The Four of Cups
Symbolism
A young person sits under a tree gazing out at three cups laid out in front of him. Out of a small cloud beside him comes a hand offering the fourth cup. This represents the hand of an angel and shows that the cup is a genuine gift from above.
The person has her legs crossed and arms folded over her heart and either does not see or chooses to ignore the fourth cup on offer. Her posture is closed and she is guarding her heart. She is either not interested in receiving the cup or she is scared of taking what is on offer.
She looks like she is contemplating whether she should accept the gift or not, Does she need a fourth cup or are three enough?.
Keywords
Upright: Fear, denial of emotions, self-doubt, hesitancy, blind to offers, fear of love, confusing boundaries, unwilling to grow, avoidance. past trauma, boredom, apathy.
Reversed:
Double love denial, runners, negative Emotional Intelligence, fear to see trauma, Embracing opportunities, dropping regret, opening the heart.
Upright meaning
The number four brings stability and grounding. But the element of water and emotions are anything but stable in nature. Water is flowing and emotions love to swing high and low. The figure sitting in the picture is half denying the fourth cup on offer. It is as if she would rather not turn to look at it. She is closed and is convincing herself that she is fine with three cups, thank you!
She knows the nature of emotions and taking on the third cup means higher highs and lower lows. She is unsure about whether she is ready for this upgrade and is consequently hesitant. The card represents our subtle fears of taking on a new experience which we sense will test our emotional maturity.
The Cup is full of feelings and one of its main contents is love. We have seen the cup and deep down we know it is an offer from above but there is a doubt about whether we are ready for this fourth cup or not. We have known love and heartbreak before. The pain and discomfort from the past is a memory that we can’t forget and we need to be sure if we are ready for the greater emotional intensity that this cup represents.
If our Trauma is deep and our fears are strong we may ignore this offer and pretend that there is nothing there. Taking on the deeper emotional journey that this cups represents will bring its challenges of course. We will need more awareness and stronger boundaries and all of this calls for a little effort on our part. Are we ready to accept the challenge and do the work?
The Three of Cups that came before is like the carefree adolescence where we try to have as much fun as possible and rightfully so. The Four brings in responsibility and the abundance of Jupiter. The challenge is to open up our heart to feel more and embrace the abundance on offer. This emotional abundance is the key to accepting material abundance. We have to feel open to receiving to attract more into our lives.
Reversed meaning
There is already a decent amount of denial around this Four. But ‘double denial’ and extra-strong resistance to this cup on offer is also common. When the trauma around receiving this emotional opportunity is not revisited or processed our resistance to accepting the cup remains unnoticed. We can develop a habit of protection that pushes away any emotional offering that mirrors our past trauma.
This unconscious rejection will make us blind to any opportunities that may be in front of our faces. We will unconsciously run away and choose to walk in the opposite direction without questioning our decision. Our wall of protection at one time defended us, but now it blocks our growth and future joy. This reversal asks us to take down that wall.
The cup represents love in a relationship as well as self-love. We have experienced pain in love before and we may associate pain with love. Love becomes dangerous in our heads. We are naturally confused with this reversal because our bodies feel the presence of the angel and our heads are stuck in a program of doubt and fear. The conflict asks us to sit under that tree until we realize that this is a beautiful offering and our inner programs are sabotaging our emotional expansion.
Another way to read this reversed Four is to see it as a shift in denial and a realization that our best option is to open our arms and embrace this cup. Our soul is calling for healing and feels grateful for this opportunity. When we embrace the past traumas as beautiful lessons, however harsh, the gratitude starts to flow and our minds open up to the souls choice. The regret, pain and guilt are dropped and the blessing of the cup is eventually seen.