The main motifs of this card are obviously sadness and loss. This cloaked figure is in no way satisfied with the current situation; probably some disappointment or rejection has taken place. Three chalices have been knocked over, while two remain upright. There are even blood-red stains on the ground near the spilled chalices. Obviously there has been a serious loss, but two chalices remain, and the figure has turned his back on them. There is no appreciation for what is left. The river and the bridge suggest that everything will pass and that there is always a bridge across unhappy times.
On the card
A figure wrapped in a long black cloak stands with head bowed, looking down at three cups that have fallen over on the ground. Their contents have spilled out and run across the earth. Behind the figure, out of sight, two cups still stand upright. A river flows past, and further along a stone bridge crosses it, leading towards a house or small castle on the far bank. The sky is pale and grey.
The black cloak is the colour of mourning, and the whole posture of the figure is grief turned inward. All attention goes to what has been lost, so much that the two cups still standing are not even seen. This is the honest picture of what sorrow does to us: it narrows our sight. Yet the card does not leave us there. The river carries everything onward, as time does, and the bridge offers a way across to a safe dwelling on the other side. To reach it, the figure will first have to lift his head, turn around and notice what remains. The two upright cups are a quiet promise that not everything is gone.
Upright
Reassessment, learning from experience, not everything is lost. Look around you; maybe you are missing something.
Reversed
Incomplete partnership, loss, turmoil, regret, futility, sense of loss, bad luck.