King of Cups

King of Cups from the Rider-Waite Tarot deck

The King of Cups is the fourteenth card in the suit of Cups. It usually stands for a fair man, a man of business, law, or divinity. Someone who is responsible and disposed to oblige the Querent. Equity, art and science, those who profess science, law and art. Creative intelligence.

General description

In the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, Pamela Colman Smith depicts the King of Cups as a proud man holding a short scepter in his left hand and a great cup in his right; his throne is set upon the sea; on one side a ship is riding and on the other a dolphin is leaping. The implicit is that the sign of the Cup naturally refers to water, which appears in all the court cards.

Divinatory meaning

This king is the chief of the kingdom of the soul, coming on the Ninth house, and consequently must indicate the teacher, prophet, man of law and divinity; the professor, inspirer and great traveller; sometimes a hunter, a wanderer, or a sailor, a yachtsman. Honesty and probity will be generally his characteristics, but some fantasy may be mixed with it and he may be less particular in details or accuracy. He may be exuberant or even excessive, and this may cause some excitement, but we see nothing of scandal, vice, thievishness or anything of that kind in this card.

There is a lively sentiment of justice in it and the person indicated by it will certainly be disposed to render justice to the querent, whether he be connected with the law or not. If the querent is himself a weak or vicious individual, the card may indicate the judge before whom he has to appear. At all events it may represent the idea of judgment of the querent's actions or business. Further there is less of science in this card than of philosophy, which is quite another department. There is the idea of promoting, inspiring, pushing. There lies promise for the future and likeliness of monetary advances in this Sagittarian card.

If reversed, the card can mean: A dishonest, double-dealing man. Roguery, injustice, vice, scandal, pillage, considerable loss.