9 of Cups

Keywords & phrases

• Contentment
• Emotional fulfilment
• A wish come true
• Self-satisfaction
• Smugness
• Over-indulgence
• Lack of intimacy/connection
• Addiction

First impressions

There is an air of smug, self-satisfaction about this card.

What is happening in the card?

Here is a man who’s very happy with himself, or with what he has accumulated. 

Well fed, well dressed, he sits wide-legged with his arms crossed over his heart in front of a display of 9 perfectly arranged cups, or trophies. A curtain drops from the display table to the floor.

What is hidden beneath that we cannot see?

How can we relate to this card?

Often referred to as the ‘Wish Card’, definitions of the 9 of Cup include contentment, emotional fulfilment, dreams coming true, satisfaction and sharing good fortune.

However, we also experience the shadow energy of this card when contentment tips over into smug self-satisfaction, hoarding our trophies rather than sharing the wealth and overindulging in certain behaviours when we have too much of a good thing.

So, there is a warning in this card for us. Or an encouragement to search for true connection with ourselves and others, to find healthy direction for our passions and desires and to seek to manifest in our lives only for the highest good of all.

Message & affirmations

Today, with gratitude and an open heart, I nurture my dreams and seek to manifest a life and relationships that are aligned with my highest good and the highest good of all.

My personal experiences of this card

Honestly, I have a bit of an issue with this card in the Rider Waite deck.

My first experience of it as the ‘Wish Card’ was with the Sheridan Douglas deck. A beautiful depiction of a naked girl with long flowing locks sitting amongst her cups dreamily contemplating the 9th cup which she holds in her hand. It’s easy to imagine she is making a wish. And that that wish might come from a place of gratitude for what she already has.

And then there’s the man in the Rider Waite 9 of Cups.

This comfortably sitting man does not sit comfortably with me.

He’s a greedy looking man, a bon viveur with a smug expression. Apparently, he is welcoming others to join him and share in his hospitality, but he does so with his arms crossed and his legs open. ‘Manspreading’. This doesn’t feel like an open-hearted gesture to me.

The cups are arranged like trophies. And he sits firmly between us and them. This is not sharing. To me it says “look, don’t touch”. And what is he hiding behind the curtain?

I find these two versions of the 9 of Cups difficult to reconcile. I can’t see the ‘Wish Card’ or happiness in the Rider Waite. At best I see smug self interest and at worst I see debauchery and abuse of position, good fortune and power.

As it relates to the Tree of Life, the 9 of Cups represents the 9th Sephira of Yesod – foundation, connection, intimacy, dreams, the unconscious mind – in the realm of B’riah – the world of creation, spirit and feeling. With the Rider Waite image, arms crossed and legs open, the suggestion may be of physical connection without true intimacy.

Or of seeking intimacy and connection in social situations, perhaps fuelled by drugs or alcohol, and finding only superficial relationships that ultimately are unfulfilling or even damaging.

For more on the relationship between the Tree of Life and the Minor Arcana see Mark Horn’s Tarot and the Gates of Light.

Above I’ve included various renditions of the 9 of Cups that I find work more comfortably with the ideas of emotional contentment, expansion and putting your dreams out there with the hope of fulfilment.

Events, situations & readings

In a relationship spread:
Interpreting the 9 of Cups depends greatly on the deck, the question at hand and the surrounding cards. When read in a positive light, this card may signify a true emotional contentment, a wish come true or manifesting your dreams and desires.

Alternatively it could indicate a need to examine the level of true intimacy and connection in your relationships.

Reversed:
Lack of or resistance to intimacy in relationships. Excessive behaviour and substance abuse. 

People & interaction with other cards

In a reading with The Star, this card is a hopeful one and suggests that the time is right to make a wish.

When the 9 of Cups appears with The Hermit or The High Priestess,  you may be called to look within to examine your dreams and connect with your desires and ask if they are aligned with your true values and the highest good for you and the people around you.

With the Ace of Cups, the 9 of Cups encourages you to approach your situation with an open and pure heart. And if accompanied by the 10 of Cups there is great promise that you will find emotional contentment and fulfilment in your relationships.

The appearance of the Devil with the 9 of Cups may come as a warning that you are overindulging in certain behaviours that may give instant gratification and the feeling of connection with others and with your dreams, but ultimately prevent you from creating and nurturing healthy relationships and true intimacy.

Questions, prompts & insights

What do you truly desire? What are you manifesting and is it aligned with your highest good?

Are your relationships characterised by true connection, intimacy and emotional contentment or do they feel superficial or unhealthy even?

Do you approach your relationships with an open heart? What are you holding back?

Who and what are you consciously or subconsciously reaching out for or connecting with?

How do you avoid intimacy and connection in your relationships? 

Featured decks:
Main image from The Rider Waite Tarot. Also featured, images from The Spacious Tarot by Carrie Mallon and Annie Ruygt,  The Urban Tarot, by Robin Scott, The Light Seer’s Tarot, by Chris Anne, and The Sheridan-Douglas Tarot.