Four of Cups

Melancholy, despondency, immersion in the past, and failure to notice the present. The person does not notice something very important in life, in their situation; they are bored, but this is only their blindness.

This card is essentially a friendly warning that a negative view of the world prevents a person from achieving all they need and accepting all they hope for. All this is available, but their own dissatisfaction prevents them from recognizing, accepting, and using the advantages. This card speaks of various situations where everything is there, but there is a lack of the right frame of mind to properly rejoice in it. It heralds the beginning of a stagnant period in life, and internally it is more empty than with the Four of Swords. The person rejects new opportunities, does not want to develop creative abilities, start new projects, make new acquaintances (it seems to them all meaningless). The information carried by the Four of Cups makes one seriously think about looming emotional problems in life. Essentially, this card always speaks of the need for honest self-analysis to restore internal balance, and that one must make an effort to see one's life differently than as boring and dull. It's a very small effort, but no one will do it for the querent.

Typical meanings: upset, annoying incidents, problems, something causing irritation. Old interpretations of this card include melancholy and boredom, displeasure, unfounded suspicions, imagined annoyance, disgust. As Pushkin said? 'You stand there like some Childe-Harold.' That was said to Lensky, though it would have suited more the world-weary, melancholic Onegin! The Four of Cups follows the Three – essentially, it's a card of internal 'burnout' after excessive socialization. One of its names is 'the morning after a fun night,' with all its apathy, lethargy, and 'recovery,' when continuing the party is not appealing. An old meaning becomes clear – the negative influence of the past on the present. They clearly overdid something.

Strictly speaking, all the unpleasant states of the Four of Cups may not be so imaginary. Perhaps the situation the querent finds themselves in causes them annoyance, or the offer made makes them doubt, or they experience quite justified suspicions and dissatisfaction with their partner, or have encountered unexpected obstacles or opposition.

A rarer interpretation of this card is a gift from heaven. Yes, yes, a gift of fate, its grace and bounty, some offer that causes anxiety, confusion; the person cannot sort out their feelings. Essentially, it's about a realistically attainable chance that is not taken seriously by the person.

Aleister Crowley's interpretation of this Arcana differs from the traditional one in a positive direction. The card describes not so much boredom and apathy as luxury akin to 'butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.' Pleasant pastime in a good, familiar setting and a feeling of security and stability, enjoyment of life and the opportunity to relax.

Old interpretation of the card – dubious pleasures.

Typical modern interpretation – something has become so tiresome that the person yearns to get rid of it. What it is and how far they will go in this desire can be suggested by other cards in the spread.

Sour and indifferent. 'Either no money, or no meaning, or no streetcar.' Like the English spleen – in short, Russian melancholy. This is either a tendency to lazily ignore and miss opportunities life offers, or a situation of 'you got what you fought for, and it turned out to be a booby prize.' You seem to have gotten what you wanted (relationships, money, job, house, stability, or something else), but you feel mostly boredom, apathy, and dissatisfaction. The toy no longer delights. The card reminds us of the inconstancy of our feelings: we desire something with all our soul, yet, having achieved it (and even more than desired), we suddenly realize we don't need it.

This can be expressed in despondency, indifference, or conversely, irritation and resentment towards the whole world. Sometimes the disappointment and fatigue of this card manifest aggressively – the person makes life miserable for everyone. But more often, quiet despondency and bad mood correspond to it. As modern psychology would express it – emotions of the asthenic spectrum, up to a passive-depressive state. The role of a second-rate martyr cherishing their dull sufferings, lack of faith in oneself, loss of meaning in life. Decline of spirit after a period of prosperity and initial achievements. 'Fed up, sick and tired.' Causeless lethargy, lack of motivation, rejection of current reality ('everything is fine, but nothing is needed'), feeling discontented, unhappy. Some authors associate this card with the state of a capricious prima donna – the person imagines a lot about themselves and is causelessly dissatisfied with everyone around.

This is the card of emotional crisis. This is not the case when one can buy off creeping depression with a portion of pleasures – precisely, pleasures won't bring it. Seeking inner harmony will require what seems like a tiny, yet substantial change in one's view of the world. This effort cannot be replaced by anything, and no one will undertake it for you – such is one of the lessons of the Four of Cups.

The card describes a specific disturbed state of mind when everything existing is exhausted, drunk to the dregs and known, and has caused disappointment and dissatisfaction, for it turned out incapable of satisfying the soul's demands. All this is rejected, for it seems empty (like there was a lot, like you got EVERYTHING, and this all turned out to be meager and insufficient). The person has a so far unconscious goal, a star they do not yet see, not yet comprehended wisdom, the cup of which they are to drink, a kind of zealous desire to serve their ideal. Only a slight turn of consciousness is needed (which, however, is hardly realistic in their current state), a fundamental expansion of vision. This is a state where 'only the sword's blade separates you from the Grail,' but this sword is your current mind, and here the person is their own enemy.

Decent egoism, spiritual callousness, alienation. Self-absorption, detachment from the world. To the typical moan 'No one loves me!' the card reasonably objects 'And you don't notice anyone!' Apathy and passivity, not the slightest initiative, stagnation in the soul. In this case, unlike the Four of Pentacles, the person does not erect protective walls between themselves and the external world. They don't need them... because the world is essentially indifferent to them. They simply have nothing to fence themselves off from.

Overall, the Four of Cups always indicates some difficulties with emotional openness. In some way, this card resonates with the sign of Cancer. It came out of its shell, was wounded once again, and crawled back in. The themes of the Moon and Saturn sound here, and this card will play out especially vividly in people with these planets strongly expressed in their horoscope. In this sense, the Four of Cups is the card of loneliness. Sometimes it indicates that excessive dreaminess makes a person inert.

Sometimes this card carries the state of childish 'being offended at everyone' – well, I won't do anything!... what, do I need it more than everyone else?... I don't need anything from you at all!... and so on. In this petty state, a person can commit a major folly, miss a favorable chance or offer.

Crowley's interpretation emphasizes the strength of developed femininity and maternal emotionality, the importance of the hearth, attachment, and security, which also corresponds to the modality of Cancer. And yet the natural state of water is flow and movement. The Four, with its structure and formality, limits and 'stagnates' it.

This is the card of the first existential disappointment in earthly life and its joys. After its first experiences and successes, first joys and achievements, a person is struck by the feeling that 'you still can't love all women, you still can't drink all the wine' and generally, that's not it... A kind of Onegin-esque melancholy begins.

Essentially, the card says that one must think about the soul too, turn to values of a more subtle and elevated order. It is these that are symbolized by the fourth cup, extended from a cloud to the one who does not yet notice it. Guggenheim writes that the man sitting under the tree symbolizes Buddha meditating under the Bodhi Tree.

Ideally, this is a card of a close, nearby prophetic revelation, a sign-lightning. Apathy (lack of drive) and fatigue, being stuck in the sorrowful limitation of one's vision, prevent one from noticing the proximity of a revelation standing right there. Apparently, Saint Bernard addressed this Fourth Cup in his famous 12th-century sermon: you have everything, knight, all gifts and blessings, but there is no meaning in life. You can find it.

The third decan of Cancer is ruled by the Moon and symbolizes the immediacy and simplicity of emotions manifested outwardly. This decan has a rich imagination and is inclined to contemplation and dreams. If the second decan is occupied with developing a mechanism for switching from internal to external perception, the third has an established system of communication channels between internal and external and is maximally involved in the process of conveying its impressions and emotions to others. The basis of the richness of internal sensations here is the external world. Emotions correspond to objectivity and are positively perceived by others.

Life is transmitted as an inexhaustible source of feelings, and their endless flow allows a person to feel the continuity and eternity of life. This decan carries the idea of unknown possibilities hidden in the depths of life itself, which must be seen and understood. The card depicts a youth sitting under a tree; before him stand three cups. A hand from a cloud offers him a fourth, but the young man does not notice it. This gift from above may be lost to him. Dreaminess makes him too inert, and his ideas too vague. At the stage of the Four of Cups, desire acquires concrete forms, although these forms are not yet fully in line with our imperfect world – they are somewhat idealized and non-specific, yet sufficiently material.

Light and shadow (advice and warning)

Advice: Open your eyes and see the gift fate is presenting. Look more broadly at the surrounding world and yourself. See the fullness of meaning in the fabric of daily life. Accept someone's generous gift or a beneficial offer. This Arcana contains both the problem and the answer to it like no other. 'Despite all the fatigue, depression, antipathy, disgust, disappointment, and lack of happiness – consider that all this is imagined, a fruit of your state of mind and imagination.' So, Waite's advice – seek signs, dreams, enlightenment, and illumination from above. Accept gifts, do not reject favorable chances. According to Crowley – do not force events, rest, do not take events to heart, and do not try to solve problems that can wait until tomorrow. Trap: Reject heaven's offer if it initially evoked ambiguous feelings. Blindness to opened opportunities. Stop sulking, this card says, listen to what they tell you, or you'll regret it later. In a warning position, it hints that it makes sense to step away from dreams and return to reality with its cares. Another trap is the enervating striving for complete calm and comfort. This choice, once made, will lead to a state of boredom, satiety, and dissatisfaction. And – the sacramental question this card asks: 'Are you tired of living?'

Modest stability, partial satisfaction. Financial stability, but no growth. Attachment to money; it may be used to satisfy emotional hunger (mild form of shopaholism), but also a dawning understanding that happiness cannot be bought and the soul cannot be satisfied with various junk. Inability to handle money.

Traditionally, this is the card of 'bachelors and old maids,' i.e., people who postpone marriage for a long time due to their own psychological mindset and refuse gifts of fate.

Everything stems from one's own unwillingness to accept the offered good or use the advantages. The person unconsciously revels in their role and is so persistent in their apathy, lack of initiative, and dissatisfaction that they refuse the fulfillment of desires. Essentially, this is the warning – 'You don't see the gift right before your eyes.' Or you don't understand your own happiness. The cause of depression is that you are sitting in it, not that life is bad and boring. Life is interesting exactly to the extent that you yourself are interesting.

This card can also describe absorption in some hopeless relationships, because of which the person fails to notice much more interesting new opportunities.

It's something like a 'romance' of a young fan with a movie star, whose portraits cover all the walls, while no faces from real life are perceived at all. By the way, in light of such a situation, another 'strange' old interpretation becomes clear – zealous service to one's ideal, idol, religious fanaticism. Here the 'idol' for the querent becomes a person who does not reciprocate, or with whom a relationship never really started, or has clearly come to an end, and the querent still does not want to notice anything around them and is still completely absorbed in 'that which cannot be,' nothing else interests them. In this case, the hand extending the fourth cup to the sufferer, which they do not see, symbolizes fate ready to give them something entirely different.

Sometimes this card indeed carries resentment, malice, rebellion of offended innocence in best feelings, jealousy, disappointment, sorrow. But more often, acute states are 'assigned' to the Five of Cups. It truly grieves and suffers. The Four rather just bores and mopes. Everything is uninteresting and unpleasant to it. It suffers not so much from pain as from lack of motivation.

The card can symbolize a stable but unhappy period in life, full of boredom and rejection, melancholy and stagnation, and conditioned by one's own vision and essentially being a matter of personal choice. Only one's own state of mind prevents using what is actually accessible and satisfying desires for which there are no obstacles. This is a kind of fanaticism really. But – stability, a peculiar internal harmony, and to a certain extent even growth (thanks to introspection). The person sacrifices life's pleasures for health or moral-religious reasons, while their inner core is quite strong. Sometimes the card indicates, in the same sense, the economic aspect of life – modest stability, partial satisfaction, but stability.

If it's about an existing relationship, the Four of Cups can indicate boredom, lack of impressions, changes, qualitative development. This is precisely that first crisis when the initial wonderful stages (Two and Three of Cups) have been passed one way or another and the relationship must be 'somehow developed.' In their sailing, the couple has reached stagnant waters, sharply contrasting with the intoxicating Three of Cups. What to do next and why stay together in the middle of this backwater is completely unclear.

It is believed that this card signifies disappointment in the love object and the severing of relationships. This is more true for the stage of romantic dates of barely acquainted people and for very young spouses, and less true for an established marriage. But one can agree – for relationships, this is indeed a heavy card. Mainly – due to absorption in one's own melancholy while detached from the world and indifferent to the experiences of others.

It describes satiety, a situation where something well-known (e.g., intoxicating meetings before) no longer brings joy. This is rejection of the partner and a depressed state of spirit. Frozen feeling, sexual lethargy, causeless bad mood, and inability to rejoice in what deserves it. This can be a natural crisis in the development of a relationship, when it's time to discover new depths in them and move to a qualitatively new level, symbolized by the fourth cup. But there may be another emotional reason for that.

Upon seeing this card, one recalls a married person, who after a fleeting meeting indulges in futile memories of past happiness. For some time, they are immersed in themselves and this sadness, and therefore do not notice the joys of life with their current spouse, depriving and emptying themselves. For a time, these joys have become emotionally inaccessible, undesirable, and unnecessary to them. This is the classic state of the Four of Cups. What previously constituted the highest value and joy of life (the element of the Three of Cups) has lost its appeal, the close person has seemed alien and distant, sexual tone is at zero, for some reason it has become simply impossible to live and rejoice. The relationship is in an obvious crisis, indifference, lethargy... readiness to drink from sorrow and weep from melancholy. Happiness and joy are within arm's reach, but melancholy clouds the eyes.

Sometimes the problem is simply routine, absorption in maintaining habitual order, excessive focus on stability and predictability (this element is carried by all Fours). The need for variety is as natural for a person as the need for stability. Without periodic jolts and changes of impressions, a 'hunger for incidents' arises, quietly felt as boredom and disappointment, just the doses differ for each.

The card also has another, almost opposite meaning (according to Crowley), and sometimes it works very accurately. This experience can rather be defined as emotional stabilization – acute experiences have gone, but there is the luxury of peace and happiness. The person enjoys life, feeling entitled to relax, be content, and not force events (there is indeed no motivation for that, in that sense – yes, it's the card of lack of motivation). Habitual pleasant pastime, tenderness and care in close relationships, a feeling of stability and security.

Crowley's interpretation noticeably differs from the traditional one. He believes the Four of Cups describes things quite favorable for close relationships. It is richness and depth of feelings, stability, emotional saturation, attachment. Here there are enjoyments and pleasures, and no place for boredom. But still, Crowley writes about the desire for possession in one's emotional superiority, about possessiveness and limiting the other person's possibilities through excessive attachment. Something of excessive thickening, which can manifest as routine filling of inner emptiness and lack of bright feelings, is also discernible here. The difference is that in Crowley, isolation from close people (or one person), which unfortunately is often observed in practice, is not at all emphasized. But he also indicates that while enjoying inner peace and happiness, it's important not to forget about further development of the relationship.

Loss of vitality, exhaustion, decline in strength. The person feels ill and weakened (though this feeling may be illusory).

Hypotension, chronic fatigue. Decreased body resistance, weakened immunity.

Depression, despondent mood.

The most typical card of a hangover. Headache, stomach upset.

If in the upright position the Four of Cups is quite a critical card and can be considered rather unfortunate, in the reversed position it acts in the directly opposite capacity. The person shakes off boredom and opens up to something – this could be new opportunities, new connections, new acquaintances, new approaches to old problems, new knowledge. They reconsider opportunities they previously rejected, try to overcome their own passivity. This is quite a typical card for a person ready to plunge headlong into a relationship after a period of solitude or grab any job just to get back 'into circulation.'

Generally, the Four of Cups remarkably corresponds to the behavior of many female characters from Russian folk tales – first a sour refusal to all princes and dukes (upright card – excessive pickiness), then a firm 'I'll marry the first one I meet!' (reversed card – pickiness is not even an issue). What the 'first one met' will be like in this case can be suggested by other cards in the spread. In any case, one cannot continue to sit quietly and hopelessly meditate with this card; fresh impressions are needed. Seeking new stimuli for life against the background of exhaustion of previous experience. A second wind.

If the upright card correlates with recurring situations and chronic problems, the reversed one indicates another attempt to solve these problems, renewal. An unforeseen event.

Old interpretation – new relationship or achieving mutual understanding with a loved one. Premonition, prediction, foreseeing changes for the better, all sorts of signs and prophecies.

However, there is also a negative interpretation of the reversed Four of Cups – if in the upright card some chance was offered to the person which they didn't notice, now 'the train has left,' the chance is missed, and now they are seized by acute depression.

With The Hermit – focusing on oneself, withdrawing from relationships

With The Moon – silence, unwillingness to share feelings and thoughts

With The Sun reversed – presence at a fire (from an old book of interpretations)

With The World – involvement in something, participation (the card reduces the influence of the Four of Cups)

With Four of Wands – inspiration, emergence of energy after a decline (and in old interpretations, it's noted 'a country outing will be spoiled')

With Ten of Wands – intensifies the meaning of work beyond one's strength, Sisyphean labor.

With Two of Cups – union, emerging from the shell

With Four of Swords – intensifies the meaning of contemplation and self-analysis, meditation and solitude, healing of emotional wounds (and boredom from solitude included).

With Five of Swords – daydreaming in solitude (according to Guggenheim)

With Six of Swords - depression

With Eight of Pentacles – work helping to overcome inertia and lethargy

Stagnant water

In Crowley's tradition – luxuriant spring, green meadows, branches heavy with abundance of foliage, flowers, and fruit.