King of CupsTarot card meaning
The King of Cups is a Minor Arcana card in the suit of Cups. In tarot it means emotional mastery, calm and counsel. As a yes or no answer, it leans yes.
Calm seas by choice, not by numbness. The King of Cups feels everything and steers anyway, compassion with a steady hand. Be the adult in the emotional room.
In a yes or no reading: Yes · yes or no tarot →
- Element
- Water
- Astrology
- Water, fully grown
- Number
- King
What the card shows
A king sits on a stone throne that floats on a restless sea, holding a cup and a short scepter. Behind him a ship rides the waves and a dolphin leaps: the sea is alive, and he is not wet. He is what feeling looks like with a keel: moved by everything, capsized by nothing.
King of Cups reversed
Still waters, storm below. Reversed, the King names feelings managed into silence, control mistaken for calm, or moods weaponized quietly. The tide always tells.
How to read a reversed card →King of Cups in love
In love, the King of Cups is feeling deeply without being swept away: the throne floating on a rough sea, the ship passing, the fish leaping, and he does not move. It speaks of an emotionally mature partner, of someone who holds you through a crisis, or of a love kept so well guarded that nobody knows what it feels. The card says calm is a gift. Do not let it be a wall.
Is King of Cups a yes or a no?
The King of Cups answers yes, calmly. His throne floats on a rough sea, a ship passes behind him and a fish leaps, and he does not move. What you ask goes well if you keep a cool head in the middle of what you feel. The yes belongs to the one who can feel a lot without being swept away.
Compare: the same card in all four suits
| Card | Keyword | Element | Yes or no |
|---|---|---|---|
| King of Wands | vision | Fire | Yes |
| King of Cups | emotional mastery | Water | Yes |
| King of Swords | judgment | Air | No |
| King of Pentacles | abundance | Earth | Not yet clear |
Cards that often appear with it
- Ace of Cups
The next card in the suit
- King of Wands
The same number in the opposed element
- The Moon
The Major Arcana that rules this suit's questions
Number and correspondence
In the deck's old correspondences, the King of Cups belongs to Water, fully grown.
Will this card find you tonight?
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