Suit of Cups

Cups represent the element of Water—emotions, feelings, love, relationships, intuition, creativity, dreams, the subconscious, empathy, psychic abilities, spirituality, reflection, inner world.

We see Cups energy in the writing process, represented by what is at the heart of your narrative emotionally and intuitively. Cups energy governs your character development (motivations, desires, relationships), evocative imagery, lyrical prose, poetry, themes of love, loss, longing, dreams, and family dynamics. Cups energy is the empathy you use to write believable characters, the intuition guiding your writing choices, the personal experiences you draw on, and the emotional resonance connecting your story to its reader. Cups draw on emotional depth to inform the "show, don't tell" principle for writers.

​

Writers can use Cups energy in their work. If you pull a card of Cups, first look at the meaning of that card, then ask yourself: How is this situation or event affecting my character’s feelings, relationships, intuition, or inner world? Show what your character is feeling and expressing emotionally in response.

​

The table below gives a sense of how and where Cups energy can show up in narrative.