Five of Cups
The Five of Cups depicts mourning and disappointment after a loss, with attention fixed on what has been spilled while two cups remain upright. It acknowledges the necessity of honest grief but warns that fixation and isolation can turn sorrow into a trap. The card counsels ritualized release and a turning away from the dark mirror to reclaim what is not broken, allowing healing to begin. Reversed, it can indicate forgiveness, regained perspective, and the first steps back toward connection, or the danger of clinging to self-pity. Overall, it urges acknowledgment of the past without living under it and to turn toward what remains as the start of renewal.
Keywords
Visual description
A moonlit forest surrounds a young woman seated at the edge of a still pool. She wears a white blouse and a green, leaflike skirt, her dark hair crowned with foliage; her head is slightly bowed and her eyes are lowered. Two ornate cups stand upright on the bank near her, while other cups appear in the water’s reflection as toppled and sinking. The mirrorlike surface shows her upside-down image beneath floating leaves and drifting goblets.
Meaning
In the hush of night, the maiden by the water remembers what has spilled, like the Slavic rusalka who lingers by the pond, bound to an old sorrow. Upright, the Five of Cups speaks of grief, disappointment, and a heart fixed on the loss before it, even while two steadfast cups remain within reach. The scene asks you to notice what still stands, to turn from the dark mirror and reclaim what is not broken. It is the interval after a shock, when mourning is honest and necessary, yet isolation can turn the pool into a trap. Choose ritual over rumination: name the loss, pour a measure back to the earth, and let the current carry away the dregs. Reversed, the card suggests the spell loosening—forgiveness, perspective, and the first steps back to the path through the trees. It can also warn of clinging to self-pity, reenacting the story until you become a ghost of it. Whether upright or reversed, the message is to acknowledge the past without living under it. From the two remaining cups flow connection, learning, and a chance to begin again. Turn, rise, and let the moon show you the crossing.
Slavic Legends Tarot
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