Cups · minor arcana · Water
The Six of Cups tarot card meaning: upright, nostalgia, innocence and kindness; reversed, being stuck in the past, or idealizing a time that was not as good as remembered. Its Rider–Waite picture shows six cups.
Waite, Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911; Golden Dawn, Book T.
Nostalgia, innocence and kindness. Memories of the past, childhood or old friends come to the surface.
The Six of Cups is nostalgia and innocence: childhood memories, reunions, simple pleasures and kindness. It often brings someone or something from the past back into your life.
Being stuck in the past, or idealizing a time that was not as good as remembered.
Reversed, the past holds you back: living in memories, idealizing what was, or refusing to grow up.
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Primary source
“A card of the past and of memories, looking back, as—for example—on childhood; happiness, enjoyment, but coming rather from the past; things that have vanished. Another reading reverses this, giving new relations, new knowledge, new environment, and then the children are disporting in an unfamiliar precinct.”
“The future, renewal, that which will come to pass presently.”
The Six of Cups sits where the Sixes row crosses the Cups column; its cell shows Sun in Scorpio, the Book T decan.
How this card is built
Golden Dawn correspondences
In Book T (1888) the Six of Cups is the Sun in Scorpio: the second decan of Scorpio, 10°–20°. In 2026 the Sun passes through it from Nov 2 to Nov 12, (UTC).
| Book T decan | Sun in Scorpio |
|---|---|
| Zodiac span | 10°–20° Scorpio decan 2 of 3 |
| Sun in this decan, 2026 | Nov 2 – Nov 12, 2026 UTC |
| Sign | Scorpio Sun there Oct 23 – Nov 22, 2026 |
| Other decans of Scorpio | Five of Cups Mars, 0°–10° Seven of Cups Venus, 20°–30° |
| Major arcana card of Scorpio | Death |
The Scorpio page lists the modern decan rulers (Pluto, Neptune, Moon); Book T keeps the older Chaldean order — Mars, Sun, Venus.
Data, not interpretation
Few cards come up more often in 2026: the Six of Cups is drawn 8 times against an even share of 4.7, four times reversed — joint 6th of 78, level with 5 other cards. Not one lands during its decan.
Dates in 2026: Apr 17 (reversed) · Jun 10 · Jul 8 · Jul 29 (reversed) · Sep 4 (reversed) · Sep 27 · Oct 13 · Dec 15 (reversed)
The image
In a sunny courtyard a boy offers a girl a cup filled with white flowers. Other cups of flowers stand nearby, and old houses frame the scene.
Upright, a reunion, an old flame returning or a sweet, innocent connection. Reversed, being stuck on an ex or unrealistic nostalgia.
They feel tenderness and nostalgia, and a comfortable familiarity with you.
Returning to an old project or workplace, or work involving children and community. Small kindnesses pay off.
Yes. Upright it counts as a yes in a yes-or-no spread; reversed, it leans toward no, usually as a “not yet” rather than a flat no. Most of the Cups give the same answer: 10 of the 14 say yes. All four Sixes answer yes.
Health: like every card of Cups, it points to emotional wellbeing and what you are carrying. The suit of Cups →
If you drew it today
Take what was good from the past without trying to live there.
How neighboring cards change the reading of the Six of Cups →
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
AstroHot. “Six of Cups Tarot Card Meaning: Upright and Reversed.” Accessed October 27, 2026. https://astrohot.com/tarot/cards/six-of-cups/
{{cite web |title=Six of Cups Tarot Card Meaning: Upright and Reversed |url=https://astrohot.com/tarot/cards/six-of-cups/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-27}}
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