Four of Cups

In this chapter of the tarot course we will see the Four of Cups and its meanings. What does the Four of Cups mean in the Tarot? What does the Four of Cups card mean in love, work, money or health? What is its spiritual meaning and what does it reveal to us? What does the Four of Cups card mean upside down or inverted?

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The Four of Cups in the tarot

The Four of Cups and its meaning in a tarot reading. The Four of Cups takes us into the intricate and vast inner world.

The Four of Cups presents us with a singular scene: a young man is sitting under a tree, arms and legs crossed in a contemplative attitude.

Graphic description of the card

This contemplation however is inward, as he seems not to observe or at least seems not to be interested in the three cups before him, which represent the earthly world and the attractions it offers, as well as the cup that a hand extends from a cloud, in this case the spiritual or divine world.
The young man in the four of cups pays no attention to these offerings for he knows and is convinced that the answers lie within himself.
Outside influences can be a distraction and may not lead him to the goal he seeks, even if those influences claim to be spiritual in nature.
This young man and his situation suggest the story of the Buddha under the Bodhi tree, contemplating the state of the Universe and willing to ascend until he has reached Truth.
He is not taking the cup and in fact seems to be oblivious to whatever it is. He does not observe or accept this gift of love and opportunity, for it is entirely within himself.

What does the Four of Cups mean in the Tarot?

The Four of Cups in right hand position, General Meaning: The Four of Cups alludes to a time when the important thing now is to look within to find the answers you need. You will not find them outside of yourself.

This card is likely to appear when you are going through a period of intense apathy, you find yourself disconnected, bored, unenthusiastic, nothing seems to entertain you. Worldly things capture your attention less and less and seem to only distract you.

It is imperative now to go within to find the real answers to what is happening to you and what you feel.

The four of glasses may represent a certain tiredness of routine, of doing the same thing every day, of a job or a relationship. There is a bit of boredom and possibly even a feeling of disappointment, which may come from a particular situation or a particular person.

The consequence is that you have retreated inward looking for some peace that you cannot find outside, as a way of finding the answer and the solution.

If you have been adopting a position of complaining and lamenting about what you are experiencing or what is happening, the four of cups asks you to “change the music”, stop complaining and become proactive by going within to begin to find solutions.

There is a lot of defensiveness in this card. We see it in the body language of the young man sitting with his arms crossed. This indicates to us that possibly you have been damaged in your emotions before and now no matter how many good opportunities are put before you (the drinks that are offered to you) you adopt a defensive attitude by choosing not to see them, based purely on your emotional protection.

This attitude may be correct but it would not be wrong for you to review these things that are offered to you, as the past is not necessarily going to repeat itself or that you will again get hurt. You should keep in mind that some opportunities are one-time opportunities and you would do very well to consider them.

Also the four of cups shows that the opportunities will still be there and therefore there is no rush for you to make a decision. The most vital advice of this card is to go within and find the answers, meditating with great awareness.

An important note of the Four of Cups, as it speaks of routine, is that you may be taking things for granted, whether in your personal, love and affective life, in your work life, or on any other level.

Although the card indicates that you may have all these things, it warns you that you should not take them for granted, that you should nurture your relationships, your life as a couple or your work every day.

A big mistake that people make is that many times we do not see the abundance we have, we are always asking and expecting more, complaining about what we lack without appreciating and thanking the many gifts we already have present.

Therefore, the four of cups urges you to value what you have because everything is futile and can disappear at any time, hence we should not take anything for granted.

The most negative part of this card is that it can refer to a time when you are being very stubborn and obstinate, you have closed yourself in your own world and only attend to your personal issues and interests, without paying attention to what others need or want.

There is a bit of selfish posturing and reliving the past all the time, victimizing yourself, feeling fearful and driving you into self-imposed confinement. You must use your inner journey to sort that out, to finally see and take those glasses that have been placed in front of you.

What does the Four of Cups card mean in love?

In love, the Four of Cups means that you are in an introspective period. This does not necessarily mean being in a relationship crisis or being reluctant to meet new people if you are alone.

This self-absorption can be very positive to get old things out of the closet, get rid of past traumas and be liberated to put everything in favor of love. On the contrary, it is a negative warning, if your introspection has to do with denying yourself opportunities out of fear, so as not to be emotionally damaged.

In the worst case, it means that you have adopted a very selfish attitude, you have stubbornly closed yourself in, and that is complicating things. It is very important what other cards accompany the reading in order to determine what the message of the Four of Cups is.

What does the Four of Cups card mean for work?

Regarding work, The Four of Cups is positive in that there are opportunities and there will be plenty of them, whether you are unemployed and looking for a job, or if you have one.

If you already have a job, interesting opportunities open up, promotions, promotions, new businesses or expansions, but the point that this card wants to touch on is that beyond these opportunities before you, what you should do is to focus firmly on your inner self to know what is most convenient.

It is not a matter of simply taking an opportunity because it is there, you have to consider other things that are as or more important than the opportunity itself.

What does the Four of Cups card mean in money and finance?

In finance and money, the message is similar to work. It is certainly an encouragement of good opportunities that are offered and available to you, but it is up to you to weigh them well to make the right choice.

Its message is also dual: on the one hand it can indicate that there are plenty of favorable opportunities that you are not seeing because you are “stuck in your rut” and not moving from there.

On the other hand, it may indicate that not all that glitters is gold, and no matter how promising the opportunities may appear, you should think about it carefully.

What does the Four of Cups card mean for health?

In health matters, the Four of Cups can indicate that you refuse to face or accept a certain problem. You have opportunities and alternatives, but you are standing idly by and doing nothing. If you have an ailment or discomfort, make a consultation. Denying or being indifferent to the problem will not solve it.

What does the Four of Cups mean spiritually?

Spiritually, the Four of Cups in its most positive message, leads us to make a similarity with the Buddha. Beyond the various offerings of earthly life or spiritual life, the important thing is to contemplate yourself.

Make a journey within yourself to find that “enlightenment” so necessary for you to find your way. Find the time to meditate and think about your problems.

What does the Four of Cups upside down or reversed mean?

Four of Cups in reverse position, General Meaning: In some sense this card in reverse gives us the same message as in upright position: that there are opportunities before you that you are either deliberately missing or because you are so focused on yourself, so abstracted, that you simply can’t see them.

It also indicates that you are going through a moment of rejection towards others, of self-absorption, where to protect yourself from emotional pain you prefer not to interact, but to isolate yourself because that way you feel you are taking care of yourself. Keep in mind to what extent this may affect others.

However, it is more favorable this way inverted than upside down.

The positive side of the four of cups when inverted is that it usually means that you are slowly letting go of introspection and are now ready to get back in touch with others, be it your partner or your family, your work environment or all the little and big things that life puts in front of us day by day.

Slowly you come out of the darkness and are ready to face the rays of light on your face again with much less fear.

Victimization, self-indulgence and self-pity give way to much healthier and more productive emotional forms.

A healing process has occurred or at least a beginning of healing that brings you a new lens to look at your life in reality and all that is in it. This is certainly an opportunity not to be missed.

The 4 of Cups portrays a scene where a young man closes and crosses his arms, refusing to see the opportunities in front of him, even if they are visible and big as that huge hand that offers him a big cup.

When the card is reversed, it means that you are slowly uncrossing your arms, looking again, paying attention and finally considering all those things that are offered to you.

The most important thing is that, thanks to a process that you have carried out within yourself during your introspection, you have learned to sift through all these opportunities, leaving as possible, as drinkable, the ones that can serve you the most or bring the most benefit to your life.

Before, you made mistakes because you took everything that was offered to you, without calculating, without analyzing. After a deep inner journey where you went precisely to look for answers, after that inner journey, you can now evaluate and separate the wheat from the chaff, discarding the useless and leaving only the valuable.

So you open yourself now to these things because they are all worthwhile and useful, and the risk of losing or suffering is certainly much lower now.

What does the Four of Cups card reversed mean in love?

In the realm of love, the reversed Four of Cups is positive. You are slowly coming out of isolation, either because you have found the answers you were looking for or because you have been able to look beyond yourself to others, and just as you don’t want to be hurt, you don’t want to hurt anyone.

It is a time of opening up, of reconnecting, of being available for new opportunities. Perhaps you have abandoned closed positions and are now open to dialogue and cooperation, understanding that communication is always the way to resolve things.

What does the Four of Cups card reversed at work mean?

On the work level, the options are now much fewer, but this is because you have finally sifted through them, opting for one or two that you consider more viable and positive.

There is a certain negative tone in terms of time, a little more waiting than usual either to finalize a project or start a new one or if you are looking for a job, but this delay is due to the fact that along the way the options will be refined and the most appropriate ones will become available.

What does the Four of Cups card inverted in money and finances mean?

In terms of money, it means that you have let opportunities that were available to you slip away and it is very possible that they will not come back.

The positive part is on the contrary, that you have come out of the isolation you were in and now you are open and willing to find new favorable opportunities and take advantage of them.
It may mean that of the many options you had, the ground has been cleared leaving only those that are the most suitable and that you are now in a position to take them.
In many ways, the Four of Cups is one of the cards that in reverse tends to have a more positive meaning than in upright position.

What does the Four of Cups card reversed mean in health?

Health, The Four of Cups can indicate that you refuse to face or accept a certain problem. You have opportunities and various alternatives, but you are standing idly by and doing nothing.

If you have an ailment or discomfort, make a consultation. Denying or being indifferent to the problem will not solve it.

What does the Four of Cups card reversed mean spiritually?

As far as spirituality is concerned, the Four of Cups in its most positive message, leads us to make a similarity with the Buddha. Beyond the various offerings of earthly life or spiritual life, the important thing is to contemplate your own person.