
Queen of Cups Tarot Card
The Tarot Suit of Cups

The Tarot Suit of Cups is associated with the suit of Hearts in standard playing cards.
The cups depicted on tarot cards are usually, but not necessarily, in the style of ceremonial cups, chalices, or goblets. There are meanings associated with each of the suits in a tarot deck, as well as the more specific interpretations associated with each individual card and the yet more precise meanings of particular cards in particular locations within spreads.
The suit of cups is associated with the element of water (as in water signs of the zodiac). It is also associated with the season of autumn, also known as 'fall' in U.S. English, and with the direction West.
Cups concern emotions, love, romance, the wide range of emotions, mastery of emotions and feelings, and 'gut reactions' that call upon our intuitive as opposed to intellectual abilities and development.
The 'Queens' in the tarot deck may also be known by other names depending on the deck. For example, the Shapeshifter's Tarot includes 'Goddesses' in place of the 'Queens' in the Rider-Waite and Robin Wood decks. All court cards may be interpreted as referring to a person with the card supplying information to identify the individual. Alternatively, they may be interpreted symbolically, in which case 'Queens' may be understood to represent new levels of awareness or understanding and also the mother-child relationship.
The element of the Queens is 'Water'. This is the element that is associated with emotions (and the suit of Cups). The Queens are subtly different reflections of the Empress. In general, when Queens appear in a spread they indicate a period of growth and development.
The Queen of Cups may be a very intense card because it combines the energy of the suit of cups (water, love, emotions, and feelings) with the femine (and also 'water') energy of the Queens.
When the court card the Queen of Cups appears in a tarot spread to identify a person to the sitter then the characteristics it conveys include:
- a married or mature woman
- golden brown hair
- blue eyes
- person whose astrological sign is cancer
Note that this is not always the purpose of the appearance of a court card in a spread and that not all of the above characteristics need apply. The readers intuition will guide him or her to mention only any that are relevant.
The Queen of Cups Tarot Card is a card of love that often depicts a beautiful image and may prompt us to help others by becoming more aware of the effects of people's feelings on the situation. It may also advise us to find ways to enable more love to flow into our lives.
Keywords and phrases for some of the possible interpretations of the Queen of Cups Tarot Card include:
- Gentleness
- Insightful person
- Kind
- Love
- Protective mother figure
What about the Queen of Cups Reversed ?
Some interpretations of the meaning of the Queen of Cups reversed include:
- Emotions clouding judgement
- Making unwise and/or unappreciated sacrifices e.g. of one's time or opportunities
- An unreliable person (likely a woman), could just be a 'fair-weather friend' or likely to be indiscrete with a secret.
The Tarot Suit of Cups
The Tarot Suit of Cups is associated with the suit of Hearts in standard playing cards.
The "Cups" depicted on tarot cards are usually in the style of goblets, ceremonial, or communion cups (as above). There are meanings associated with each of the suits in a tarot deck, as well as the more specific interpretations associated with each individual card - and yet more precise meanings pertaining to particular cards in particular locations within spreads.
The suit of cups is associated with the element of water (as in water signs of the zodiac). It is also associated with the season of autumn (or "fall" in U.S. English) and with the direction "West".
Cups concern emotions, love, romance, range of emotions, mastery of emotions and feelings, and "gut reactions" that call upon our intuitive as opposed to intellectual development.