Tag - what does the ten of cups mean in tarot card

Ten of Cups

Ten of Cups

Suit: Cups
Element: Water
Function: Emotions, love, spirituality, imagination

The Ten of Cups looks like the happy ending after a film or musical. A rainbow of ten gleaming gold cups spreads across the sky. A man and woman, arm in arm behold the rainbow in praise, awe, and thanks. Two children, a boy and a girl, play together. The boy and girl are spitting images of their parents of the same gender; they’re even dressed the same. In the distance is a white house with red shutters on fertile land, and a river flows passed it. This all symbolizes wealth and success.

The man wears orange, the color of enthusiasm. He’s with a woman who wears blue and red, the colors of the spirit and passion, respectively. They have a big home, a happy family, plenty of land, water, and of course, each other. They’re happy, plain and simple. It seems that the universe is rejoicing with them, as it manifests the rainbow of cups. There’s red, the color of passion; yellow, the color of intellect; and blue, the color of the spirit. Everything together as one, a divine blessing.

The reader doesn’t know whether the people in the picture earned these things, or if they were inherited, or if they just got a lucky break. It really doesn’t matter, because they’re grateful and they acknowledge their good fortune. The Ten of Cups is about acknowledging good fortune and being grateful for it. And this isn’t just good fortune for the self, but for those we love, and for future generations, who, like the children dancing in the photo, will never have to know the same struggles or strife. In the United States, this is called the “American Dream,” the one that led immigrants to face the trials and tribulations of leaving their home country to start a new life in a foreign land.

The Ten of Cups doesn’t take anything for granted. The fact that the cups are in heaven means that the querent can’t grasp them, and that they belong to something bigger than one’s self. The cups are, in fact, dreams that have manifested their promises in real life. They are always there, even if they can’t be held. They’re not possessions, but rather, blessings. To have the ten cups is a blessing and a promise that things will work out in the end.

When the Ten of Cups is Reversed:

When the Ten of Cups is reversed, the querent may feel cursed, that they can’t get what they want no matter how hard they try. They may feel entitled to success, and yet, don’t recognize it when they see it. They may never be satisfied, and since they can’t recognize a small blessing, they can’t take that small blessing and find a way to make it a bigger one.

The Ten of Cups reversed can also mean that the problem is that the querent is looking for the wrong blessing. They may cry out to their god asking for things, but fail to recognize what blessings their god gives them.

In a three-card reading, this card means…

Past: In the past, the querent was blessed with good fortune and the good sense to recognize it, which has brought them to the present.

Present: In the present, the querent is grateful for all the things they’ve received and have, and are reveling in their good fortune.

Future: In the future, the querent will receive blessings, the answers to their prayers, and manifestation of their dreams coming true.