One cup in four hands
The children aren’t giving, they’re sharing: kindness without calculation.
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Minor Arcana · Cups · 6
Six of Cups Tarot Card Meaning
The Six of Cups is childhood, memory and simple kindness. A girl and a boy pass a cup to each other in a garden by a house. The card is about nostalgia, old friends, innocent feelings and returning to your roots.
Upright
- nostalgia
- childhood
- kindness
- old friends
- memories
Reversed
- living in the past
- idealization
- growing up
- letting go of the past
- immaturity
Yes or no
Likely yes
“Yes,” especially if the question is about someone coming back, an old friendship or home.
Ask the cards your own question →- Number
- 6
- Element
- Water
- Astrology
- Sun in Scorpio
Card symbolism in our deck
In Heinrich Pangrau’s deck, the Six of Cups shows a girl in a headscarf and a boy in a cap holding one large cup together. Five more cups stand around them; in the distance are a little house and a sun with a face.
The children
The card is about the inner child: the part of us that trusts and feels joy for no reason at all.
The house in the distance
The family home, childhood, a place where you felt safe.
The sun with a face
The world is kind and welcoming: that is how memory recalls it.
Six of Cups meaning
The Six of Cups upright means encounters with the past: old friends, a trip to your hometown, memories, heartfelt gifts.
The card speaks of simple, sincere kindness and of how the past can give you strength for the present.
Six of Cups reversed
The Six reversed means living in the past: idealizing “the way things used to be,” not wanting to grow up, pining for an ex.
Sometimes the card speaks of being ready to finally let go of childhood hurts and move on.
Six of Cups in love, work, money and health
Love and relationships
Upright An ex coming back, a romance with an old acquaintance, a tender, almost childlike relationship.
Reversed Comparing a partner to exes, being unable to let go of past relationships.
Feelings Warm tenderness and nostalgia. This person remembers you with a smile.
Work and career
Upright Returning to an old project or employer, working with children, creative work.
Reversed Getting stuck on old methods.
Money
Upright A gift, an inheritance, help from family.
Reversed Spending on the past: on things you no longer need.
Health
Upright Recovery through rest, nature, the places you come from. Tarot is not a substitute for a doctor.
Reversed Old problems make themselves felt.
Six of Cups as a person
As a person: a childhood friend, kind and guileless, or someone who lives in their memories.
The card’s advice
Upright Get in touch with the person you’ve been thinking about for a long time.
Reversed Take experience from the past, not regrets.
Card of the Day
Draw your card of the day
Six of Cups as the card of the day
As the card of the day: a day of memories and warmth. A good day to call your family.
Combinations with other cards
- Six of Cups + Two of CupsA former love returns.
- Six of Cups + Five of CupsLonging for what is gone.
- Six of Cups + Ten of PentaclesFamily, lineage, inheritance.
- Six of Cups + The MoonIllusions about the past.
- Six of Cups + JudgementReturning to your roots, meeting the past.
Frequently asked questions about Six of Cups
Is the Six of Cups a yes or no card?
Likely yes, especially if the question is about someone or something coming back.
What does the Six of Cups mean in relationships?
Tenderness, the return of an ex or an old acquaintance.
What does the Six of Cups reversed mean?
Living in the past and not being ready to let it go.
What does the Six of Cups mean as the card of the day?
A day of memories and warm reunions.