The Two of Cups Tarot Card

When you are falling for someone, look for the Two of Cups in your Tarot reading. When you don't notice when other people walk in the room because the two of you are talking, the Two of Cups is waiting to jump out in a Tarot reading for you. This is the card of knowing that a bond is forming between you and someone else, be it a truce with a sworn enemy or a kiss with a future soulmate. But it is a weak card. The cards around it in your reading hold great sway in determining the outcome of this relationship that is quickly deepening.

A woman and a man are standing, looking into each other's eyes. Behind them is a serene, cloudless blue sky. Rolling hills are below that sky and the foreground is a plot of golden earth on which they stand. They each hold a gold cup. The woman holds hers with two hands, the man with one as he reaches toward her. She is wearing a robe and laurel crown, he has on some fashionable attire found on the "Mister Rights" of centuries ago. Superimposed onto the idyllic scene is a winged lion's head with a staff holding intertwined snakes coming in between our lovers and their cups.

The glyph that hovers above and between the lovers is a stylized rendering of the caduceus. This is an ancient Greek affirmation of the merging of masculine and feminine natures into one derived from the myth of Tiresias, who was turned into a woman for seven years. The staff with two snakes represents this merging of two natures around a solid core and the lion's head with wings illustrates two natures as well. This seal is an abstraction within the image on the card. The lovers depicted in the card don't even seem to notice that this floating amulet is there. This is why the Two of Cups is so dependent on the cards around it – the experience is so dependent on another person and chance that the slightest influence could come in to dominate the situation of a person receiving this card in their Tarot reading.

Meaning in Past, Present and Future Positions

The Tarot reader spreads the cards into sections detailing the past, the present and the future. Where a card is dealt is the time of your life that it describes.

When the Two of Cups lands in the past position, this indicates that you had a great, warm relationship that was the foundation of everything you have become. Regardless of how it ended, evolved or changed, the Two of Cups in this position affirms and acknowledges that this great connection did occur and had a life-lesson impact on you both.

In the present position, the Two of Cups confirms that a union is being born or reconciliation is occurring. Often this card appears in the present position as the person receiving the reading is about to go to a high school reunion or a family gathering. It confirms that the time to bury that hatchet or pursue passion has arrived.

When this card appears in the future position, a good outcome is almost guaranteed. The Two of Cups is a card that allows you to peer into where the subtlest energies between you and another person are going. This card's appearance in the future position signals that those energies are about to become amplified into full-fledged infatuation, partnership or a deep commitment between you and this other person.

In the future position, the card is a definite answer of "Yes" to any questions about finding a soulmate, pursuing a crush, mending a fence between you and a friend or getting back together with a lover.

Card Combinations

A reading of Tarot cards always considers how the cards interact. The closer two cards are to one another, the more they inform that part of the reading.

The Two of Cups has a pair of higher echoes in the Tarot's Major Arcana: The High Priestess and The Hanged Man. These cards are numbered 2 and 12 respectively. They are very passive cards in the deck and rely heavily on the other Tarot cards in your reading to give a complete picture. The Two of Cups indicates a great coupling, but with whom? If there are many cards from the suit of Pentacles in your reading, you and your new partner are sure to share the wealth. Lots of other Cups indicate deep emotions. If there are lots of cards from the suit of Wands, you might serve as this person's muse, or be inspired by a new love to express yourself artistically to great success.

The suit of Swords is a special case when combining with the Two of Cups because Swords represent ideas and words. There is the possibility that a passionate response on your part might be met with some pleasant discussions, perhaps a little pillow talk, but the relationship ahead might be one that seems like a better idea in advance than it was a relationship in hindsight.

The coming partnership foretold by the appearance of the Two of Cups will have the personality of your soon-to-be partner described simply by examining any Major Arcana cards that are in the reading along with it. The Devil card will bring a domineering new boss or a lover who is a heavy drinker or is involved with drugs. The Emperor will bring a man who has a set way of doing things, but who is deeply attracted to you as you are "his type."

The Hierophant pairing up with the Two of Cups signals a brush with someone of status and accomplishment. If you are entering into a love relationship under this type of pairing, there will be an initial excitement of entering into a glamorous world previously out of your reach. But this card warns you to assert your independence in this relationship and not be a servant to a master who controls you.

The Lovers Card, of course, is the indicator that a soulmate situation has arrived when it is paired with the Two of Cups in your reading. This is perhaps the most classic Tarot combination of all and indicates that the love relationship of your lifetime began melting your heart as these cards were dealt.