Upright Meaning
Where The Lovers speaks of mature love, The Two of Cups most often indicates the beginning of a friendship or a romantic partnership - sometimes even a business partnership; it represents the blossoming of a relationship, and our growing desire to commit ourselves to it. Where it relates to a love match, this is likely to be a connection of great physical, emotional and mental power. The card sometimes points to an imminent proposal or engagement.
Whether in a friendship, romantic, or business sense, this card appears when we feel in synch with our partner - we see eye to eye, and are able to move harmoniously towards a shared goal.
In a reading, the card can also sometimes indicate the importance of bringing diverse elements of our life, or personality, into harmony; it speaks of marrying the traditional masculine traits of action, movement, and dynamism with the feminine elements of emotion, receptivity, and a propensity to nurture. This is a card of equanimity and balance.
Reversed Meaning
When the Two of Cups is reversed it usually points to a disruption in the harmony inherent in the upright card. A relationship could be under pressure, for example, when each party’s goals are no longer in synch; perhaps mistrust or a lack of communication is creeping in. Sometimes the reversed card can suggest that, what we know in our hearts is lust or infatuation, we are pretending to ourselves is something more.
Just as the upright Two can indicate a beautiful blending of the different aspects of our inner being, so the reversed Two of Cups can indicate that we are blocking this, or that how we feel inside is not being reflected in the actions we are taking in the outside world.
As with so many of the cards, the Two of Cups speaks of love and its great potential. Here we see the love represented by the suit’s Ace flowing symbiotically between ourselves and someone else we have a connection with, and the healing, passion, and profound bond that can be the result.