Six of Cups tarot card
What Six of Cups means in the Rider-Waite tarot: upright and reversed, in love, at work and as advice. Free online reading.
Minor Arcana · Cups · Element: Water
Keywords: memory, nostalgia, innocence, reunion, generosity
The advice
Bring from the past what still warms you and leave the rest where it is.
A child offers another a cup full of white flowers, in the courtyard of an old house. Everything is small, safe and familiar — a place from childhood.
Six of Cups upright
The sweetness of what has been. Good memories, reunions, someone from another time reappearing, the taste of home. This card also speaks of gratuitous kindness — giving without calculating a return — and of recovering a part of you that was left behind.
In love
A reunion with someone from the past, a relationship with a long history, or a simple affection without guile.
In work and money
A return to an old field, contact from other times, work that connects to your origins.
In your inner life
Reconciliation with the child you were. Some of today's answers are stored back there.
The shadow
Nostalgia that idealizes. The past is lovelier in memory because in memory it has already ended well.
Six of Cups reversed
Memory has turned into an anchor. Longing that holds you back, constant comparison between today and an edited yesterday, or an old bond that gets in the way of the present. The reversed Six asks you to let go of the past — tenderly, but let go.
In love
An ex who takes up too much room, a relationship lived on memories, or trouble growing up together.
In work and money
Attachment to an old way of doing things, or to a role that no longer exists. The market has moved on.
In your inner life
Childhood wounds still active in the present. Naming where they come from already loosens their grip.
The shadow
Living on memory. As long as the past is the best chapter, the present doesn't get enough attention to improve.
Combinations with Six of Cups
Six of Cups + Five of Pentacles
Present lack and memory of abundance. Beware of nostalgia here: comparing the now with an idealized past is what hurts, more than the lack itself.
Six of Cups + The Hermit
Memory and retreat. The person is revisiting the past alone. This can heal or it can trap; the difference is whether they come back from there.
Frequently asked questions
Is Six of Cups a yes or no?
Yes, especially if the question has roots in the past. What comes from other times with tenderness tends to add up; bring forward what still warms you. Reversed: No, if the idea is to relive a yesterday that memory has edited. Longing has become an anchor; let go gently and look at what the present has to offer.
What does Six of Cups mean in love?
A reunion with someone from the past, a relationship with a long history, or a simple affection without guile.
What does Six of Cups reversed mean?
Memory has turned into an anchor. Longing that holds you back, constant comparison between today and an edited yesterday, or an old bond that gets in the way of the present. The reversed Six asks you to let go of the past — tenderly, but let go.
What is the advice of Six of Cups?
Bring from the past what still warms you and leave the rest where it is.