The Suit of Cups: Water of Briah

In the Qabalistic Tree of Life, the Suit of Cups belongs to Briah, the World of Creation. Here, fire becomes water, inspiration turns to imagination, compassion, love, and longing. Cups speak to relationships, emotions, and the unseen tides of the heart.

Each numbered card corresponds to one of the Sephiroth on the Tree of Life, showing how Water moves through the spheres: the Ace as Kether (the fountain of pure love), the Two as Chokmah (union of opposites), the Three as Binah (nurturing joy), down to the Ten as Malkuth (emotional fullness embodied). The Court Cards show how this emotional current takes form in human life: Page, Knight, Queen, and King. Each embodying an elemental aspect of Water.

Ace of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: A divine hand holds a chalice overflowing with water, five streams pouring into a pool where a dove descends with a wafer.
Card meaning: Emotional renewal, love, spiritual blessing, the heart’s awakening.
Reversed meaning: Blocked emotions, emptiness, rejection of love.
Sephira (Briah): Kether — Crown, source of pure emanation.
Sephira meaning: The fountain of divine love overflowing into the world.
Numerology: 1 — beginnings, seed of water, unity of heart.
Narrative: The spring begins to flow; love awakens in its purest form.

Two of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: A man and woman exchange cups, watched over by a winged lion’s head, symbol of passion and union.
Card meaning: Partnership, attraction, harmony, deep bond.
Reversed meaning: Disharmony, imbalance, broken union.
Sephira (Briah): Chokmah — Wisdom, dynamic force.
Sephira meaning: The current of love moving toward union, the first embrace.
Numerology: 2 — polarity, relationship, duality made whole.
Narrative: The waters find another to join; a bond is sealed.

Three of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: Three women dance in a circle, raising their cups in celebration, fruits of harvest at their feet.
Card meaning: Joy, community, shared celebration, friendship.
Reversed meaning: Overindulgence, gossip, shallow bonds.
Sephira (Briah): Binah — Understanding, nurturing.
Sephira meaning: Water as the womb of joy, nourishing bonds that multiply.
Numerology: 3 — growth, synthesis, shared abundance.
Narrative: The stream becomes a gathering — joy flows outward to many.

Four of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: A youth sits under a tree, arms crossed, ignoring three cups before him while a fourth is offered by a divine hand.
Card meaning: Withdrawal, introspection, emotional apathy, reevaluation.
Reversed meaning: New outlook, acceptance of offered opportunities.
Sephira (Briah): Chesed — Mercy, expansion.
Sephira meaning: Water settling into a pool, stable yet prone to stagnation.
Numerology: 4 — stability, foundation, pause.
Narrative: The stream grows still — the heart questions what it truly desires.

Five of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: A cloaked figure mourns over three spilled cups, while two remain standing behind. A bridge and castle lie in the distance.
Card meaning: Grief, regret, dwelling on loss while neglecting what remains.
Reversed meaning: Acceptance, renewal, moving on from sorrow.
Sephira (Briah): Geburah — Severity, trial, cutting away.
Sephira meaning: Water as grief — purification through sorrow.
Numerology: 5 — conflict, instability, challenge to balance.
Narrative: The stream is broken; yet behind, water still flows.

Six of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: A child offers flowers in a cup to another, innocence and nostalgia surrounding them.
Card meaning: Memories, kindness, innocence, gifts of the past.
Reversed meaning: Clinging to the past, naivety, inability to move forward.
Sephira (Briah): Tiferet — Beauty, harmony, balance.
Sephira meaning: Water as innocent joy — the balance of heart across time.
Numerology: 6 — harmony, reconciliation, equilibrium.
Narrative: The water flows back to its source, carrying memory and sweetness.

Seven of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: A figure gazes at seven cups in a cloud, each filled with visions — jewels, snakes, a castle, a shrouded figure.
Card meaning: Imagination, dreams, choices, illusions.
Reversed meaning: Clarity, realism, cutting through illusion.
Sephira (Briah): Netzach — Desire, victory of feeling.
Sephira meaning: Water overflowing into fantasy — visions of both truth and delusion.
Numerology: 7 — testing, spiritual challenge, discernment.
Narrative: The water shimmers with many reflections — which is true?

Eight of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: A figure walks away from eight cups, leaving them stacked beneath the moonlight, seeking something beyond.
Card meaning: Departure, spiritual quest, leaving behind what no longer fulfills.
Reversed meaning: Avoidance, stagnation, fear of change.
Sephira (Briah): Hod — Intellect, order.
Sephira meaning: Water as discernment — the choice to walk away from what is full but empty.
Numerology: 8 — movement, balance, deeper search.
Narrative: The stream is left behind; the seeker follows the moon upriver.

Nine of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: A content figure sits before nine cups arranged in an arc, smiling with satisfaction.
Card meaning: Fulfillment, satisfaction, wish granted, emotional stability.
Reversed meaning: Overindulgence, smugness, emptiness beneath pleasure.
Sephira (Briah): Yesod — Foundation, imagination, dream.
Sephira meaning: Water as contentment and wish — dreams realized at last.
Numerology: 9 — culmination, fullness before completion.
Narrative: The river pools in abundance, the heart rests in its flow.

Ten of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: A rainbow of ten cups arches above a family standing hand in hand before their home, arms lifted in joy.
Card meaning: Fulfillment, love, family, harmony, the highest joy of the heart.
Reversed meaning: Broken bonds, tension at home, ideal unfulfilled.
Sephira (Briah): Malkuth — Manifestation, kingdom.
Sephira meaning: Water embodied as communal joy, the heart realized on earth.
Numerology: 10 — completion, manifestation, cycle of love fulfilled.
Narrative: The river becomes an ocean — love made whole in the world.

Court Cards of Cups

The Courts show how the water of Briah takes human form, each combining Water with another element, and each rooted in a Sephirah.

Page of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: A youth in colorful garb gazes at a cup from which a fish emerges, symbol of imagination and surprise.
Card meaning: Curiosity, daydreaming, emotional openness, creative spark.
Reversed meaning: Immaturity, escapism, emotional unreliability.
Elemental nature: Earth of Water — sensitivity first grounded.
Sephira: Malkuth — emotions taking first steps into the world.

Knight of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: A knight rides a white horse, cup in hand, moving gracefully and deliberately.
Card meaning: Romance, idealism, pursuit of dreams, poetic quest.
Reversed meaning: Moodiness, insincerity, empty gestures.
Elemental nature: Air of Water — dreams on the wind, motion of feeling.
Sephira: Tiferet — beauty in motion, love expressed in pursuit.

Queen of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: A serene queen sits by the sea, holding a lidded ornate cup, reflecting on its mysteries.
Card meaning: Compassion, intuition, nurturing presence, depth of soul.
Reversed meaning: Emotional overwhelm, insecurity, codependence.
Elemental nature: Water of Water — pure empathy, deep current of feeling.
Sephira: Binah — the womb of creation, the queen as vessel of compassion.

King of Cups

Rider–Waite imagery: A king sits upon a throne over water, holding a cup and scepter, calm despite the restless sea.
Card meaning: Emotional mastery, balance, wisdom, leadership of compassion.
Reversed meaning: Manipulation, cold detachment, hidden agendas.
Elemental nature: Fire of Water — passion directed by deep wisdom.
Sephira: Chokmah — wisdom flowing as love, the king as calm authority.

Closing Thought

The Cups of Briah map the descent of water through the Tree of Life, from the Ace’s fountain of love in Kether, through the bonds and griefs of human experience, to the fullness of communal joy in Malkuth. The Court then shows how these waters live in human form: Page as innocent dreamer, Knight as questing lover, Queen as empathic vessel, King as wise guide.

Together, they reveal that water is both mirror and depth, the currents that connect us to one another and to the divine.

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