Page, Suit of CupsPage of Cups tarot card meaning
Upright and reversedPage of Cups in shortIn short
The Page of Cups is a gentle message from the heart. A young page in pink and blue stands by the sea, looking at a fish that rises out of his cup. Waite calls it the pictures of the mind taking form: an idea, a feeling, a surprising piece of news.
- Sensitivity
- Messages
- Imagination
Piece oneThe sea
Behind the page the sea rolls in layered blue waves above a strip of sand. Waite notes that water runs through all the Cups court cards. The page stands at the edge of feeling, on the shore.
"...the Sign of the Cup naturally refers to water, which appears in all the court cards."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe sea gives the page his place. He stands on dry sand with the waves right behind him, at the edge of the water suit. Feeling sits at his back, and the fish has climbed out of it into his cup. He's young, so he still stands on the shore.
Piece twoThe page
A young page with a soft face looks down at his cup. His blue hat is shaped like a fish, eye and fins included. Waite calls him fair and pleasing, studious and intent: a dreamer who pays attention.
"A fair, pleasing, somewhat effeminate page, of studious and intent aspect..."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe page is a young dreamer who pays attention. His soft face and fish hat say feeling, and his steady look says study. He holds the cup at arm's length and watches it. The sea behind and the fish in front match his clothes, so he looks dressed by water.
Piece threeThe cup
He holds a tall gold cup at arm's length and looks into it, waiting. Waite reads news and messages, reflection and meditation. The cup is an open heart and mind, ready for what rises.
"...a studious youth; news, message; application, reflection, meditation..."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe cup is where the page's attention goes. He holds it out at arm's length and looks into it, so it works like a window. Waite reads news and messages, and the fish is that news, rising. The cup sits at one side, the sea behind, the boy between the two.
Piece fourThe fish
A small blue fish pokes out of the gold cup and looks up. Waite says it rises to look at the page, and calls it the pictures of the mind taking form. An idea or feeling surfaces, alive and a little strange.
"It is the pictures of the mind taking form."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe fish is the surprise. Something alive has come up out of the cup, and it looks back at the page. It's the message he's been waiting for, a feeling turning into an idea. His fish hat and the sea behind him tell you where it came from.
Colour, and where else it appearsEchoes
-
The sea
Deep blue water, pale sand. He stands on dry land with the sea at his back. The water rises through the Cups court. The Queen of Cups sets her throne on the shore with waves at her feet. The King of Cups sits out on the sea itself, a ship on one side and a dolphin on the other. The page is the first step in.
Also in -
The page
A pale sea-blue hat over a warm face. Even his head wears water. His tunic carries rows of pink flowers like the water lilies floating in the Ace of Cups. The Knight of Cups wears a wing on his helmet where the page wears a fish: one dreams of flight, the other of the sea.
Also in -
The cup
Gold against soft mauve-grey. The cup is the brightest thing here, so your eye follows his into it. In the Ace of Cups the same gold cup rests on a hand from the cloud, pouring four streams. The Knight of Cups carries his cup out in front as he rides, an offer on the move. The page only holds his and waits.
Also in -
The fish
A sea-blue fish in a gold cup. The suit's water has come alive. In the King of Cups a grey dolphin leaps from the waves beside the throne, a sea creature grown large and free. The Six of Cups fills its cups with flowers, another living thing growing out of a vessel. The page's fish moves and looks back.
Also in
Colour notes are ours, read from the picture; Waite does not explain the colours.
Page of CupsUpright
The Page of Cups is a message from the heart. Waite's words: news, a message, reflection, meditation, and a studious young person who wants to help you.
An invitation, a sweet surprise, a creative idea out of nowhere, a feeling you didn't expect. Stay open and a little playful, and take the strange idea seriously.
Page of CupsReversed
Reversed, Waite's words: taste, inclination, attachment, seduction, deception, artifice. The sweet message may hide a trick.
A feeling that carries you off, a crush that clouds your judgement, an idea that stays a daydream. Check whether the message is honest, and whether you are.
Yes or noYes.
Yes, gently. Good news and a hopeful message, at the start of something.
Page of Cups in your lifeIn your life
Love
A sweet message, a new crush, a shy confession. Young, tender feelings.
Work
A creative idea or a pleasant offer. Good for art, design and work that needs imagination.
Money
Small good news about money. Keep your dreams and your budget in the same room.
Health
Listen to your feelings and be gentle with yourself. A card can't diagnose you; if something's wrong, see a doctor.
Spirituality
Intuition and dreams. Notice the images that come to you in quiet moments.
Advice
Stay curious and open. Take the surprising idea seriously.
As a person
Young, sensitive, imaginative. Gentle, studious, eager to help.
Past, present, future
Past: a message or feeling that started something. Present: a sweet surprise or a new idea. Future: news that touches your heart.
Written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
Symbols and correspondencesAt a glance
- Suit
- Cups
- Element
- Water
- Golden Dawn
- Earth of Water
- Court
- Page
- Upright
- Young man
- Reversed
- Attachment
QuestionsCommon questions
Yes. Good news, new feelings, creative ideas. Reversed, beware a sweet message that may not be honest.
A love note, a new crush, the first shy steps of a relationship.
Yes, gently. Something good is starting.
Waite describes a fair young man, studious and intent, keen to do you a service. Today it can be anyone young at heart: sensitive, dreamy, kind.
Waite says the page watches a fish rise from a cup to look at him, and calls it the pictures of the mind taking form. An idea or feeling reaches the surface.
Waite shows a fair, studious page watching a fish rise from his cup to look back at him. He calls it the pictures of the mind taking form.
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911Card meanings and quotes: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911. Element, decan and sephira: the Golden Dawn's Book T. Colours, life situations, yes or no and questions: written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
All 14 Cups