Minor Arcana, Cups
Nine of Cups
contentment, comfort, satisfaction, success
Upright
A well-fed figure sits with arms crossed in front of nine cups on a curved shelf, looking pleased. Waite reads concord, contentment, physical comfort, success and satisfaction for the person asking.
A question about work or home meets a friendly answer here, for now. Enjoy what you have gathered and say so out loud. Comfort is a fair goal, and it lasts better when you share the shelf with people who helped you fill it.
Reversed
Waite admits the readings vary. He gives truth, loyalty and liberty, and also mistakes and imperfections.
Taken together, these suggest that a pleasant picture may need an honest second look. Perhaps your success at work rests on an error nobody has caught, or a comfortable friendship avoids a hard topic. Tell the truth about it early, since small faults are cheaper to fix.
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: Concord, contentment, physical bien-être; also victory, success, advantage; satisfaction for the Querent or person for whom the consultation is made.
Reversed: Truth, loyalty, liberty; but the readings vary and include mistakes, imperfections, etc.
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.