Symbolism & Imagery:
In the Rider Waite Smith deck, the Four of Cups features a man sitting under a tree with three empty cups in front of him. A hand is reaching out of thin air, offering him a cup – an echo of the same imagery from the Ace of Cups – but he is, perhaps stubbornly, not interested in it. Instead, his gaze is fixed on the three empty cups. His arms are crossed, further signaling his unwillingness to take the cup being offered to him.
The Ace of Cups is an invitation to begin a new endeavor of the emotional kind, and this guy just isn’t ready for that yet. He is still focusing on cups he has taken in the past, even though they may be empty and used up.
He may not have the capacity to take on more cups right now. For the moment, he is not interested in forward movement, and in interpreting this tarot card, it is our job to understand why.