Card 40 • cups

Five of Cups

Brief Description

Five of Cups represents the pain of loss and the necessity of fully feeling sorrow in order to move beyond it. It emphasizes significant but partial loss, despair, and regret, and warns against losing oneself in wallowing and agitation. The card advises being thoughtful and gentle with grief so the past remains present but does not overwhelm, keeping one foot on solid ground. In reversal, it signals emotional growth, a new experience of equilibrium, new partnerships, and a more hopeful, cheerful future.

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Card Title

Five of Cups

Keyword

Befriending Grief

Description

In the midst of dark clouds and an emotional storm, a struggle rages over spilled cups. The loss is real and irrevocable and to move beyond it, he must feel the sorrow fully and candidly. If he does not, he will lose himself in wallowing and agitation. In the Five of Cups, the tug toward disillusionment is strong, but being thoughtful and gentle in these moments will put the past in the present and keep one foot on solid ground.

Meaning

Significant but only partial loss, despair, regret, flaws or imperfections, a possible to mend a relationship

Reversal

A new experience of equilibrium, new partnerships, a hopeful future, a cheerful attitude, emotional growth

Visual Description

A solitary figure in a long, multicolored cloak stands on a pale ledge beneath a stormy, dark sky. In front of him lie three overturned or broken cups while two cups remain upright to his right on the ledge. The cloak’s pigments streak downward, blending into the pale foreground, and the scene feels cold and windswept.

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✍️ Deck author(s): Jonathan Saiz, Jason Gruhl, Andi Todaro

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All card images and descriptions are taken from public sources. They are used for review purposes only. All rights to these images and descriptions belong to their creators. If you believe there is a copyright infringement, please contact us at [email protected].