Minor Arcana · Cups·6·Water

Six of Cups

The Six of Cups shows two children in the yard of an old village house, where a boy hands a girl a cup filled with flowers. The scene is tender and safe, almost like a fairy tale.

nostalgiamemoriesinnocence

Arcana

Minor

Number

Element

Water

Suit element

Water

What the card means in tarot

Here the theme is innocence, memory, and going back to where you started. The Rider-Waite-Smith picture feels like a childhood memory of a kind, protected time. The Six of Cups tends to appear when you run into people from your past, head back home, or go looking in earlier years for something you lost along the way.

Six of Cups upright

Keywords: nostalgia · memories · innocence

Upright, the Six of Cups means nostalgia, fond memories, and a return to your roots. It can point to a family visit, a reunion with an old friend, a child in your life, or a period when you want to get back to who you were.

Six of Cups reversed

Reversed, the Six of Cups warns about getting stuck in the past, idealizing childhood, or refusing to grow up. Any of those can pull you out of the present.

Tip: See whether Six of Cups shows up in your own reading. Try a free tarot reading You get a daily card and detailed spreads based on traditional RWS symbolism.

Six of Cups in love and relationships

A child hands another child a cup filled with flowers. The Six of Cups is the card of nostalgia and innocent love. If you’re single, it can signal an old flame coming back around: an ex, a childhood friend, someone from an earlier chapter of your life. It suits meetings at a class reunion or on a visit to your hometown. For couples, it suggests tenderness and playfulness returning, acting “like when we first met.” It’s a lovely card, though reversed it warns about getting stuck in the past, a relationship that lives on memories instead of the present. It can also flag the return of someone you never had a healthy dynamic with.

Six of Cups in career and money

In your career, the Six of Cups points to work with children, teaching, and education, jobs that go back to what matters most. It can also mean returning to a company you once worked for, or reviving an old project. Around money, it often shows a gift from family, something handed down from grandparents, or something you set aside long ago finally coming in handy. Reversed, an inability to leave the past behind keeps your finances from moving forward.

Six of Cups and personal growth

The Six of Cups asks you to draw from the well of the past without living there. Memories are a resource, not a home.

How to read Six of Cups in a spread

As advice, the Six of Cups says: look at what’s still unresolved from your childhood. Some of what you want now started there. In the past position, it shows a happy time you’re still holding on to. In the present, it’s contact with an old friend or with family. In the future, it suggests something valuable from earlier days may come back to you.

Symbols on the card

The two children: innocence, a child’s open heart
The cup filled with flowers: a gift, care freely given
The old house and tower: the childhood home, your roots
The quiet yard: the safety of a memory
The figure walking away in the background: a guardian keeping watch, the adult world at a distance
The five other cups: more memories, a full set

Common questions

What does the Six of Cups mean in tarot?+

The Six of Cups means nostalgia, happy memories, and a return to your roots. It favors family visits, reunions with old friends, and gentle reflection on the past.

Does the Six of Cups mean an ex is coming back?+

It can. In love readings the Six of Cups often points to a former partner returning or an old relationship being rekindled. Reversed, it warns that holding on to the past may be blocking new love.

What does the Six of Cups mean reversed?+

In the reversed position, the Six of Cups warns about being stuck in the past, idealizing childhood, or struggling to live in the present. The past has turned into an escape.

There’s a story behind how Six of Cups was drawn. Read the history of the RWS tarot → Meet Pamela Colman Smith, Arthur Waite, and the 1909 deck that 80% of tarot readers use today.

Related cards· Cups

All Cups cards

More cards: Major Arcana, Wands, Swords, Pentacles

Try this card in a reading

Six of Cups shows its full meaning only alongside other cards. Here are six of the most popular spreads where it can turn up:

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A free daily card and 12 kinds of spreads, based on traditional Rider-Waite-Smith symbolism.

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For more on where the cards come from, read The 1909 tarot: the most famous cards in the world It covers how the RWS deck came to be and why 80% of tarot readers worldwide use it today.