Queen of Cups is a

card Card or The Card may refer to: * Various types of plastic cards: **By type ***Magnetic stripe card *** Chip card *** Digital card **By function ***Payment card ****Credit card **** Debit card ****EC-card ****Identity card ****European Health Insur ...

used in Latin suited playing cards (Italian, Spanish and tarot decks). It is the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

from the

suit A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of tr ...

Cups CUPS (formerly an acronym for Common UNIX Printing System) is a modular computer printer, printing system for Unix-like computer operating systems which allows a computer to act as a print server. A computer running CUPS is a Server (computi ...

. In Tarot, it is part of what

tarot card readers Tarot card reading is a form of cartomancy whereby practitioners use tarot cards to purportedly gain insight into the past, present or future. They formulate a question, then draw cards to interpret them for this end. A traditional tarot deck con ...

call the "

Minor Arcana The Rider–Waite_Tarot.html"_;"title="King_of_Swords_card_from_the_Rider–Waite_Tarot">King_of_Swords_card_from_the_Rider–Waite_Tarot_ The_Minor_Arcana,_sometimes_Lesser_Arcana,_are_the_Suit_(cards).html" ;"title="Rider–Waite_Tarot_.html" ;" ...

". Tarot cards are used throughout much of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

to play

tarot card games Tarot games are card games played with tarot decks, that is, decks with numbered permanent trumps parallel to the suit cards. The games and decks which English-speakers call by the French name Tarot are called Tarocchi in the original Italian, ...

. In

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for

divinatory Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...

purposes. Huson, Paul, (2004) ''Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage'', Vermont: Destiny Books,
''Mystical Origins of the Tarot''

Divination usage

The card depicts a mature woman of fair complexion and golden hair who holds a lidded cup or

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. Re ...

. Occultists attempting to analyze the cup or chalice, have differing views on what exactly the cup or chalice represents in divinatory contexts. Some occultists claim that it represents

The Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...

while others compare it to a

Thurible A thurible (via Old French from Medieval Latin ) is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in Christian churches including the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Assyrian Church of th ...

. Others go on to suggest it is a mechanistic device, either magical in nature or technological. While there is no current concrete explanation as to what the chalice is or what it could represent, it may appear to resemble a robotic or religious device with what appears to be a head, a body and arms holding and supporting an angel on each arm indicating that it could be interpreted as a communication device between the Queen of Cups and angels or

archons ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...

. The Queen of Cups herself is described as a model of loving

virtue Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...

, one who is purer of heart than most, a loving mother, and a loyal friend. A woman with light brown hair and hazel eyes is said to be represented in this card, during a reading. She has the gift of vision and is imaginative and poetic. Not only does she have visionary dreams, she also acts out her dreams. This card can indicate love, marriage, happiness and visions. The inverted card may warn the querent of a false lover, a perverse woman or a deceitful friend or companion who may have a secret; someone who pretends to be pure of heart but is actually treacherous, manipulative and without morals.

References

3. Gray, Eden (1960) ''The Tarot Revealed: A modern guide to reading the Tarot Cards.'' A signet book from The New American Library Inc . Times Mirror. Authorised reprint Published by Inspiration House. Suit of Cups Fictional queens {{tarot-stub