The Six of Cups is about inviting sweetness into your life.
Hit play below to listen to the audio lesson, or scroll down to read the text version.
To give you a bit of context whilst you reflect on your own relationship to the card, here are a few key things to know about the Six of Cups.
In the Rider Waite Smith Tarot, the Six of Cups is illustrated like this: In a quiet village square, an adult figure and a child’s hands meet, as one passes a cup full of blooming flowers to the other. They’re surrounded by five more cups, all full of fresh blooms.
The card has long been associated with nostalgia, and there’s something here about connecting to your childhood and giving gifts to your inner child. It’s a fertile practice.
What’s particularly interesting to me is this card’s position in the sequence of the Cups. Just before the Six of Cups comes the Five, a sombre card that sees a figure grieving over spilled cups. Just after comes the Seven of Cups - a card that transforms the cups into metaphors for our choices. But in this card, the cups are simple, natural gifts. They haven’t been lost, and they haven’t taken on some psychological significance. They’re just full of lovely things.
I love the idea of this card representing finding that sweet spot, between loss and pressure to move forward in your life. This is a valley; a moment of peace, of joy, of connection. It’s nothing more or less than a simple pleasure.
And speaking of pleasure, that’s the keyword that’s used for the card in the Thoth deck. It doubles down on the idea that the advice in the Six of Cups really boils down to this: take a moment to appreciate what’s good. To give the gift of simple pleasure. To share a beautiful moment with someone.
In your tarot journal, you’re asked to reflect on what this card means to you, now, in this moment, and what actions and thoughts it inspires in you. As you journal, pay attention to what you’re personally picking up in the card, but also consider what the key themes and symbols in the card might be telling you. What little pleasures can you seek out right now? What little pleasures can you offer the people in your life?
This mini-tarot lesson was brought to you by me, Chelsey Pippin Mizzi, founder of Pip Cards Tarot. I hope you gained a little context to help you continue reflecting on the card in your own way, and I’ll see you tomorrow for another mini-lesson.