Five of Cups

What the card means

Upright

Grieving the three spilled, not the two still standing. A figure in black stands over the fallen cups, and two whole ones are behind him - and a bridge, and a house. The card does not argue with grief: it points out that the grieving is being done facing one way.

Reversed

Turning around; what remains becomes visible. Not “it is all fine” but “not all of it spilled”, and that is enough to walk to the bridge.

Love and relationships

Upright

A parting, a disappointment, regret at how it went. The grief is real, and it is not all there is.

Reversed

Starting to notice what survived. Or let go of it and looked ahead.

Work and business

Upright

A failure, a project lost, disillusion with the thing. Count what is left: there is usually more than can be seen from this position.

Reversed

Getting up after a setback. Or finding a use for what looked lost.

Money

Upright

A loss regretted longer than it merits. Two cups are whole - count them.

Reversed

Part of it comes back. Or you start counting the remainder rather than the loss.

The card's advice

Turn around. Three spilled, and that is true; two are standing, and that is also true, and it is the half you are not currently looking at. The bridge is behind you and it leads to the house.

As the card of the day

A sad day. Good for grieving and for looking back over your shoulder. Poor for decisions about the future.

What is depicted

A figure in a black cloak stands over three fallen cups; two stand whole behind him. Beyond, a river, a bridge and a house. He is looking down - the bridge is over his shoulder.

Zodiac sign and correspondences

Mars in Scorpio - a loss felt all the way down.

With other cards

• Five of Cups + Four of Cups — looking the wrong way twice over.
• Five of Cups + Three of Cups — celebration and loss in one spread; usually this is coming back to people.
• Five of Cups + Three of Swords — grieving what went and not seeing what stayed.