Minor Arcana, Cups
Five of Cups
loss, grief, regret, remainder
Upright
A cloaked figure stares at three spilled cups, while two still stand behind and a bridge leads on across the river. Waite calls it loss with something remaining, an inheritance or marriage that falls short of hope.
After a breakup, a lost role or a family let-down, grief deserves its time. When you are ready, turn around and count what is still standing. Waite's talk of inheritance predicts nothing; for a real will or bequest, consult a lawyer.
Reversed
Waite's reversal turns toward people: news, alliances, relatives, ancestry and return. He also warns of false projects, plans built on hope with little under them.
After a disappointment, reaching out to family or an old ally may help you recover. Test any rescue plan that appears at the same time. Ask what it costs and who has tried it before you commit.
A card is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
In Waite's words
Upright: It is a card of loss, but something remains over; three have been taken, but two are left; it is a card of inheritance, patrimony, transmission, but not corresponding to expectations; with some interpreters it is a card of marriage, but not without bitterness or frustration.
Reversed: News, alliances, affinity, consanguinity, ancestry, return, false projects.
From A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910), Part 3, on Wikisource. The meanings above are by Cast & Chart.
Card art by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.