Four of Cups

caridwen

I've been getting this card a lot recently and would like to hear what others think about it.
 

Sulis

Hi Caridwen,

Have you any thoughts about it yourself?
 

Bat Chicken

Fours are about stability - a kind of balance - but this card would indicate a stagnation. Too much emotional balance means an absence of highs as well as lows. The character looks depressed/indifferent or 'not really there'. He seems disconnected... neither here nor there.

He is missing the full cup above him and there is a beautiful light in the background and so it would seem he can reconnect whenever he wants to. Maybe now is just not the time?
 

mystic mal

The 4 of cups i see as discontent usually in a relationship... its having a coffee with your friends and listening to them talk of their love lives and its starting to sow the seeds of discontent in you making you question if what you have is what you really want...It can turn into over indulgence like comfort eating or drinking etc
 

mnylves

I wasn't sure I could tell the gender of the person in the tree. I finally decided she was female, mostly judging from the arch of the eyebrow. I had the idea she had been hiding in the tree all night just to be by herself. For her, the partying stage of the courtship is getting old. She just wanted to get away to get her head together. She's not tired of the relationship, the one cup says that the love is still there, but she is no longer "in her cups" intoxicated with infatuation.

I think the Four of Cups can be a "moving on" card. Time to take the relationship into the business of daily living.
 

caridwen

Sulis said:
Hi Caridwen,

Have you any thoughts about it yourself?

That it relates to emotional stagnation pretty much in keeping with the traditional RWS interpretation. Something I don't relate to right now.
 

Celestina

hmmm

When I see this card I think of weariness, emotional exhaustion. Even though the person has more in reserve, they don't see it. It is hidden from view. Eventually they will realize it, but for the moment they are just wallowing. I think about when I was a kid, and sometimes hiding in a tree was a good place to sulk, but also a place of comfort. Sometimes a good wallow is okay, as long as it doesn't last too long. Realizing that hidden reserve can be a good way to shake off the sadness. It's a card that I've been getting a lot recently, and that is how I've seen it.
 

wytchwood

Definitely boredom! Craving more excitement in life, a general feeling of being 'fed-up' with things the way they are. I sometimes get 'apathy' as the meaning, as boredom and stagnation are really our own fault, aren't they? We always have the power to change things, it just doesn't always feel that way, or else we drag our feet or just plod along feeling numb.

Zoe
 

Papageno

the 4 cups speaks to me about being "too safe" which to leads to discontent, you're ready to break out, but you're not certain about the direction or possibly how to achieve that. the 4 is locking you in and you need to move beyond the security and confines of the familiar.
 

caridwen

The idea of wallowing made me think of thinking before the upset of the Five. That the person is hiding away in order to go through how they feel about a certain situation and as far as they are concerned, it's not enough although they are not yet mature enough to realise that what they see is not always what they get and there can be hidden depths to a situation or person they have not seen or can't see.

I also see boredom and a yearning for something more. Maybe they don't know what it is they want (this does not have the maturity of the Eight) but they know it is out there for them they just can't see it yet.

It could also point to emotional drinking or overindulgence in order to find emotional solace which doesn't bring what they seek either. There's always a feeling that one more will help but it never does. There is either a sunset or sunrise in the background which suggests a new begining of some kind or something is dawning for them and the hidden cup is full to overflowing. However you can just imagine them getting off the branch and walking away without even bothering to look properly as they are so satiated from the other three that they can't be bothered or feel as though they've tried all there is and there isn't anything more for them.

Also something else although I'm not sure if it's relevant or not but their eyes are the same colour as the liquid in the full cup again maybe stating that what you see isn't always what you get or isn't always all there is.