The Cups Suit is associated with water, and represents emotions, love, relationships, intuition, and so on. It focuses on your inner experiences, and how you connect to the world around you. Although it can often be a harmonious suit, strong and uncontrollable emotions can cause us a lot of harm. We see how that plays out in cards such as the Five and Eight of Cups. Perhaps the character in the Eight of Cups is escaping an abusive relationship, a situation where emotions have been used against them.
This little Cups family are romantic, dreaming of a better world. How does that play out with each card?
Page of Cups: The Page of Cups is the kind of person who has an active imagination, daydreaming, very open. They might be a bit of a crybaby. They love falling in love and might be spiritual. Some people describe Pages as messengers, so if you pull this card, pay attention to new emotional developments in your life. This card may be asking you to trust you intuition and your creative process. In many depictions of this card, the Page is surprised at the fish popping out of their cup. Think about how you cope with surprises, whether you welcome or fear them, and how to improve your ability to deal with new developments.
Knight of Cups: The Knight of Cups is a hopeless romantic. A knight in shining armour, maybe a little dramatic. Slightly impractical, this knight loves fantasy and being the hero. They are learning to embrace and rein in their emotions, but they haven’t mastered that yet. They aren’t afraid of love, and maybe haven’t been hurt or betrayed before. If you pull this card and you see yourself as this knight, take some time to consider how you react to difficult situations. If you don’t see yourself as this character, maybe it’s time to bring a little romance and levity to your life. Getting in touch with your emotions might be a good opportunity for you.
Queen of Cups: This Queen is very intuitive and may be doing some kind of therapeutic work. They have mastered their emotions, perhaps practice mindfulness and gratitude a lot. In order to get to this point, they have had to go through some difficult times, so they are very compassionate towards other people. They are an excellent listener. They are stable and a comforting presence to others.
King of Cups: Kings are more external than Queens, so the King of Cups using emotions to their advantage. The water around them looks choppy, so they may have difficulty with strong emotions. As a leader, they must learn not to lash out at other people or become paranoid at others’ intentions. This King does care about others, but may be a little passive until they feel attacked in some way. Once they have improved their feelings of security, they are a very compassionate leader, but may struggle to show their own emotions for fear of losing control.
Iona Grant 