Three of Cups Tarot Card Meaning - Guide

Suit: Suit of Cups
Card Type: Minor Arcana
Tarot Element: Water
Star Sign: Cancer
Planet: Mercury
Angel: Archangel Gabriel

Key Meaning: Cause For Celebration

This card predicts a cause for celebration, so get the champagne glasses out!

Best Book For Learning Tarot I Karina Collins

A to Z: List of Tarot Cards

Three of Cups Keywords

🥰 Upright: celebration, belonging, reunion,
😒 Reversed: falling in with the wrong crowd, escapism

Three of Cups Description

This description is based on the Rider Waite Tarot Deck. In this card we see three maidens dancing and toasting to the good life. This could be a harvest celebration. The image reminds us of Sandro Botticelli’s Three Graces (Thaleia, Aglaia, and Euphrosyne) but with cups.

The Meaning of The Number 3 in Tarot

All threes, including the Three of Wands, Three of Pentacles and Three of Swords represent external movement. Where you start to see results for the work you put in. As Cups relate to your emotional life, it means something you have put your heart into, blossoms into life. Whatever happens is worth celebrating with friends and family.

LOVE: What does The 3 of Cups Mean when You Ask About Love?

When the Three of Cups turns up in a love reading, the meaning will depend on whether or not you are in a relationship.

❤️ Singles – this Tarot card can predict meeting someone in a social situation. What is happening in the card, is that some kind of celebration is taking place around you and there is the real need for you to ‘loosen up’, relax and enjoy yourself at this time. You have been focused up until now on achieving in one or more areas of your life. Let your hair down, and in the process, meet your one true love! Just to point out – you will not meet him or her online or using a dating app. The Three of Cups guides you to get out there and meet people in the flesh. Make more of an effort and be more open to some of the lighter, brighter, social influences which life is offering to you at this time.

❤️ In a relationship – the Three of Cups can indicate a cause for celebration – so good news arriving which impacts your relationship. This can mean engagement or wedding, but I’ve also seen it turn up for couples waiting on the outcome of a fertility treatment. Also, it has appeared for couples applying for emigration visa documents and for those waiting on the outcome of a legal settlement. It could also be a job promotion which allows the couple to pursue their joint financial goals. If the Three of Cups turns up in combination with another card, this can provide further information. For example, the Three of Cups and Empress combination is a sign of babies! The Three of Cups and Justice combination is a sign of legal issues being resolved favourably.

As for other relationships in your life, like friends and family – here are some additional meanings:

❤️ If you are hoping a family reunion, party or celebration will take place – yes it does. If you are worried about how this event will go, everything goes smoothly.

❤️ The Three of Cups says this is also a good time to reconnect with friends. In this card, you are shown being reunited with friends from the past, possibly friends that you haven’t seen for quite a long time. Or they may be new friends, with whom you feel a strong sense of affinity, a sense of having known them for ages. Friends can also be our ‘in-group’ at the moment, fraternity or sorority.

CAREER: What does This Card Signify When You Ask About Work?

If you asked about business, work or study and receive the Three of Cups, then the guidance is to use your charm to achieve what you want. It pays to network and socialise at this time, don’t be tempted to think of it as a waste of your time.

Be aware, don’t fall into any rigid mental pattern or attitude that who you meet or what they say is ‘superficial’ or ‘meaningless’. Keep an open mind.

If you asked what is my life purpose? – then traditionally the Three of Cups is linked to careers in event management, catering and charity work. However, you really can consider any job which involves meeting a variety of people. This list is long, but includes jobs in journalism, podcasting, film, fashion and beauty and public relations.

If you are interested in career options, draw another tarot card for additional information. For example the Three of Cups and High Priestess combination means spiritual teacher (mind, body, spirit area). The Three of Cups and Justice Tarot Card combination can mean working in law, social work or charity. The Three of Cups and Temperance Tarot card combination can indicate healing and the healing arts.

MONEY: What is the Meaning of The Three of Cups in a Money Reading?

💲 When you are worried about finances and the Three of Cups turns up, it means there soon will be cause for celebration. Perhaps you are waiting on a loan or a house purchase to come through. Or maybe you are waiting for a job with more money and better benefits.

💲 Sometimes it feels like the Universe has not heard our wishes, yet this card is a reminder that you are being heard. Never give up dreaming and hoping.

💲 In numerology the number 3 is linked to creativity, so this is also a good time to think out of the box. If you want to improve your finances, be a little more creative with your thinking.

Tarot Card Combination Meanings

“Three of Cups combined with The Fool” – Unexpected cause for celebration, out of the blue.

“Combined with The Tower” – What seems like bad news will end up being the cause for celebration in the end.

“Three of Cups combined with The Hermit” – Meditation or time alone sparks an idea worth celebrating.

“Three of Cups combined with Six of Swords” – You are rowing into better days, many more celebrations ahead.

HEALTH: What does The Three of Cups Mean When You Ask About Health?

⭕ If you are waiting on test results and the Three of Cups turns up – it means you can expect good news.

⭕ The number 3 is symbolic of the Mind, Body, Spirit connection. In response to a question about health, this card says you cannot heal the body, without addressing what is going on in your mind. What you feel and think at a deeper soul level, has a physical effect on your body. Anger, stress, fear and resentment are toxic to our body. For example, hip pain is associated with fear of the future (as hips propel your body forward). Eye problems are associated with not ‘seeing’ other people at a deeper level. Be aware of what your body is telling you, always.

⭕ It’s not the years in a life that count. It’s the life in the years.

YES/NO: Does The Three of Cups Mean Yes or No in a Reading?

❓ When you ask a Yes or No question and the Three of Cups appears, then the answer is a very big YES.

TIMING: Does The 3 of Cups Predict any Particular Timeframe?

🕔 The 3 of Cups is only a timing indication when you specifically asked a timeframe question. For example, if you want to know if something will happen, and when, then you need to draw two separate cards. These are in fact, two separate questions. This is a fundamental principle to understand if you want an accurate tarot reading – and it is core to my teaching in my book Tarot in 5 Minutes.

🕔 Using my timing method, the Three of Cups is about 3 months. If the card is reversed, timing will be slightly longer – so 4 to 5 months.

Karina’s Timing Method:
Swords are days. Wands are weeks. Cups are months and Pentacles are years. Please note this is my personal timing method. Feel to adopt it (or not).

What is the Meaning of The Three of Cups Reversed?

✔️ When the Three of Cups is reversed then the party is over. It can mean falling out with a group of people, or that the people you are involved with are the ‘wrong crowd’.

✔️ In a health reading it can indicate exhaustion and over-doing things a little. It’s time to recharge your batteries.

✔️ In love it can mean that you are jumping into bed too quickly, perhaps after partying hard and drinking too much. This won’t help you find or build a solid relationship.

✔️ In work and finances, there is a sense here to keep your head down – and get on with more of the less exciting ‘stuff’, like saving and laying the groundwork for future success.