V of Cups
Tarot Card Meaning

Keywords:
~ regrets
~ past hurts
~ sorrow
~ despair
~ pining for the past
~ mourning and loss
~ disappointment

Reversed:
~ ready to move on
~ putting the past behind you
~ easing sorrow
~ hope
~ acceptance
~ forgiveness

Look at the image of the V of Cups tarot card. You can immediately sense the sorrowful mood of the card. Some matter of the heart, represented by the Cups, is now in the past, and that is where it will remain. If this news fills you with sadness and despair, you will connect viscerally to the figure in this image. You want or long so deeply a for something or someone that it pulls you into a state of mourning. There is a sense of profound loss and a need to delve into that sorrow and stay there, immersed in sadness. This card represents your energy and state of being at this time, but it also offers you helpful advice on how you can use that energy and where you can go from this point. Remember that you are a resilient human being, It may be the end of an era, but it is not the end of your happiness, love, or future successes.

The three overturned Cups are the center of attention for the figure in the V of Cups. Cups represent our emotions and matters of the heart, so these spilled Cups show your love and happiness spilling out onto the barren earth. It feels like such a waste- a waste of your time, energy and love. You want to wallow in that regret. You are wholly focused on all that has happened in the past, replaying it over and over again in your mind. You want to relive past experiences, be they happy or sad, and can’t separate yourself from that past in order to live in the now. It can be incredibly hard to look away from hurts and regrets of the past, but that is exactly what you must do now.

The key to moving on and your future happiness is to stop living in the past. No matter how wonderful things were before, or even how terrible things have become, you have to live in the present.   This present moment is the time during which all things happen. This moment is when you decide to choose your future, to shape and create the life that you want, to choose happiness and joy over sadness and loss. Notice in the image above the two upright Cups behind the figure in black. These Cups hold the keys to positive and productive emotions. They are the golden opportunity of the present moment and the promise of a bright future. Your job now is to pull yourself away from images and mental movies of the past and turn around to see what you still have now (and it is so much, believe me!) and plan how you can use that moving forward into a new you.

So, now it is time to turn away from the past, put it behind you. Gather up all of the positive, creative, and inspired emotions that still remain to you if you just turn yourself toward the present moment. The V of Cups is a card of struggle, so I’m not saying this will be an easy or straightforward journey, but it will be better than dwelling in the past. Take charge of your life. Don’t let the actions of others dictate your happiness. Notice the bridge over the emotional river of water in the background of the V of Cups. You need to cross that bridge, to find the other side of your heart where a happy home and secure place in society await you. Those opportunities are there for you to grasp if you are just willing to let the past live in the past. There is a lot of hope in this card, but it is the hope of the future, not the hope of a return to the past. You can do this, every little step counts, so try and find little ways to be grateful for what you do have and let that gratitude fill you with peace in the present moment. I know you can do this, the power of hope and renewal is all around you. It come55 from within yourself!