MINOR ARCANA

Two of Cups Tarot Meanings

The Two of Cups is a great example of emotional and spiritual connection, it’s a balanced exchange of heart energy that helps create a feeling of harmony. Traditionally it is a card of romantic or emotional partnership, hence the imagery of the two figures performing a marriage ceremony on the Rider Waite-Smith illustration.

However in more modern tarot terms, it doesn’t have to be a unity between two people, it can be a unity of two energies. A give and take that keeps your cup filled and not feeling energetically exhausted.

Two of Cups Upright Meanings

In the upright position, the Two of Cups signals a feeling of complete balance, one where we feel supported by something, this could be another person or energy. Some of the key meanings of the Two of Cups are:

Internal balance
Self-love
Harmony
Spiritual unity
Partnership

The Two of Cups is a really strong self-love card, in my experience anyway. It can often show us that we need to create a stronger relationship with ourselves and to give ourselves time to recharge when we’ve been pushing our limits. Ultimately it’s about creating an energetic balance within.

Two of Cups Reversed Meanings

In the reversed position, the Two of Cups switches all the upright meanings on their heads. It becomes a card of needs, showing us what we need in order to feel more connected with ourselves and the universe. Some of the main reversed meanings of the Two of Cups are:

Imbalance
Disharmony
Incompatibility
Separation
Lack of attraction

In the reversed position, the Two of Cups indicates that we have a disconnect, this can sometimes manifest as disassociation or a feeling of loneliness. It can happen a lot when we aren’t challenging ourselves or if we’ve entered into a very monotonous routine. The Two of Cups reversed can also be a result of events such as breakups or grief.

Reading Two of Cups in a Tarot Spread

All of the twos in the tarot signal some kind of balancing act that needs to be done or that is being done. For the Two of Cups, this balance takes place mostly in our internal world. There are some exceptions to this, for example, if the Two of Cups appears in an external or environmental position within your spread, then it could indicate a harmony or disharmony with another person, situation or event.

Like all the cups cards, the Two of Cups shows up to support you and guide you to more happiness, fulfilment and emotional contentment. It’s a card of healing and medicine that we can use to make ourselves feel better.

Two of Cups as An Invitation

As an invitation, the Two of Cups can show up to invite us to look at our emotional balance. It invites us to turn our attention inwards and see what improvements could be made to feel more at peace with ourselves.

For Two of Cups, this invitation could be the following:

An invitation to find peace with all aspects of your personality
An invitation to form a connection with someone close to you
An invitation to add more self-care to your routine
An invitation to assess whether your heart is completely in whatever it is you’re currently working on

Two of Cups as Sage Advice

When it comes to advising us, the Two of Cups is a card that shows us how to treat ourselves and others with compassion. The phrase, ‘treat others as you wish to be treated’ is a perfect example of the type of energy the Two of Cups radiates.

Some advice Two of Cups may offer is:

To connect with spirit, whatever that means for you
Sever ties with things that drain you rather than replenish you
Create routines that help you to balance the mind, body and spirit
Assess whether a partnership is equal, offering a balanced give and take, before entering into it

Two of Cups as a Lesson

The lessons that the Two of Cups can teach us is all about internal balance. We often focus on time management and getting our external world in order, but very little time getting our internal world in order. This means being mindful of where we are putting our energy, who we associate with, how we relax and how hard we push ourselves.

Some lessons that Two of Cups may offer you are:

A lesson in give and take
A lesson in equal and fair partnerships, this can be in love, life or business
A lesson in self-respect and valuing your own emotional wellbeing
A lesson in letting go of things that do not align with you energetically

Two of Cups as a Redirection

If the Two of Cups shows up as a redirection, then it can highlight our lack of connection with our emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Depending on the other suites in the spread, the Two of Cups may turn us away from our external world and ask us to look to our internal world for the true answers to our problems.

As a redirection, Two of Cups could symbolise a need to:

Stop trying to create balance in the external world for a while and focus on creating it internally
Also work on our spiritual growth and development, as well as our emotional and mental development
Stop giving so much to others without spending any time on yourself
Listen more to your intuition and work with it to find more clarity and direction

Cups

As we step into the Two of Cups, we share the cups with another. We share the load. In the real world this often looks like a conversation with someone you feel like you can be vulnerable with or telling someone that you need help emotionally when times are hard.

A good way to think about the cups within the Two of Cups, is that you have a jug filled with water and you are sharing it between the two cups equally. That way there is no risk of the cups overflowing and things getting out of control.

Water

The cups correspond with the element of water. They refer to a very free flowing, adaptable but often intangible energy. As humans we have the power to harness the energy of water, but if you try and hold water in your hands for a long time you’ll struggle to keep it contained.

Water is not meant to be fully controlled, much like our emotions, we have to allow an avenue for release before the pressure builds up and disaster happens.

Twos

The number two in numerology refers to a balance, a harmony and often a duality. When referring to the Two of Cups, we are looking at these elements within the emotional areas of our lives and self.

This can look like a need to find out where there is an imbalance in yourself and work to regain balance. It can be, like we mentioned earlier, a need to share the load in order to distribute the weight or stress more evenly. In terms of duality, the Two of Cups can refer to a need to address both negative and positive emotions with equal care and attention.