To me the six of cups represents a moving forward and a letting go of the past. So why is my interpretation of this card the opposite of the norm? Lets look at the symbolism in the Ryder Waite deck. This card in that deck shows to children facing each other standing in front of a small house. There are stairs behind the tallest child leading up to the town. In the distance is a guard moving away from the children. The oldest child holds a cup in her hands. She appears to be handing it to the younger smaller child in front of her. Behind her along the wall through which the stairs run there are 5 more cups. The cups in this case represent the loads in life we carry. The example in this card is the role of the oldest child in a family living at home.
She is handing the cup she has carried all of her life to the child who will be the oldest child living at home once she is gone. The younger girl has a serious air about her. She knows what goes into doing the job her sister has already done and that the job is becoming hers. Her older sister is passing off the responsibility to her. Then she will turn around and pick up one of the cups waiting on the wall for her. These cups represent the responsibilities in life that we pick up and carry when we decide on things such as a career, marriage, and children. Once she has picked out the cup she wants to move forward with she will follow the guard moving into the distance. She will move away from the life she once lived and move on to another life. The important thing to remember is that she didn't find this cup on her journey. No her new responsibility was formed and developed at home. So though she is leaving and moving forward she can come back if she needs to without setting down her new responsibilities. Her new life was formed in part by the life that she is leaving behind.
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