The Four of Cups tarot card’s meaning has to do with self-absorption and apathy. It can mean a
lot of things, whether you draw the card upright or reversed. Stick with us and explore its
meaning in this Four of Cups tarot card guide!
Did you draw this card in a recent tarot reading? Don’t worry, this handy Four of Cups tarot card
guide will help you understand what it means!
We’ll help you understand what drawing this card can mean for you and your future. This
understanding is important for you to seize this chance for a better life!
The Four of Cups Tarot Card Meaning
On the Four of Cups tarot, a young man contemplates his life. He seems to be deep in meditation, thus he doesn’t notice a cup offered to him. There are three more cups in front of him, however he doesn’t notice them either. These cups offered to him represent new opportunities, but he is too deep in his meditation to take them.
The Four of Cups tarot meaning is essentially that you are missing out on something. Advantages are plentiful in your life, however you fail to notice them because you are too self-absorbed. Apathy is also a possible issue you have, thus you cannot muster the motivation to take the gifts offered to you seriously.
Someone self-absorbed is too focused on their own desires and interests, hence they ignore anything that doesn’t give them that. This makes achieving those desires more difficult. The self-absorbed often miss opportunities that would have helped them. Apathy can be worse, as you couldn’t muster the strength to pick up the gifts even if you wanted to.
What does the Upright Four of Cups mean?
What does the tarot card Four of Cups mean? When the Four of Cups tarot is upright, it is a sign to help others. Self-absorption is currently your game, thus you need to get out of your head and look outward. There are situations where you should focus on yourself; however, others sometimes need your attention more.
New opportunities are likely to be abundant; still, you ignore them or say “no” to them. Interest in them is nowhere for you right now. The proverbial cup is full, so to speak.
Discernment is important for you in this trying time. Use your judgement to decide when it is best to help yourself or someone else. Just remember that sometimes, the best way to help yourself is in fact to help someone else.
Decline the opportunities if you must; however, only decline those that truly do not align with your future path. This is what your contemplation must have been preparing. If you plan to be self-absorbed, you should be planning your future path so your discernment when you emerge is rock-solid.
Upright Four of Cups in Romance
Numbness is a common factor in apathy, especially with romance. The Four of Cups significance in tarot indicates that you have suffered on love’s battlefield. Because of this, you have retreated into the solitude of your own head, refusing romantic advances.
Romantic advances are plentifully presented to you; however, you refuse them. You’re too focused on yourself at the moment, hence you feel apathetic towards starting a new romance. For all the single ladies and gentlemen, this card might mean that you focus too much on your own shortcomings.
All you have to do is learn from those issues and stop yourself from making the same mistakes. Becoming a recluse is the safe way to answer those issues. Nobody wants a partner who plays it too safe all the time.
For those already in a relationship, you might be fantasizing about a “bigger and better” relationship. Incidentally, this will come at the expense of the relationship you already have. Like the man in the card, you are ignoring the precious gift already openly offered to you.
Don’t make that mistake! Get out of your head before you lose your partner to your own self-absorption. Learn to value your partner and be content with them or admit you are not and move on.
Upright Four of Cups in Career
In a career reading, the Four of Cups means that you’re missing out on work opportunities. A hot new gig is open to you; however, you decline it. It could be because you think your plate is too full or you’re too stuck in an apathetic mindset.
At work, you get new chances to join a great new project, but you turn them down. Self-sabotage is an apt way to describe what that does to your own career and future. Still, this calls for your discernment; are you absolutely sure you cannot do this at the moment?
For the presently unemployed, you don’t have to take the first cup offered to you. However, be discerning! Is that job going to help you get to your future path or will it stymie your efforts? Get a clear picture in your head where you want to be in the future. Your decision to accept or reject the job is more likely to be right that way.
What does the Reversed Four of Cups mean?
Drawing the Four of Cups tarot reversed, it means that you can take some time to retreat into your inner world. The opportunity has presented itself to ground yourself and concentrate on what you really want. Your friends and family will reach out to you; however, you just want to read alone or meditate.
Beware that you don’t drive them away or appear uninterested in their lives! Nothing could possibly be wrong with letting them know that you want alone time. Assure them that you will happily spend time with them when you emerge from your seclusion.
Forcing yourself to get out of your head before you’re ready will only end in seclusion in worse conditions. Re-integrate with your world and reality when you’re ready and not a moment before! You won’t be a hermit forever, after all–appreciate it and all it brings.
The reversed Four of Cups is a call to assess the “cups” offered carefully. Don’t say yes right away; instead, step back and assess carefully if that cup is really what you want. Of course, don’t miss the opportunity to take it by thinking too long!
Reversed Four of Cups in Romance
Romance is in the air, but you might feel it isn’t time yet for your solo to become a duet. Love readings like this mean that you’ve received romantic advances, but you don’t feel ready for a new relationship yet. No shame here; this is merely a call to step back and think carefully before you say yes.
Saying no to what you’ve assessed to be the wrong relationship is infinitely wiser. “Yes” to every relationship that happens to cross your path isn’t just going to atrophy your ability to commit. Such acceptances can cause you suffering you don’t want. The same suffering can negatively impact how you act in future relationships.
God forbid you enter a new relationship still too damaged from your last one. Worse still if that relationship could legitimately have been “the one” if you had taken the time to heal. It bears repeating: there is no shame in saying no to romance you aren’t ready for!
Reversed Four of Cups in Career
Wise discernment is the key to your success when the reversed Four of Cups appears in career reading. Such discernment can only come when you have sufficiently grounded yourself in what you really want for your career. Not every job or project that comes your way is good for you.
The trick is knowing which ones are good for you. Ask yourself in deep introspection: what do you really want in your career future? What jobs and projects would give your life real meaning and fulfillment? When you know the answers to these questions, it will come with less regret to say no to certain “cups.”
Beware that you don’t become too self-absorbed and miss an opportunity that might have helped you on your path! Introspection means getting a more objective look at yourself. Don’t think for so long that you miss out on a new job that would have pushed you up greatly.
Be scholarly and masterly as you assess the opportunities presented to you. Some of them will be great “cups” full of nectar and create a great future for you. Others are scam “cups” full of poison that will only slow you down or freeze your career in place.
