Six of Cups Tarot Card Meaning: Upright, Reversed, Love & Yes/No

By The Mystica Editorial Team · Checked against our editorial standards · Updated 20 September 2026 · 6 min read

The past brings something sweet today: a memory, an old friend, or a reminder of what you truly enjoy.

Arcana	Minor Arcana, suit of Cups
Element	Water
Number	6
Astrology	Sun in Scorpio
Golden Dawn title	Lord of Pleasure
Yes or no	Yes
Upright	nostalgia, memories, innocence, reunion
Reversed	stuck in the past, unrealistic memories, moving forward

Pamela Colman Smith · Rider–Waite–Smith (1909)

Six of Cups symbolism

In a village courtyard, a child offers a cup filled with white flowers to a younger child. Other cups filled with flowers stand nearby. An older figure walks away in the background.

The descriptions on this site refer to the Rider-Waite-Smith deck (1909), illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith and designed with Arthur Edward Waite, which is the reference for most modern tarot. Other decks may show different imagery with a similar meaning.

Upright meaning

• nostalgia
• memories
• innocence
• reunion

The Six of Cups is nostalgia, childhood memories and innocence. It can bring a reunion with someone from the past, a visit to a place you knew as a child or simply the comfort of familiar things.

The card also speaks about kindness and simple generosity. It asks you to reconnect with the parts of you that are playful and open.

Reversed meaning

• stuck in the past
• unrealistic memories
• moving forward

Reversed, the Six of Cups shows being stuck in the past or idealising memories. It can also show moving forward and leaving old patterns behind.

Honour the past without living in it.

New to reversals? Our guide to reading reversed tarot cards explains the different ways readers interpret an upside-down card.

Six of Cups in love and relationships

Six of Cups as feelings

As feelings, the Six of Cups means someone feels nostalgic, tender or comfortable with you.

Career and work

At work, it can show returning to an old job, working with children or drawing on past experience.

Money and finances

With money, it can indicate gifts, inheritance or help from family.

Is Six of Cups a yes or no card?

Number, element and astrology

The Six of Cups belongs to the suit of Cups (also called Chalices or Hearts in playing-card terms), the water suit that deals with emotions, love, relationships, intuition and creativity. In tarot numerology, 6 is the number of harmony, restoration and exchange. The Golden Dawn assigned this card to Sun in Scorpio and gave it the title Lord of Pleasure.

Six restores harmony, and in Cups harmony returns through memory, kindness and innocence. The Sun in Scorpio shines light into the deep past. The Golden Dawn named it Pleasure: the simple, uncomplicated happiness we associate with childhood.

Advice from Six of Cups

Reconnect with what made you happy as a child. It may point you toward what you need now.

Example reading

This example is written by our editors to show how the card is read in context. It is not a real client's reading. See our tarot spreads for how positions change a card's meaning.

Six of Cups in question readings

What Six of Cups says when it lands in a specific position. These are the interpretations our free readings by question show for this card.

• As their feelings (Does my ex still love me?): This person is feeling nostalgic about you. The Six of Cups is the card of sweet memories, and it suggests they think back fondly on the early days, the innocence and kindness of what you had.
• As what they are not showing (Does he like me?): What they are not showing is how much they value your kindness and familiarity. They may even see you as someone who feels like home, though they may not know how to express it yet.
• As the outcome in a reconciliation reading (Will he come back?): This is a classic card for an ex returning or making contact. It leans toward reconnection, a message, or a reunion driven by fond memories. Whether it lasts depends on building something new, not reliving the old.
• As what is coming in love (Will I find love?): What is coming could involve someone familiar. The Six of Cups often points to reconnecting with an old friend, a childhood acquaintance, or a person who feels like home. Kindness and ease are the signs.
• As the outcome for work (Will I get the job?): This leans toward a gentle, positive result, often linked to something familiar. A return to a former employer, reviving an old idea, or help from someone you knew before is favored.
• As advice (What should I do?): Honor the past, but choose for the present. The Six of Cups advises bringing kindness, innocence, and generosity to your decision. If reconnection feels right, let it be a fresh start, not a rerun.
• Reversed in a love reading (Will we get back together?): Reversed, the Six of Cups suggests it is time to leave the past behind. Someone may be stuck in memories that no longer serve them, or ready to move on. Looking back too long can block a healthy future.

Pulled Six of Cups next to another card? See what they mean together with the tarot card combinations tool.

Popular combinations with Six of Cups: Six of Cups + Knight of Cups, Judgement + Six of Cups, Five of Cups + Six of Cups.

Related cards

Dream symbols linked to this card

Deceased loved ones, Ex-partner. Our dream dictionary explains how the same symbolism appears in dreams.