I see this card quite often and depending on the context it can mean very different things. One thing is clear: the man is staring at three cups but not really seeing them. And there is a 4th cup being offered – but is it real or imaginary? It’s a card of self absorption; the person is thinking deeply, but withdrawn from the world, and is connecting with fantasies more than with other people.
This is a card of dissatisfaction (I love the one where the woman just tips it over, showing contempt for its contents. Clearly she’s over this cup and wants something new.) The person feels a bit stagnant, in need of new entertainment. It’s also a card of temptation - yes I have 3 sturdy cups before me, but it’s the one out of reach that I’m thinking about… Sometimes we don’t value what we have before us, sometimes we get bored with the familiar and want something new.
Unusually, the Inner Child card here is sadder than the Rider Waite version. The mermaid feels lost and alone, her friends out having a good time without her. She’s not dissatisfied or petulant, she’s sad. Sometimes we feel like we are not connecting properly to the world around us, and that can be a difficult, lonely feeling.
