Western Tarot symbolism
Three of Cups
The prose places three women in a garden raising cups as though pledging one another. The upright list associates this with a happy conclusion, plenty and solace, while the reversed account also mentions excess. The supplementary list assigns unexpected advancement to a military man. Its reversed meanings return to consolation and an ending, which only partly overlap with the main reversed account.
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In the sources
The card account
LiteraryThe prose places three women in a garden raising cups as though pledging one another. The upright list associates this with a happy conclusion, plenty and solace, while the reversed account also mentions excess.
Comparing the lists
LiteraryThe supplementary list assigns unexpected advancement to a military man. Its reversed meanings return to consolation and an ending, which only partly overlap with the main reversed account.
Context & interpretation
The active library scan carries L. W. de Laurence’s name and reproduces material associated with A. E. Waite’s Tarot exposition. This entry follows that supplied edition’s card prose and supplementary lists. Historical divinatory assignments and period character labels are distinguished from the pictured symbolism and from independently supported judgements about people or future events.
Original passages
Source 1
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination
cups uplifted, as if pledging one another. Divinatory Meanings: The conclusion of any matter in plenty, perfection and merriment; happy issue, victory, fultilment, solace, healing. Reversed:Open this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Illustrated Key to the Tarot, supplied de Laurence edition; card description, active reader leaf 117
Exact supplied-edition extracted passage actually read; whitespace-normalised quotation anchor and original-leaf mapping checked. Image descriptions attributed to printed prose; no new full-plate visual inspection asserted.
- Edition
- IMJ-0149-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0149-E001-P0117
- Original scan leaf
- 123
- Recorded leaf number
- 123
- Current Reader position
- 117
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Source 2
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination
Three.—Unexpected advancement for a military man. Reversed: Consolation, cure, end of the business. Tivo.—Favorable in things of pleasure and business, as well as in love; alsoOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Illustrated Key to the Tarot, supplied de Laurence edition; additional meanings, active reader leaf 151
Exact supplied-edition extracted passage actually read; whitespace-normalised quotation anchor and original-leaf mapping checked. Image descriptions attributed to printed prose; no new full-plate visual inspection asserted.
- Edition
- IMJ-0149-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0149-E001-P0151
- Original scan leaf
- 157
- Recorded leaf number
- 157
- Current Reader position
- 151
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Illustrations
Continue exploring
Ace of Cups
A cloud-borne cup, water and a descending sacramental emblem give this Ace several symbolic layers.
Shared source pageEight of Cups
A departing figure gives the Eight an image of leaving an earlier concern behind.
Shared source pageEight of Swords
A bound figure surrounded by swords is expressly described as temporarily confined.
Shared source pageFive of Cups
Three fallen cups and two remaining upright make loss and remainder part of one composition.