Ace of Cups Tarot Card Meanings
Ace of Cups’ Upright & Reversed Meanings
Ideas: Emptiness, recharging of spirit, soul-searching
Traits: Apathetic, cold, discontented, insensitive, practical, rational, realistic, secretive, unlovable
Emotions: Annoyance, disappointment, frustration, insecurity, irritation, rejection
- Actions:
- Finding love within yourself first
- Following your head instead of your heart
- Hiding your feelings
- Improving your imagination
- Recharging your spiritual battery
- Seeking what feeds your soul
Ideas: Intuition, motivation, new relationship, spirituality
Traits: Calm, deep, felicific, generous, gentle, genuine, helpful, pure, warm
Emotions: Affection, bliss, caring, compassion, contentment, fondness, liking, satisfaction, tenderness
- Actions:
- Accepting and returning affection
- Getting in touch with what motivates you
- Listening to the still, small voice
- Opening yourself to spirit
- Starting a new relationship
- Taking advantage of an opportunity to express love to others
- Trusting your feelings
Ideas: Idealization, obsession, waste
Traits: Complacent, distractible, dreamy, fanciful, impractical, irrational, overimaginative, self-indulgent, unrealistic
Emotions: Hysteria, infatuation, neglect, pity, pride, sympathy
- Actions:
- Becoming a puppet of your own emotions
- Indulging in hysteria or obsession
- Refusing to act on your ideals
- Replenishing others’ emotional energy by draining yours
- Taking love for granted
- Wasting your empathic potential
Ace of Cups’ Advice
Personal Growth
How comfortable are you with expressions of emotion? Of faith? This card challenges you to be more open with both. A centered person freely shares what he or she feels, and a truly spiritual person can share his or her faith in natural, non-aggressive ways. Give both a try.
Relationship
This is an opportunity to set logic aside and allow actions to be guided by feelings alone. Irrational? Perhaps. But in certain matters, logic does not apply. Be romantic. Be spiritual. This moment is a chance to see romance as an expression of spirituality, and vice-versa.
Career
How fulfilling is your work? If you’re going through the motions, this card challenges you to get back in touch with what delights you. Find a way to integrate your labor with your dreams. If you’re already fulfilled, watch for an opportunity to take your satisfaction to the next level.
Spirituality
On rare occasions, Heaven opens, and the Hand of God offers us the opportunity to experience unexpected spiritual highs. Pay close attention to the events around you; one is a seed—an opportunity to be uniquely and totally immersed in the work and power of Spirit.
Ace of Cups’ Symbols & Insights
The Hand of God
On the Aces in Marseilles and Rider–Waite–Smith-inspired decks, a heavenly hand extends from the clouds, offering the viewer the suit’s distinctive marker. When opportunity comes your way, take advantage of it; the hand that extends an offer can always withdraw it.
The Holy Grail
The Rider–Waite–Smith depicts the chalice as the Grail—the cup of the Christ. In addition to the spiritual connotations of the Grail, this card (like the Grail) can be connected with the Divine Feminine. What would your spiritual quest be? What hidden truths should you pursue?
Cups as Symbols
As a suit marker, Cups suggest receptivity: they are vessels, waiting to be filled. Cups have long been associated with divination (remember the uproar caused when Benjamin stole King Joseph’s cup?) and, by extension, intuition. How can you enhance your own receptivity?
The Nature of the Ace
Compressed into the Ace are all the qualities of all the other cards of the suit. In this way, the Ace can be said to be the “root” or “seed” of its associated element. How might your situation contain the seeds of emotional or spiritual growth?
Your First Impressions
When you see the Ace, what’s your first impression? What will the cup contain? What actions are you expected to take?
More About Ace of Cups Tarot Card
- Predictions
- Romance is in the cards!
- A new relationship or marriage is just around the corner.
- Prayers are answered.
- Timing
- In the summer
(between June 21 and September 23) - Affirmation
- “I listen to the counsel of my heart.”
- Numerology Number
- 1
(the origin: the starting point, the seed, opportunity) - Astrology Element
- Water
- Astrology Signs
- Cancer
- Scorpio
- Pisces
- Storyline
- The main character meets a love interest or discovers his or her true calling.
- Questions to Ask
- What am I feeling right now?
- How would I go about opening myself to spiritual guidance?
- What motivates me the most—pleasure or pain? Why?
- Related Pages
- Tarot Card Meanings Guide
- Exploring Today’s Tarot
- Consulting the Tarot
- Traditional Tarot Card Meanings
- Thirteen Fun Things to Do with Tarot Cards
- Where to Go to Learn More
