Bohemian Gothic Tarot
FIVE OF CUPS
Lighter or more conventional meanings
Seeing only what you've lost, not what's left intact * Inclined to look on the pessimistic side * Fretting over what's past and done with - it's time to forget it and move on * "Crying over spilt milk".Darker, shadow or more hidden meanings
Getting pulled into a habit of depression, regret and disappointment * Wallowing in melancholy * Becoming morbidly inward-looking and withdrawn - you need to think about others, not just yourself * Stuck in endless nostalgia and a mourning for what's past.This is the card of vague disappointments, regrets and thwarted ambition. It's often described as the "glass half empty" card and it's a good description, as essentially it's about someone who can only see the down side of things, for now at least.
The woman on this card stands in a graveyard that's neglected and overgrown with ivy. Her skirt is so wrapped around her ankles that she is clearly unable to move easily. But in any case she seems so wrapped up in the flowers that she is gazing at - which look half dead - that she appears transfixed. Her hair, like the ivy, is picturesque but also overgrown and untended. She is obviously unaware of this, or indeed, of the sad statue behind her, ruined and abandoned.
This woman may be alive, or she could be a phantom haunting the graveyard; we have no way of being sure. She certainly looks disconnected with the everyday world. She's dressed in lavender, the traditional colour of "half-mourning" in the Victorian era (i.e. the second period of mourning which came after the intense time soon after bereavement). Who has she lost and when, if ever, can she cease mourning and rejoin reality?
When interpreting this card it's often helpful to ask the querent to consider both the good and bad aspects of the situation in question. Are they tending to focus on the negative and, in so doing, are they limiting or hampering their possibilities for action? While this card is beautiful, it should be taken as a warning. If you get stuck in too much contemplation of your regrets and losses in life it can stop you from moving on to anything happier and more productive. It can be seductive to lose yourself in nostalgia and sad memories, but it's also a dangerous habit to fall into.
