Six of Cups

Quick answer

The core meaning of Six of Cups is Harmony in the realm of Emotion. Upright, it usually points to A card of the past and of memories, looking back, as—for example—on childhood; h; reversed, it may suggest The future, renewal, that which will come to pass presently.

Card imagery

Children in an old garden, their cups filled with flowers.

Upright meaning

Upright keywords: Emotion: Harmony. Waite gives the upright divinatory meaning as: A card of the past and of memories, looking back, as—for example—on childhood; happiness, enjoyment, but coming rather from the past; things that have vanished. Another reading reverses this, giving new relations, new knowledge, new environment, and then the children are disporting in an unfamiliar precinct.

Reversed meaning

Reversed keywords: Emotion: Harmony (blocked). Waite gives the reversed divinatory meaning as: The future, renewal, that which will come to pass presently.

Love, Career, Money, and Growth

Love

Upright, the Six of Cups is tenderness and nostalgia: an ex returning, a childhood friend, innocent kindness, or childlike closeness in a relationship. Reversed, being stuck in memories, idealising an old relationship, or one partner refusing to grow up.

Career

Upright it is opportunity from a former colleague or old client, or the comfort of returning to familiar ground. Reversed, old experience limits new thinking, past glory is hard to let go of, or there is childish behaviour at work.

Money

Upright it often shows support from family or elders, past investment paying off, or spending connected to childhood. Reversed, beware over-reliance on family money, or old beliefs stopping you from trying new ways to manage it.

Personal growth

The Six of Cups lets you look back at the warmth along the way. Upright, draw kindness and strength from the past; reversed, nostalgia is fine, but do not make the past a reason not to move forward.

Example question

You ask what it means that your ex got in touch and draw the Six of Cups. Upright says they come with goodwill and nostalgia, possibly a sincere reunion, but ask whether the person you are now still needs that past. Reversed says one of you is stuck in memory and has idealised the old relationship; do not mistake missing it for an answer.

How they feel

When Six of Cups shows how someone feels about you, the feeling shows up as unspoken affection, closeness and some wavering. Past moments with you color it, and part of them wants to reconnect. Upright it leans toward nostalgia, kindness, and connection through familiar ties; reversed, toward stuck in the past, idealising memory, or needing to grow up.

Yes or No

Upright

Yes

Reversed

Maybe

This is our own quick read, based on which way the card’s meaning leans. Traditions disagree about individual cards, and a “Maybe” needs to be weighed against the position in the spread and your actual situation rather than taken as a one-word answer.

Waite’s Original Text (1911)

Additional Meaning

Pleasant memories. Reversed: Inheritance to fall in quickly.

Quoted from A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith. The text is in the public domain.