The King of Cups is a card in the tarot that shows generosity, control, and emotional balance. The card itself depicts a king seated on a throne, who has an amulet that is shaped like a fish. The fish in his necklace represents his creativity and spirit, which thrives on the calm waters that surround him. We can see from the background that there is a steady balance between the conscious and the unconscious.
Behind the king, there is a fish jumping out of the ocean on the right side, and a ship on the left side, representative of the emotional and material worlds respectively. The King of Cups shows that you do not suppress your impulses but have learned to deal with them in a balanced manner.
Upright Meaning Guide
Mature compassionate male, calm, caring, friendly, sympathetic, wise, tolerant, diplomatic, balanced, affectionate, romantic, charming, devoted, family orientated, generous, easy-going, married man, good husband/partner/father, loyal, faithful, spiritual guide, counsellor,
General Meaning and Interpretation (Upright)
In a general context, the King of Cups Tarot card represents kindness, compassion, and wisdom. This Minor Arcana card can indicate that you will be finding the balance between your mind and your heart. You will learn to control your emotions and find the wisdom to accept that which you cannot change. You should be gaining a deeper level of emotional maturity when this card appears. You will become calmer, more sympathetic to others and tolerant. Like all the cups court cards, the King of Cups signifies emotion, creativity, artistic ability, and intuition but in a more balanced form. As a person, the King of Cups is caring, affectionate and empathetic. He is a good listener, diplomatic and easy-going. He is the type of older male who will give you sound advice and act as a calming influence in your life. He usually has light hair and has few if any enemies as he is well-liked and gets along with the majority of people. He may lack the drive to pursue material wealth as he is more focused on the emotional side of life. He is very family orientated. He may be a water sign such as Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces.
Love & Relationships (Upright)
In a love Tarot spread, if you are in a relationship, the King of Cups can be a very good omen as it is the good husband, partner or father card. It is a very loving card so you should be finding a lot of emotional fulfillment when it appears and petty arguments should be at a minimum. Romance and affection should be abundant in the relationship. If you have been having a tough time emotionally, this card shows that there will be support there for you within the relationship. If you are single, this card usually signals the qualities of a potential partner coming your way and as such is a great omen! If representing a partner, potential partner or you as a partner, the King of Cups is one of the best cards you can get. He is romantic, charming, devoted and loyal. He is easy going, a great husband, a caring partner and a doting father! He is generally older or at least very emotionally mature and is generous with his time, money and/or advice.
Money & Career (Upright)
In terms of career, the King of Cups can indicate that an older male may offer you support or guidance in a career context. It can also be an indication that you will find your diplomacy skills and wisdom to resolve any career issues and create a pleasant working environment for yourself. You will be well-liked and respected by your colleagues. Remember to keep the balance in all areas of your life, give your career the focus it needs but do not give it your undivided attention. If you are looking for a career path or new direction, it can be an indicator that working in a caring or healing field would suit you such as counseling, nursing, Reiki healing, etc. It can also indicate that you would do well in a creative or artistic field. In a financial context, the King of Cups is usually financially stable and secure due to his wisdom but he can lack drive when it comes to material wealth. However, when he appears he can also be an indication that you lack balance in your financial dealings: either neglecting your finances or being too focused on finances to the detriment of the other areas of your life. Try to find the balance.
Health (Upright)
In a health context, if you have been ill the King of Cups can indicate healing and as such, is a positive card to get. It reminds you to treat yourself with empathy and kindness. You should be feeling emotionally positive about your health.
Spirituality (Upright)
In a spiritual context, the King of Cups signifies a highly developed psychic or intuitive ability and is a great card to get in a spiritual Tarot spread. This Minor Arcana tells you that you will be receiving and understanding the messages spirit is sending you and using them to help others. You have learned to trust your abilities and intuition.
Reversed Meaning Guide
Emotionally immature male, overly emotional, overwhelmed, anxious, uncaring, unkind, gullible, depressed, cold, repressed, withdrawn, moody, unbalanced, controlling, rape, violence, deviance, manipulation, affair with married man, cheater, conman, blocked creativity, ruthlessness
Do you feel powerless or unworthy?
When we feel powerless and unable to be the one to hold KING energy, we cling to a religion, spiritual ideal doctrine, or teacher. We falsely believe this teacher or teaching is GURU energy we need. This belief leads to disillusionment eventually.
We need to be responsible for our own lives. A teacher or teaching that offers inspiration can be supportive. However, each person has a unique path to be discovered via one’s own heart. Use others’ feedback to help. Make your own choices. Trust yourself. That is the Luciferian path!
When you cannot find the King of Cups aspect of yourself, you are afraid to be as good as you can be. You shirk from your powerful humanitarian traits for fear of sticking out, gaining responsibility, and falling short of the impossible perfection. It is good to look at what is scaring you so that you can utilize all the good coming to you for self and others! Consider working this out now.
General meaning and interpretation (Reversed)
In a general context, the King of Cups reversed can represent being overly emotional or too sensitive. It can signify a lack of emotional maturity. It can be a sign that you are lacking a backbone or are allowing yourself to be too gullible or putting yourself in a position where others can take advantage of you. You have to be accountable for your own behaviour. It tells you that you need to take responsibility for your emotions and well-being.
This Minor Arcana card can indicate that a lack of emotional balance may be causing you to become overwhelmed, anxious or depressed.
This can also present itself as bitterness or unkind, uncaring or manipulative behaviour. As a person, the King of Cups reversed is manipulative, controlling and, in the extreme negative, abusive. He is someone who uses his ability to sense the emotional weaknesses of others as a weapon against them and will seek to take advantage of vulnerability in others to get his own way or simply for his own amusement. He can be vindictive and spiteful and is not be trusted.
Contemplation – How might I offer support to those closest to me with no expectation of getting anything back?
NOTE: This is an exercise to use as an experiment. This is not recommended as a way of life as we all need to give and receive. This is an exercise to do sometimes, perhaps once a week or every day for one month. See what you find out from this.
Alternatively, the King of Cups reversed can represent an older male who is so overly emotional and sensitive that he has lost the ability to function properly in the world. He may be moody, sulky, unbalanced and at risk of becoming dependent on the people around him. He may be a water sign such as Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces.
Love & Relationships (Reversed)
In a love Tarot reading, if you are in relationship, the King of Cups reversed is not a great card to get as it can indicate you or your partner becoming emotionally unstable and cause problems in the relationship. One of you may be going through a tough time emotionally and may not be treating the other with the love and kindness they deserve. If that is the case, you may need to take some time to yourself to get control of your emotions and resolve whatever issues are causing this upheaval.
It can also represent cheating, perverted sexual behavior or disloyalty and in the extreme negative can be a sign of abuse, rape or violence. If that is your situation, seek professional support to get away and create a safe and secure situation for yourself.
If you are single, the King of Cups reversed is not a great card to get as it can indicate an affair with a married man.
Alternatively, it can represent a potential partner who will be cold, calculating, controlling or will deceive you. It can also be a warning to be mindful of your personal safety when dating as it can be an indicator of violence or abuse and in extreme cases, rape or sexual assault. The man it represents is a great con artist and can appear to be quite charming and kind but he is a dangerous manipulator with a hidden dark side, beware!
Alternately, it can indicate that a potential partner will be emotionally immature and become clingy and needy.
Money & Career (Reversed)
In a career context, the King of Cups reversed can indicate that you may have to deal with a ruthless, cold or emotionally unstable male in your workplace. This person will stop at nothing to get what they want and can be prone to emotional tirades if they don’t get it. This can also be an indicator of how you are behaving in your work environment if the card is representing you. It can also be an indication that you have chosen a career solely for the money it will make you and that you are getting no joy or fulfillment from it. If that is the case, think about changing your career path to something that you will find fulfilling. If you work in an artistic or creative field, this Minor Arcana card can be an indication that you are feeling creatively blocked as you have lost touch with the joy you get from being creative and have become too concerned with material wealth and success. Try to reconnect with your love of creative expression and you will soon find the creativity flowing again. In terms of finances, the King of Cups is a warning not to be gullible with money. It indicates that you may be a risk of falling victim to a con artist or extortionist. Be very careful who you trust. Only take financial advice from accredited professionals, don’t get involved in deals with people you don’t trust and play your cards close to your chest.
Health (Reversed)
In a health reading, the King of Cups reversed can indicate alcohol or drug abuse issues as the emotionally overwhelmed King turns to vices as a coping mechanism. It is generally an indication that something in your lifestyle or environment is negatively affecting your health and well-being.
You need to take responsibility for your choices and make healthier choices to improve your health.
Spirituality (Reversed)
In a spiritual context, the King of Cups reversed can indicate that simply indicate that your psychic abilities or intuition have become blocked. However, it can also signify that you are using your powers in the wrong way. You may be engaged in dark practices (and you’re not ready for it as yet) or using your abilities to manipulate or control others or simply focusing too much on personal gain and not entering into things with the right intentions.
Alternately, it can indicate that you are waiting for your spiritual gifts to just drop into your lap, even if you have natural gifts you still need to work at developing them!
Try to put a bit more focus and energy into your spiritual development.
Resonates with the demon Allocer