Meaning
The message of the 4 of Cups Tarot card reminds us that things aren’t always as they seem, and we are to look around us for the obvious opportunities. The opportunities may not be directly in front of us where we are most inclined to look, but that certainly does not negate their possibility or presence. Sometimes, however, we go through our lives expecting things to be a certain way or turn out a certain way, like the man is staring at the three cups before him stubbornly. Sometimes our aspirations are realized as a fourth cup, offered in a place where we can not immediately see it. This is the message of this card. Focusing too much on our expectations rather than our reality will close us off to opportunities that could yield abundance. If this card appears in your day, the message is to uncross your arms and open your mind to other possibilities in the situation at hand. Chances are, the answer is around you, but you will only be able to seize that day if you open your eyes to the whole picture and not just what is in front of you.
Symbolism
In this card, we see a man on a grassy knoll type of setting, he has three cups in front of him, and behind him, a cup is offered. But he does not see this. His arms are crossed, and he is focused only on the three cups before him, likely wishing he had more. The symbolism in this card is that he can have more if he opens his mind to the possibilities around him. He is so busy focusing on the three cups in front of him that he loses opportunities around him without realizing this.
Fours in the Tarot often signify Fixed signs. Fixed signs are notoriously stubborn and sometimes to a fault. That is the message of this card. Someone is being stubborn to a fault and, as a result, missing out on a golden opportunity that may not be right in front of them, but is there all the same.
