The Six of Cups
Part of the self-designed Healing Tarot deck – coming soon.
The Six of Cups and Its Meaning for Healing
(Nostalgia, childhood memories, emotional renewal, inner child healing, reconnecting with joy)
Overview of the Six of Cups
The Six of Cups is a card of nostalgia, emotional innocence, and the warmth of the past. Traditionally, it depicts two children in a courtyard, one offering a cup filled with flowers to the other. Behind them, a peaceful town or home setting suggests security, comfort, and the presence of love. The card evokes a sense of kindness, purity, and emotional connection that is free from fear or complication.
This card often appears when the past resurfaces in a way that brings either joy or emotional reflection. Unlike the Five of Cups, which focuses on loss and grief, the Six of Cups highlights the beauty of past experiences and the positive emotions that remain even after time has passed. It can represent childhood, old friendships, revisiting familiar places, or reconnecting with one’s inner self.
When the Six of Cups appears in a reading, it invites a return to a simpler, more heartfelt way of engaging with life. It encourages warmth, generosity, and the ability to look at the world with childlike wonder rather than through the lens of cynicism or hardship. It also suggests that memories or past influences may be playing a role in the present moment, either as a source of comfort or as something that needs healing.
The Six of Cups and Healing
The Six of Cups carries a deeply healing energy because it speaks to the emotional foundation formed in childhood, the importance of reconnecting with joy, and the process of making peace with the past. Healing does not always come from moving forward alone—it can also come from looking back, remembering where one came from, and rediscovering the parts of oneself that may have been lost along the way.
One of the core messages of this card is that healing can be found in the innocence and simplicity of the past. Many people carry wounds from childhood—whether from relationships, experiences, or beliefs formed at an early age—that shape their adult selves. The Six of Cups offers an opportunity to revisit these early emotional imprints, not with pain, but with a sense of compassion and understanding. Healing through this card often involves inner child work—acknowledging, nurturing, and reconnecting with the younger self that still exists within.
This card also suggests that not all aspects of the past need to be seen through a lens of pain or regret. While some past experiences may have been difficult, others may hold lessons, love, and wisdom that can still serve as sources of strength. It asks: What positive aspects of your past can you bring into your present? How can you integrate the sense of joy, playfulness, or love that once came naturally?
Healing Through Inner Child Work and Emotional Reconnection
The Six of Cups is strongly tied to inner child healing—the process of reconnecting with the younger self that still lives within. Many wounds that affect emotional well-being stem from childhood experiences, and healing often requires acknowledging and nurturing the parts of oneself that may have felt abandoned, neglected, or unheard.
Healing through this energy may involve remembering what once brought joy and reintroducing it into daily life. As children, people often engage in activities that bring pure happiness—whether through play, creativity, exploration, or curiosity—but as they grow older, responsibilities, trauma, or societal pressures may lead them to abandon these simple pleasures. The Six of Cups encourages a return to the things that once made the heart feel light and free.
Sometimes, this card appears when the past needs to be revisited for closure. Not all childhood memories are joyful, and in some cases, healing may require releasing painful memories, forgiving the past, or reparenting oneself with the love and kindness that may have been missing. This does not mean dwelling in the past, but rather offering compassion to the younger self and acknowledging the resilience that has led to the present moment.
The Six of Cups teaches that healing is not just about overcoming pain—it is also about reconnecting with the innocence, love, and wonder that still exist within, waiting to be rediscovered.
Healing Through Memories and Revisiting the Past with a New Perspective
Memories shape how people perceive the world, and the Six of Cups often appears when the past is resurfacing in some way. Healing with this card requires looking at these memories not with regret or longing, but with understanding and appreciation.
There may be moments from the past that still hold emotional weight—times of happiness that feel unreachable or past wounds that still influence current emotions. The Six of Cups invites reflection: Are you holding onto an idealized version of the past, preventing yourself from fully engaging with the present? Or is there something from the past that can be reintegrated into your life in a healthy way?
For some, this card may indicate the return of a person, relationship, or situation from the past that offers an opportunity for closure or reconnection. It may bring a chance to heal old wounds, rekindle positive connections, or see the past with newfound clarity. Whether this involves reconnecting with an old friend, revisiting a childhood home, or simply reflecting on the past with gratitude, the Six of Cups suggests that there is something valuable in revisiting what has come before.
Healing happens when the past is acknowledged and embraced—not as something that defines the present, but as a source of wisdom, experience, and emotional depth.
Healing Through Kindness, Generosity, and Emotional Openness
At its heart, the Six of Cups is a card of giving and receiving love freely and without expectation. Healing often happens through acts of kindness, both toward oneself and toward others. This card serves as a reminder that love, generosity, and emotional warmth are not just things to be received—they are things to be shared.
There is a sense of emotional purity in this card that encourages healing through allowing oneself to be open, vulnerable, and willing to give and receive love without fear. Many people struggle with trust or emotional barriers due to past wounds, but the Six of Cups gently reminds that not all connections will lead to pain—there are still people, moments, and experiences that offer genuine love and support.
For those in need of healing, this card suggests that reaching out, offering kindness, and accepting love from others can help restore emotional balance. Healing does not always have to be a solitary process—sometimes, it happens through the connections that bring warmth, comfort, and reassurance.
The Six of Cups Reversed: Overview
When the Six of Cups appears reversed, its energy shifts from embracing the past with warmth to being stuck in nostalgia or struggling with unresolved childhood wounds. It may indicate a reluctance to let go of the past, difficulty in moving forward, or unresolved emotions tied to early experiences.
This card can also suggest an idealization of the past that prevents engagement with the present. If someone is constantly longing for “the way things used to be,” it may indicate resistance to change or an unwillingness to embrace the opportunities available now.
In a healing context, the reversed Six of Cups often signals that past experiences—whether joyful or painful—are influencing present emotions in a way that may no longer be serving personal growth. It may be time to release outdated beliefs, forgive old wounds, or shift focus toward building new emotional experiences rather than clinging to what once was.
Six of Cups Reversed: Meaning for Healing
When the Six of Cups appears reversed, its energy shifts from comforting nostalgia and emotional reconnection to unresolved past wounds, difficulty letting go, or feeling stuck in old emotional patterns. While the upright Six of Cups often encourages looking back with warmth and healing, the reversed card suggests that the past is either being idealized in a way that prevents growth, or it holds unresolved pain that still affects the present.
For healing, the reversed Six of Cups highlights the importance of addressing lingering emotional wounds, particularly those rooted in childhood, past relationships, or long-standing beliefs about oneself. This card often appears when old memories, past disappointments, or unresolved emotions are resurfacing, asking to be acknowledged rather than buried. There may be emotional patterns that were formed long ago—perhaps due to past relationships, childhood experiences, or deep-seated fears—that are still shaping present actions and perceptions. Healing requires recognizing these patterns and consciously working to release them, rather than continuing to be shaped by them unconsciously.
This card can also indicate difficulty letting go of the past or longing for what once was. There may be a strong attachment to a time in life that felt happier, safer, or more fulfilling, leading to resistance to embracing the present or fear of change. Healing through the reversed Six of Cups means accepting that life moves forward and that clinging to an idealized past can prevent new growth. The question it asks is: Am I holding onto past memories in a way that is preventing me from fully engaging in my present life? Am I romanticizing the past, or am I ready to create new meaningful experiences?
Alternatively, this card may reveal a need to reparent oneself—to provide the love, care, and security that may have been missing in childhood. Healing in this way involves becoming one’s own source of comfort, nurturing the inner child, and recognizing that the past does not have to dictate the future. It encourages self-compassion and a willingness to create new emotional foundations based on present wisdom rather than past wounds.
At its core, the reversed Six of Cups teaches that true healing comes not from dwelling in the past, but from integrating its lessons and using them to move forward with strength and clarity. While memories and past experiences shape who we are, they do not have to define or limit what is possible now. Healing happens when one chooses to release old wounds, embrace personal growth, and create a present that is just as fulfilling—if not more—than the past once was.
Final Thoughts
The Six of Cups, both upright and reversed, teaches that healing requires embracing the past with understanding, reconnecting with the joy of the inner child, and allowing love to flow freely. Upright, it represents nostalgia, emotional renewal, and the warmth of shared connection. Reversed, it warns against being stuck in the past, resisting growth, or holding onto memories in a way that limits healing.
Ultimately, the Six of Cups reminds us that healing is about more than just overcoming pain—it is about remembering joy, allowing love, and integrating the lessons of the past in a way that enriches the present. Whether through inner child work, acts of kindness, or simply revisiting happy memories with gratitude, true healing happens when we recognize that the heart’s capacity for love and wonder never truly fades—it only waits to be embraced once again.
