The Five of Cups as Intentions: To Grieve First, Before Anything Else

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Five of Cups as intentions is a plan postponed by sorrow. Here is what I would read in it, upright and reversed, and why the bridge matters.

If you want the short answer, I would read the Five of Cups as intentions that are stalled by grief. In an intentions position the card suggests the person is too caught in regret, loss or disappointment to intend anything toward you, and that any plan waits on their turning round. The intention, if it exists, is behind them with the two standing cups. They are not facing it.

This is the cloaked figure over the spilled cups. They intend to mourn. They have not yet intended anything else, and they may not for a while.

The Five of Cups upright as intentions

Tina Gong's the Five of Cups guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with loss, grief, disappointment and regret. When the card lands in a position that asks what someone intends toward you, I read those meanings as the shape of their plan rather than as a promise about what they will do. Feelings and intentions are different questions; the Five of Cups as feelings covers the first, and this page covers the second. The general card meanings at Biddy Tarot are a useful second reference.

Upright, I read the Five of Cups as a person whose intention toward you is suspended by sorrow: they may regret what happened, they may wish things were different, and they are not planning to do anything about it yet because they are still looking at what was lost. The regret is real. The plan has not formed.

What I would not read into it is a plan to repair. The two cups behind the figure represent what could still be done. The card is honest that the person is not looking at them.

What the card does not tell you

The card does not confirm that the person's regret is about losing you rather than about their own conduct, that it will become action, or that the standing cups are meant for you. No card lets a reader see another person's plans. What a card can do is describe the kind of intention that fits the person's behaviour, and give you something to check against what they actually do.

The Five of Cups reversed as intentions

Reversed, the Five of Cups as intentions describes the turn beginning: a person starting to intend repair, to reach for what remains, to move toward you or toward their own recovery. Some readers read it as refusing to grieve, which produces plans made too fast and abandoned.

In your own question, ask whether the person has started to notice what is still good between you, or whether they have announced they are fine and started planning something they are not ready for. A reversed card as intentions is a prompt to compare what is said with what is done, not a diagnosis of bad faith.

The Five of Cups as an ex's intentions

Asked about an ex, the Five of Cups as intentions can suggest they regret how it ended and do not yet intend to do anything about the regret. That is tender to know and it is not a plan. Many people grieve an ex sincerely and conclude that the spilled cups were spilled for a reason. My guide to asking a psychic whether an ex will come back explains what a reading can and cannot say about that question.

The Five of Cups as a new person's intentions

For someone new, this card usually describes a person grieving something that came before you and unable to intend anything toward you until they turn round. You cannot make them turn. You can be one of the standing cups.

What their intentions look like in action

Look for sorrow aimed at the past: they talk about what went wrong, they apologise or ruminate, they are gentle rather than bitter. A Five of Cups intention is visible as regret without a plan. If it becomes a plan, you will see the turn.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the question you asked, what the person seems to be grieving, and what is still standing between you that they have not looked at. The third note is the bridge.

For comparison, the Four of Cups as intentions and the Six of Cups as intentions describe different intentions. The the Five of Cups card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Five of Cups as timing and the Five of Cups as a yes or no cover the other questions people most often ask of it. For a personal interpretation, my guide to a love psychic reading online explains how I work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.