Upright Meaning
The Seven of Cups often represents our deepest hopes and fears. It can also be suggestive of a moment in our lives when either we are suddenly struck by the fact that achieving our goals is a possibility, or when a sudden opportunity presents itself and we are not sure what to do, or whether to believe our luck; we are nervous that this newly opened door may lead to calamity rather than our heart’s desire.
In a reading, this card can also indicate daydreams and fantasies that we are making no move towards bringing into reality and suggests that intention and action are the only things preventing us from bringing forth into the outer world the triumph and success we can see so clearly in our mind’s eye.
The Seven of Cups can crop up, too, when we find ourselves faced with a multitude of choices and opportunities and are unsure which to take and which to walk away from. Where this is the case, the card advises us to think carefully about the options presented before us and to make a choice based on what would best serve our highest self, rather than what may provide a ‘quick fix.’
Reversed Meaning
Several meanings suggest themselves when the Seven of Cups appears reversed. Firstly, it can symbolize a determination to make our dreams a reality, and that we are ready to begin to take the steps needed to make this happen. The reversed card can also mean that we find ourselves able to differentiate genuine potential from illusion.
Finally, the Seven of Cups reversed can indicate that we feel overwhelmed by the multitude of choices before us and therefore paralyzed from moving forward. Here, the card counsels narrowing down the options and moving from the heart.
The Seven of Cups is a card of opportunities and choice. It is also suggestive of the need to be very careful in how we manifest what we desire: what we dream of may be much easier to bring into tangible reality than we know. The Seven advises us that, when faced with several options, we should choose what most aligns with our highest ideals and the counsel of our inner voice.