Keywords: nostalgia, childhood, memories, kindness, emotional roots
Suit: Cups (Element of Water)
Numerical Value: 6 – harmony, reflection, healing
The Six of Cups is a tarot card rich with the energy of memory, innocence, and emotional reflection. It draws your attention to the past—not to dwell, but to reconnect with what was once pure, joyful, and meaningful. This card often appears when you’re being called to revisit old relationships, childhood roots, or moments of genuine emotional warmth.
The Six of Cups is a gentle reminder that healing often comes through remembering who you used to be—and reconnecting with your inner child.
🟢 Upright Meaning
Upright, the Six of Cups symbolizes fond memories, childhood nostalgia, old friends, and moments of emotional sweetness. It can also indicate reunions, or the return of someone or something from your past that offers healing or closure.
This card may also represent innocent love, goodwill, or the simple pleasures in life that often get lost in the adult world.
Upright Themes:
- Nostalgia and fond reflection
- Reunions and returning people
- Healing childhood wounds
- Innocence, play, and emotional purity
- Acts of kindness and generosity
🔻 Reversed Meaning
Reversed, the Six of Cups may indicate being stuck in the past, clinging to nostalgia, or struggling to move forward emotionally. It can suggest idealizing the past at the expense of the present.
On a positive note, it may also point to a break from the past, finally leaving behind emotional baggage or outdated relationships.
Reversed Themes:
- Living in the past or emotional stagnation
- Unrealistic nostalgia
- Letting go of outdated beliefs or relationships
- Healing old wounds
- Releasing emotional anchors
❤️ Six of Cups in Love
In love, the Six of Cups often suggests a soulmate connection, rekindled romance, or someone returning from your past. It can also highlight sweet, emotionally honest love—the kind that feels childlike in its simplicity and depth.
If you’re single, this card may indicate meeting someone from your past, or someone who feels deeply familiar. It can also prompt inner child healing before you’re ready to fully connect with another.
Reversed, it may signal being too focused on a past relationship, or a need to release emotional patterns that no longer serve your heart.
💼 Six of Cups in Career
In a career reading, the Six of Cups can suggest returning to a past job, a family-run business, or revisiting an old dream. It also speaks to finding joy in your work, or bringing playfulness and collaboration into your environment.
Reversed, it could mean clinging to an outdated career path, or resisting change out of fear of losing comfort.
🌌 Six of Cups in Spirituality
Spiritually, this card calls you to reconnect with your inner child, past lives, or forgotten parts of yourself. It encourages reflection and emotional healing, especially around childhood wounds or soul lessons.
Reversed, it may suggest breaking away from outdated spiritual beliefs inherited in childhood—or finally reclaiming your personal truth.
✨ Final Thoughts
The Six of Cups is a soft, heartfelt card that urges you to remember where you came from—but not to stay there. Let the past inform, not define you. There is healing in memory, and joy in simple moments. Sometimes, the way forward begins by looking gently back.
Further Exploration of the Six of Cups
The Six of Cups is a card that radiates warmth, nostalgia, and the innocence of simpler times. Within the Minor Arcana, it carries a distinctly tender energy, one that bridges memory with the present. Traditionally, the imagery depicts children sharing cups filled with flowers, a scene that evokes generosity, kindness, and the purity of childhood. Where the Five of Cups emphasized grief and loss, the Six of Cups offers a healing balm—reminding us of the joy found in connection, memory, and the small moments that anchor us to love.
I vividly remember pulling the Six of Cups during a reading for myself on the anniversary of a loved one’s passing. At first, the card struck me as odd—wasn’t I in a state of mourning, more aligned with the heaviness of the Five? But the Six invited me to shift my perspective: it was not only about sadness but about cherishing the sweet, enduring memories that person had left behind. It reminded me that memory itself is a gift, one that allows us to carry the essence of those we’ve loved with us in tangible and meaningful ways. That day, the Six of Cups helped me transform grief into gratitude.
In love readings, the Six of Cups tarot card meaning is often tied to themes of reunion, nostalgia, and emotional generosity. For couples, it can suggest reconnecting with the early stages of love—rediscovering joy, playfulness, and mutual giving. For singles, it may point to the return of someone from the past or a relationship dynamic rooted in innocence and sincerity. I’ve seen this card appear when clients were revisiting first loves, not always to rekindle them but to integrate the lessons those relationships offered. The Six of Cups in love reminds us that tenderness and play are essential in sustaining connection.
In career readings, the Six of Cups speaks to mentorship, generosity, and drawing wisdom from past experiences. It may represent a workplace dynamic where knowledge is shared freely, or a return to a career path that aligns with early passions. I’ve had clients pull this card when considering a return to studies, a childhood dream, or a vocation they once abandoned but never stopped loving. The Six of Cups asks us to look back, not to regress, but to uncover what still holds value and meaning from the past.
Spiritually, the Six of Cups embodies healing through memory, the renewal of innocence, and the sacredness of giving and receiving. It often comes up in readings when someone is reconnecting with the childlike aspects of their spirituality—the sense of wonder, awe, and openness that can sometimes be lost in adulthood. In my practice, I have seen it encourage seekers to embrace rituals that feel joyful rather than burdensome, to find delight in prayer, or to approach divination with curiosity rather than fear of getting things “wrong.”
In everyday life, this card is a call to cherish simple acts of kindness and to reconnect with joy. It might mean revisiting an old hobby, writing a letter to a childhood friend, or sharing something small but meaningful with another. Beginners often view the Six of Cups solely as “the card of the past,” but its message is more nuanced: it’s about how the past informs the present, how memory can sustain, and how generosity creates bonds that ripple outward.
Astrologically, the Six of Cups is linked with the Sun in Scorpio. At first glance, this combination may feel paradoxical—Scorpio represents depth and transformation, while the Sun symbolizes vitality and illumination. Yet together, they capture the Six’s essence: the healing light of memory shining into the shadows, the recognition that even in loss, joy and love persist. It reflects the card’s ability to transform grief into appreciation and to remind us that our connections endure through time.
Ultimately, the Six of Cups tarot meaning is about nostalgia, generosity, and the healing power of memory. It teaches that while we cannot return to the past, we can honor it, integrate its lessons, and carry its sweetness forward. Whether in love, career, or spirituality, it reminds us of the importance of giving, receiving, and cherishing the bonds that shape us. The Six of Cups encourages us to approach life with sincerity, kindness, and an open heart, qualities that are timeless and forever renewing.