Five of Cups Tarot Card Meaning

A young man looks down in despair at three spilled cups of wine, never seeing the two still standing. This is the card of spilled milk. It suggests an obsession over something that has been lost so much so that what remains goes unnoticed. The querent might be feeling disappointed in someone for not living up to their expectations, making them blind to the person's good qualities. Or the querent themselves might have done something they now regret, and they just can't get past it.

Remember the Four of Cups and how much fault and dissatisfaction the man found with his three cups? Now they're gone and he is humbled, crushed. Why didn't he value them as he should have? Two cups remain, but he may not know they're there, or he may fears to look back. What if they, too are gone?

The question: "How do I stop from drowning in these mortifying feelings?" The answer is to have the strength to stop staring down at what went wrong. There is no finding redemption if you're too lost in woe and fear to look for it.

The querent is likely going through a time where they feel shame over their bad feelings, regret over something they lost or knocked over. The reader must remind them that all is not so hopeless as it seems. They can redeem themselves.


Go deeper and find out what The Five of Cups means for feelings

Learn the Five of Cups meaning in reversal in our reversed card meanings.

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