Five of Roses (Five of Cups)

Money and work

Financial losses, bad investments, a business or plans falling apart, a sense that the effort didn’t pay off. At work — regret over missed opportunities. Getting fired or being deeply disappointed in a project.

Love and relationships

A painful breakup, divorce, unrequited love, bitter hurt, being stuck on past mistakes. One partner is mourning a broken relationship and doesn’t notice that there are still cups on the card that haven’t spilled.

It can also show a young woman or a woman who’s a widow and lives in thoughts of her late husband.

The person is choosing, on their own, not to come out of this state.

Personal growth

Inside, you’re mourning the past: pessimism, guilt, longing and regret — “if only I’d done it differently.” All your attention has shifted to the negative and to what you’ve lost. The card is about the past.

Choices and decisions

A decision to sink into the feelings, turning down comfort, choosing to live through the grief and rethink what’s been lost for good.

Hidden motives

The person is caught up in old hurts or past trauma, feels vulnerable and unhappy, and deep down waits for sympathy or an apology, afraid of getting burned again.

From the wider tradition

Not Tahmina’s own words: meanings common among other tarot readers, which she has reviewed and approved.

• Three spilled cups in front, two standing ones behind — focused on what’s lost, not seeing what’s left.
• A bridge and a castle in the distance — there’s a way to heal; you just need to turn around and go.
• The grief and regret are real, but “not everything is lost” — the focus is on what’s left.

The section above is the shadow side of the upright card — every card has one. I don’t read cards upside down — here is why.