The Three of Cups identifies a type of abundance that’s priceless. This type of energy is self-sustaining, harvested first within self then shared generously amongst others.
First, here’s this week’s Podcast feature! Consider subscribing!
This week’s podcast features Vidya from Rooted in the Work. We get into her Tarot practices as well as her experiences working at Rikers Island during the height of COVID. She wrote about it, too! Airs Wednesday, 7/8/26!
Back to the lesson.
Terminology:
Decan: A 10-degree section of an astrological chart
Domicile: Place in the zodiac where the planet is ‘home’
Detriment: Opposing sign to the ruler (domicile); uncomfortable energy
Exaltation: where a planet functions at its strongest
Fall: opposing sign to the exaltation; weakest positioning
Femininity: passive, receptive, still energy
Masculinity: active, action-oriented energy
This is the Tarot deck I’ve used for many years.
What We See
In the Three of Cups, we see three women raising their cups in the air, standing on yellow ground surrounded by fruit. The fruits surrounding them speak to abundance. I feel the placement of the pumpkin in front serves meaning here. Pumpkins are associated with the fall, and one of the final harvest seasons before winter. So in a way, I feel it’s a nudge for the Seeker to cultivate and harvest this abundant energy within self.
The three women in the card all have their own sense of style, they’re all on the same level ground, and they’re all celebrating one another. From the image, you can’t really tell the reason for celebration, nor who’s being celebrated, which I find to be an intentional point to make with this energy.
The yellow ground reminds me of Mercury (Mercury-ruled Gemini’s color is yellow), who lays a solid foundation for this energy to stand upon. You see, Mercury teaches us how to think and how those thoughts connect us amongst the communities we find a home in. So when I see the three women dancing on top of it, I see a level playing field where understanding lies within the concepts and ideas that are shared and valued harmoniously with one another. All bridged together by the lessons of love we encountered in the card prior, the Two of Cups.
The Two of Cups represents the harmonious integration of the whole self, with love as the vehicle that makes this integration happen. Progressing forward to the Three of Cups, we see the fruition of that energy and what it means for us. The Binah supports this card as the Mother (same archetype associated with the Moon and Cancer energy), the place where raw data is processed and given meaning by way of our own understanding.
Thoth Tarot Integration
Crowley identifies the 3 of Cups as Abundance specifically in terms of spiritual, intuitive, feminine abundance rather than physical or material. What we see in the card are lotus flowers pouring into three cups made of pomegranates, surrounded by dark and calm waters.
The Lotus
In Ancient Kemet, the lotus was a symbol of purity, spiritual awakenings, and rebirth. Though Aset is commonly associated with the lotus, her sister Heket (Heqtit, Heket, Hekat) also shares this sacred symbol. Heket appears as a woman with the head of a frog, an animal linked with fertility and abundance.
Ideal conditions for growing this beautiful flower are calm, muddy, shallow waters. I see many parallels between the lotus’s environment and what occurs within us during spiritual awakenings. The condition of the water reflects the sense of confusion and lack of clarity we may experience during times of our own rebirths and ascensions. In times of uncertainty and murky waters, it is in the calm where we begin to see the beauty of the blooms.
The Pomegranates
If you take a look at Key 2 (The High Priestess) or Key 3 (The Empress), you’ll see the divine femininity that connects them both. Apply those principles here, where the cups are literally made from them. Crowley links the 3 of Cups to Persephone and her mother, Demeter. Both Greek goddesses represent nature in their own way, with Persephone’s domain being the underworld and Demeter being the harvest.
Persephone’s connection to pomegranate was a fateful one, with its consumption condemning her to Hades and the underworld (to my Bible folks: sound familiar?). It was believed that consuming any food in the underworld bound that person to it. If you ever had this fruit sweet fruit, you know of the deep blood-red shade of the juice. So one can also see meaning in it being this particular fruit, and how blood was used in Ancient times to seal documents and contracts.
Having pomegranate cups in this card reminds me of the life force, like blood, that connects us to ourselves, and one another. Just as the Rider-Waite-Smith imagery shows the abundant, fertile energy which creates conditions for harmony within self and then towards others.
Mercury in Cancer
When Mercury is in this watery sign, communication works best with emotional insight. It’s not always chatty, most times reserved. But when the Seeker feels safe and secure enough to express themselves, they’ll open up, leaning into conversations with emotional and intuitive depth. The Three of Cups shows how this energy at its best plays out for us during Cancer season and beyond.
Where Gemini season focused more on the logic and reason, Cancer invites emotion to take the wheel. When well balanced, we learn connection through love and understanding. Where Gemini season asked for objectivity, Cancer leans into subjective reasoning that encourages more intimate and personal conversations we can all learn and grow from.
Final Thoughts
The Three of Cups is a positive card to receive in a reading. It embraces harmony and connection, leaning into the watery depths from which we call come from (think: the womb). This card reminds us that success is best received when it can be shared amongst those who truly mean us well. Hope this helps!
With love,
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