Illustrating the Ace of Cups
The meaning of the Ace of Cups
The Ace of Cups is the first card in the suit of cups. I like what author Michelle Tea says about Aces of the tarot:
“All Aces are simply the beginning of a new cycle… the apex of something new.” *
Cups describe our emotional journeys in life, which I describe in this post. Cups in the tarot also represent the element of water. Think: water drops, clouds, fountains, rivers, and oceans.
I think of Aces as fresh starts. Getting the Ace of Cups in a tarot reading may mean:
Experiencing a pure emotion (love, joy, etc)
A new relationship, friendship, or partnership
An emotional clean slate
With this in mind, let’s get into how and why I illustrated this card the way I did.
HINT: Scroll to the end of this post to see the final card design!
Examples from other tarot artists
Traditionally, this card is illustrated with a hand emerging from a cloud, holding a wine glass or goblet. A little fountain of water leaps out of the goblet.
Here are some examples of the Ace of Cups card from various tarot decks I use.
Ace of Cups cards from my collection of tarot decks; see footnotes for artist credits.
A new beginning
The Ace of Cups represents the beginning of an emotional journey. What better to represent this journey than a single drop of water, joining the river, and flowing out to sea. (Feel free to play this song while you read this post.) *
My sketch of the Ace of Cups tarot card.
Colored pencils and pen on paper.
How I made this card
This illustration includes hand-drawn linework I drew by hand in Procreate, based on my original sketch above. I printed the linework on watercolor paper, then used liquid watercolor paints and paint pens to fill in the colors. I then scanned it, edited in Photoshop, and added my original Roman numerals and calligraphy to the final illustration.
See more about my tarot art illustration process here.
Here is the painting in progress, next to my sketchbook. I love how the colors turned out!
My sketchbook next to my painting in progress for the Ace of Cups tarot card illustration.
The final illustration
What do you think? Leave me a comment below! I love to hear from you.
The Ace of Cups card illustration from my forthcoming Tarot of These Times deck, anticipated 2026.
© Registered copyright Molly Chidsey, all rights reserved.
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Footnotes
“When the River Meets the Sea”, by Paul Williams, and sung by John Denver and the Muppets, 1979.
Materials and technique notes from this post
Blick Hot Press 100% cotton watercolor paper; EcoLine liquid watercolor paint and brush pens; Winsor & Newton masking fluid. I use an Epson Workforce Pro printer to print my drawings onto watercolor paper, using their water-resistant Durabrite ink.
Linework is drawn by hand with Apple Pencil on iPad Pro using Procreate app, and added as image layers on top of scanned painting using Photoshop.
Roman numerals and all calligraphy were drawn by hand using Procreate, Apple Pencil and iPad Pro.
Artists of other tarot cards featured in this post
Clockwise from top left: Rider-Waite Tarot, illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith; Modern Witch Tarot Deck by Lisa Sterle; The Wild Unknown Tarot by Kim Krans; The Gentle Tarot by Mari in the Sky; Rainbow Heart Tarot by Rachel Rosenkoetter; and The Reclaimed Tarot, ReClaim it! PDX, collage by various local artists.
Learn about tarot
(1) Want to learn more about tarot? I highly recommend the book Modern Tarot: Connecting with Your Higher Self through the Wisdom of the Cards by Michelle Tea.
A note about Ai and this project
I do not use Ai (artificial intelligence) to write any of the content for this blog, my other blog Behind the Scenes, or this website.
