Four of Cups

Four of Cups from the Rider-Waite Tarot deck

Four of Cups is a Minor Arcana tarot card.

Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games.^[1]

In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes; the unconscious finds meaning and fulfillment in the Tarot's images and symbols.^[1][2]

Divination usage

The Four of Cups represents a period of self-reflection and inaction and/or quiet deliberation or contemplation. The querent is being pushed into a bad situation or forced to do something that seems undesirable to him. This card can also predict that the querent might have to undergo a time of tribulation and/or force him to self-reflect or self-sacrifice.

Also, the reader must acknowledge that the figure in meditation is staring intently at the cups before him. This shows a distraction with affairs already present, although not necessarily all that is pressing. He need only look in a new direction to find the gift he is ignoring.

The querent is advised to open himself to new possibilities.

References

1. 1 2 Dummett, Michael (1980). The Game of Tarot. Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd. ISBN 0-7156-1014-7. 
2. ↑ Huson, Paul, (2004) Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage, Vermont: Destiny Books, ISBN 0-89281-190-0 Mystical Origins of the Tarot Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.