The Six of Cups represents innocence, nostalgia, and positive thinking. The card has an overall feel of childhood and nostalgia. It embodies feeling free and pure and allowing your past experiences to guide you down new paths.

The Six of Cups is often read as playful, compassionate, and willing to help others.

If this isn’t your current mood, your reading may suggest it’s time to get in this zone. What can you do to let loose and be more carefree?

Six of Cups Key Facts#

Before diving deeper into the upright- and reversed Six of Cups tarot card meaning, and its connection to love, career, and life, below you can find a quick overview of the most important facts connected to this Minor Arcana card.

Upright

Playful, carefree, nostalgic, children

Reversed

Maturity, boredom, independence

Yes or No

Maybe

Number

6

Element

Water

Planet

Sun

Astrological sign

Scorpio

Six of Cups Tarot Card Description#

To fully understand the Six of Cups tarot card meaning, we will first take a look at the illustration, colors, and symbolism of this Cups card.

Six of Cups tarot card, Spark Bloom Edition
Six of Cups tarot card, Rider–Waite–Smith deck
Six of Cups tarot card, upright

The Six of Cups tarot card depicts two children; one is handing a cup full of flowers to the other.

Before them stand four more cups full of flowers and a sixth cup sits atop a stone carving behind the children.

The scene looks to be set in a castle of sorts, so we can draw from this that the children are safe and well taken care of.

The imagery of this card embodies sharing, goodwill, and generosity. The children are in good spirits which tells us that the mood of this card is overall a positive one.

Six of Cups Tarot Meaning#

In the upright position, the Six of Cups represents optimism, sharing, happiness, and looking back on childhood memories. These memories are full of joy and bring goodness into your life.

If you have kids, they may help you with reconnecting with your own childhood or you are able to give your inner child free rein to play and have fun. The card can invite a more carefree, playful approach.

If you've suffered poor treatment in childhood or later life, this card can suggest making space for safety and support; it cannot promise when circumstances will improve.

Money and Career Meaning#

In a career reading, the Six of Cups is a good omen. It indicates successful teamwork, creativity, and prosperous collaborations.

This may prompt you to bring cooperation and creativity to your team. Take advantage of this time to better yourself and encourage those around you.

If you seize this moment, the benefits may last.

In a financial sense, the Six of Cups can symbolize giving or receiving charity, inheritance matters, or thinking about a will.

Its optimistic tone does not guarantee a positive outcome.

Love and Relationships Meaning#

In love and relationships, the Six of Cups has two main interpretations. The first is an association with childhood sweethearts or shared history. With confirming cards, the reading may also raise questions about children or shared memories.

In a love reading, this card can symbolize conflict or immaturity. If that resonates, consider how each person takes responsibility during disagreements.

If this is the case, you must work towards taking a more grown-up approach to your disagreements if you hope to receive deliverance.

If you are single, the Six of Cups can invite reflection on old romances, childhood sweethearts, or connections to the place where you grew up.

Health and Spirituality Meaning#

The Six of Cups in a health context can symbolize compassion and support. Ask whether practical help would be welcome rather than assuming what someone needs.

Do you have a close friend or family member that is battling health issues? They may need support, but ask what would help rather than assume.

Now is the time to reach out and offer your time to being there for this person.

Six of Cups Reversed#

In this paragraph, we will talk a bit more about what it means if you’ve pulled the Six of Cups tarot card in the reversed position (upside down).

Six of Cups tarot card, Spark Bloom Edition, reversed
Six of Cups tarot card, Rider–Waite–Smith deck, reversed
Six of Cups tarot card, reversed

The Six of Cups reversed is also a good omen but in a different sense. Some of the key interpretations of this card in this position are growing up and leaving home.

It can also mean that you are leaving your childish behaviors behind and moving on to more mature ways to deal with your problems.

If you have been considering making some of these changes in your life, the Six of Cups reversed confirms that now is a great time to do so.

In the reversed position the Six of Cups can also be a sign that you may recall past events with too much positivity than they deserve.

As a result, you’re stuck in the past. If so, this card tells you that in order to grow and move on in life, you need to let the memories rest.

Six of Cups: Yes or No#

The Six of Cups calls attention to feeling stress-free, optimistic, and joyful. You can look back on your childhood and smile, and you take many pointers from the way you grew up to guide you now.

Because that happiness comes from the past rather than the present, the answer of the Six of Cups to your yes or no question is maybe.

Six of Cups and Astrology#

The Six of Cups card is associated with the zodiac sign Scorpio. Just like the other water signs, Cancer and Pisces, Scorpions have to experience, express and face emotions. This sign has a sense of re-emerging, or transforming, as well as releasing the old and embracing the new. Scorpio is ruled by two planets: Mars and Pluto: highly powerful, energized, and focused planets.

Important Card Combinations#

The positive vibes of the Six of Cups also affect other cards in your spread. Even Major Arcana cards like the Empress and the Hermit.

Below you can find the most important tarot card combinations of the Six of Cups.

Six of Cups and The Empress#

The Six of Cups and the Empress promise a nurturing and loving home. Have you been considering adding a new member to your family?

The combination cannot predict what a child's home will be like. If you and your partner are considering this, talk through the practical and emotional implications together.

Six of Cups and The Hermit#

If the Six of Cups and the Hermit appear in a spread together, it stands for remembering your past. If you are a writer, it is in the cards that now is a great time to write your memoir.

Your memories may give you useful material. Set some time aside to tell your story and see how readers respond.

Six of Cups and Wheel of Fortune#

This duo with the Wheel of Fortune can prompt you to revisit childhood interests when reconsidering the path you are on. As we grow up, we can lose the optimism and ambition that we once had.

If you are feeling stuck in your current career, or unhappy with where you have ended up in life, you may need to reconnect with these things.

Take some time to go back to your hometown or to do activities that you feel passionate about. You may find that some of those qualities are still available to you.

Six of Cups and Seven Of Wands#

The combination of the Six of Cups and Seven of Wands stands for teaching children. For students, this is an indication that a career in childhood development or social services would be a great fit.

If you have an interest in this field, you should push forward and learn all you can about these areas.

Interest in the work matters, but the cards cannot tell you whether you will succeed or enjoy a particular career.

The Six of Cups and Three of Swords#

When the Six of Cups and Three of Swords appear together, they can raise themes of painful childhood memories.

If a childhood experience is troubling you, a tarot reading cannot determine whether you have suppressed trauma.

The best thing you can do to move on from a problem like this is to reach out for help. There are many ways to do this, and you must venture out and find the right answer for you.

Traditional therapy, support groups, and other social programs could be a great fit, depending on your preferences. The right support can help, though recovery is not always simple or predictable.

Six of Cups in a Reading#

Let’s finish this article, with a few words on receiving the Six of Cups in the past, present, and future position in your reading.

If the Six of Cups tarot card appears in the past position in your reading, this symbolizes a joyful and loving childhood.

In the present position, this card can invite you to reconnect with friends, family, or your roots.

In a future position, the Six of Cups is traditionally associated with compassion and kindness. If you are experiencing poor treatment, seek practical support rather than relying on a card to predict improvement.

That’s all for the Six of Cups tarot card meaning. As a representation of optimism, sharing, compassion, and happiness, I hope you’re just as excited about this card as I am. Hopefully, its themes of optimism, compassion, and play give you something useful to consider.

Did the meaning make sense to you? Write down your comments and questions below. I would love to hear from you!

Frequently asked questions about Six of Cups

What does Six of Cups mean in Tarot?

Upright, the Six of Cups can represent memory, generosity and the way childhood experiences remain present. If you have children, time with them may prompt reflection on your own past, but the card does not promise freedom from worry.

What does Six of Cups mean reversed?

Reversed, the Six of Cups can point to idealizing the past, outgrowing an old role or noticing how memory is shaping the present. It is not an omen and does not predict leaving home.

Is Six of Cups a yes or no card?

In ASOJ's yes-or-no convention, the Six of Cups is a maybe, because its happiness comes from the past rather than the present. It does not assume a happy childhood or treat nostalgia as sufficient evidence.

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