
- Astrological correspondences (signs, planets, & houses)
- The symbolism of Tarot cards
- Intuition
- Meanings that pertain to fortune-telling
Most of the Tarot card meanings you can google are astrological correspondences and go back to the Golden Dawn and Arthur Edward Waite. Astrological meanings dominate at present because Astrology is a divination tool and favors fortune-telling. But these meanings are unsuitable for (psychological) Tarot readings.
If you are interested in an overview of the astrological correspondences, you can download a high-resolution chart by subscribing to the Enlightenment Tarot.
Tarot card meanings are a bit of a mess since the meanings that pertain to their position on the Tree of Life are mixed up with astrological correspondences, symbolic interpretations, and fortune-telling connotations. That’s tedious to memorize. Further, tarotists’ opinions, knowledge, and linguistic backgrounds shaped some of these interpretations. Last but not least, many meanings are fuzzy, contradictory, and overlap. If you want to understand why they overlap, read the article How to Deal With the Overlapping Meanings of Tarot cards.
The meanings of the Enlightenment Tarot are based on an objective, holistic framework: the Tree of Life and the four levels of human expression. The resulting meanings are transparent and logical, and hence, easier to memorize.
What do Various Tarotists Say about the Meaning of the Five of Cups
Let’s explore what different tarotists wrote about the Five of Cups.
Usually, tarotists consider the astrological significance of Tarot cards. The Five of Cups associates with the first decanate of Scorpio, ruled by Mars and Uranus.
The Scorpio vibes of the first decanate are: enduring, romantic, intense, mystical, magnetic, and resourceful. Scorpio natives stand up for their rights and can be fierce opponents.
Scorpio rules the 8th house of death, great changes, inheritance, the financial affairs of the business or marriage partner, warfare, and surgery.
What Paul Foster Case Said About the Meanings of the Five of Cups
For the Five of Cups, Paul Foster Case offered the keyword defeated desire.
This is an inauspicious take on the Five of Wands that pertains to the failure of crafting desires. Mind the 5’s always express through karma (the 22nd path on the Tree of Life). In this case, we’re looking at karmic adjustments to uncreative efforts.
Paul added that the Five of Cups signifies strength and the power to do. He derived this meaning from the horizontal path that connects the 5’s and 4’s, represented by the Tarot card Suggestion/Strength.
The Five of Cups shall also indicate prejudices and false ideas that are hindering progress. This goes back to conventionalism, meaning doing things the bad-old way.
More inauspicious meanings are disappointment, sorrow, loss of things that have been much desired, unexpected troubles and anxieties, disappointments in love, broken engagements, broken friendships, and vain regret. These meanings pertain to the consequences of creative failures.
Paul adds that these sorrows and disappointments signify the necessary destruction (karmic adjustments) before the beginning of a new growth in the life of the querent. He added that success in this area depends upon the querent’s basic understanding, evolutionary level, her ability to introduce needed changes, and her readiness to let go of relationships that hold her back.
Last but not least, Paul offered the inauspicious meaning of loss in pleasure, which indicates that the querent indulges in her desires and makes little effort to realize them.
What Arthur Edward Waite Said About the Meanings of the Five of Cups
Arthur Edward Waite agrees that this card signifies losses, but not complete losses. Out of five cups, three are lost, but two remain.
Although the picture says otherwise, he states that this card is generally favorable and may indicate a happy marriage. But he adds that the marriage will come with some bitterness or frustration. Maybe he meant that the financial affairs of the marriage partner would lead to disappointments (the 8th house connection).
Arthur mentions that this card also pertains to inheritance, patrimony, legacies, gifts, ancestry, and transmissions in general, but which are also likely to disappoint. He derived these meanings from the 8th house and the Scorpio connection.
He continues with his ambivalent assessment by stating this card may signify success in an enterprise or false projects. Success is the consequence of creative efforts and knowing which projects one should pursue and which ones not.
The meanings of news, alliances, affinity, and blood relations appear unrelated since they neither pertain to the position of the Five of Cups on the Tree of Life nor do they connect to Scorpio and the 8th house. Hence, they may pertain to fortune telling. The meaning of return of a relative who has not been seen for long seems to fall in the same category.
What Etteilla Said About the Meaning of the Five of Cups
Etteilla, a French occultist and the first known professional tarotist, offers the meanings of inheritance and relatives.
These meanings go back to the 8th house ruled by Scorpio.
What Papus Said About the Meaning of the Five of Cups
Papus, another French occultist and the founder of the Martinist Order, offers the meanings of obstacles overcome.
This meaning hints at craft and the creative use of laws to further one’s undertakings and overcome resistance.
What Gregor Mather Said About the Meaning of the Five of Cups
Gregor Mather, the founder of the Golden Dawn, agrees that an auspicious Five of Cups signifies marriage and inheritance.
He also concurs with the meaning of false projects.
He gave the following additional meanings: union, junction, arrival, return, news, surprise. These seem to pertain to fortune-telling, hence, no comment.
What Mme. Le Marchand Said About the Meaning of the Five of Cups
Mme. Le Marchand, a 19th century celebrated Parisian fortune teller devined the Five of Wands as follows: An intimate friend aims at disturbing the querent’s domestic happiness, but this is foiled.
This neither refers to the position of the Five of Cups on the Tree of Life, nor to Scorpio, nor to the 8th house. Domestic affairs are matters of the 4th house governed by Cancer.
Likely, this is an attempt at foretelling the future.
The Psychological Framework of the Enlightenment Tarot
Every Tarot card represents a faculty of consciousness. We can use a faculty of consciousness constructively and destructively. This produces favorable and adverse experiences.
We can express faculties of consciousness on four levels:
- The spiritual level (wands/fire/intention)
- The creative-feely level (cups/water/imagination)
- The intellectual level (swords/air/intelligence)
- The bodily level (pentacles/earth/bodily action)
The four tools on the magician’s table symbolize these four levels:
- The wand (spiritual)
- The cup (creative-feely)
- The sword (intellectual)
- The pentagram (bodily)
These tools correspond to the four so-called elements: fire, water, air, and earth.
For this reason, the Enlightenment Tarot wands are made of fire, the cups consist of water, and the pents are composed of earth. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to illustrate something made of air, since air is invisible. For that reason, all swords are made of crystal to show at least transparency.
The Enlightenment Tarot derives its meaning from the Tree of Life and the four levels of human expression. This is an objective, holistic framework that reveals the psychological imports of Tarot cards and their faculties of consciousness. Read more about this framework in the article The Psychological Framework of the Enlightenment Tarot.
The Enlightenment Tarot project attempts to rediscover the original meanings of the Tarot cards that pertain to their position on the Tree of Life. These meanings are simple, clear, and easy to memorize.
*This framework is compatible with Paul Foster Case’s qabalistic system.
Do you want to Learn more About The Enlightenment Tarot?
If you want to delve deep into the psychological meanings of Tarot cards, read the book Tarot of Life.
If you are curious about how the Enlightenment Tarot came about, read this article.
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If you are looking for a psychological Tarot deck, you have come to the right place. The Enlightenment Tarot derives the cards’ meanings from a holistic and transparent framework that is easy to learn and memorize. All major and minor arcana carry psychological titles, and the court cards display psychological profiles. Have a look at the Enlightenment Tarot deck here.
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