King of Cups tarot card meaning: upright, reversed and symbols

The King of Cups sits on a stone throne floating on a rough sea, holding a cup in one hand and a short scepter in the other. A ship sails on one side of him and a fish leaps on the other.

The water moves, and he stays calm. He is the master of feeling. Here is what the King of Cups means upright and reversed, the symbols in the 1909 card and how to read him as a person or an energy.

Here is the King of Cups at a glance.

Waite’s King corresponds to the Golden Dawn’s Prince. The Prince of Cups is the Prince of the Chariot of the Waters, Air of Water, on Tiphareth, ruling 20° Libra to 20° Scorpio. Crowley also calls him a Prince. Many modern books give the element of fire to the King instead, so your guidebook may differ.

The card: what Pamela Colman Smith drew

Waite wrote: “He holds 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.” He added that “the Sign of the Cup naturally refers to water, which appears in all the court cards.”

The throne on the sea. His throne floats on moving water. He is not untouched by emotion. He has learned to sit steady in it.

The ship and the fish. A ship stands for the practical world of trade and travel, and the leaping fish for the emotional and creative world. He holds both.

The fish necklace. He wears a small fish on a chain. Feeling is part of who he is, even when he looks composed.

Upright meaning

Upright, the King of Cups is emotional maturity. He sits on a stone throne floating on a rough sea, calm and steady while the water churns around him. A ship sails on one side, a fish leaps on the other. He holds a cup and a short scepter, and he feels deeply without letting feelings run his decisions.

He is the wise counselor, the doctor with a good bedside manner, the leader who can stay calm in a crisis. In readings he asks you to balance heart and head, to be compassionate without losing your judgment.

His throne does not sink. That is the whole lesson: stay steady when emotions rise, and others will find safety in you.

Reversed meaning

Reversed, the King of Cups can show emotional coldness, manipulation or moodiness hidden behind a calm surface. He may suppress feelings until they come out sideways, or use emotional intelligence to control people.

Ask whether your calm is real or a mask. A reversed King often needs to admit what he actually feels.

In a work reading, the reversed King can describe a calm leader whose silence makes others nervous. In that case the fix is simple, if not easy: say a little more about how you feel, so people do not have to guess what lies under the surface of the sea.

In love, work and spirituality

In love. Upright: A mature, caring and stable partner. Reversed: Emotional distance, or a partner who uses feelings to control.

At work. Upright: Leadership with empathy, counseling, healing or diplomacy. Reversed: Hidden tension at work, or a leader who will not deal with emotions.

With money. Upright: Calm, considered financial decisions. Reversed: Avoiding financial reality for emotional reasons.

In spiritual practice. Upright: A wise spiritual mentor, or a calm devotional practice. Reversed: Spiritual bypassing to avoid feelings.

As feelings. Calm and caring. They feel deeply but may not show it openly.

As a person. A mature, diplomatic and caring person who stays calm under pressure.

As advice. Feel deeply, but act calmly.

Reading the King of Cups: positions and yes or no

In the past position: A calm, wise person, or your own steadiness, carried you through. In the present position: Stay steady in rough water.

In the future position: A time of emotional maturity is ahead. As advice: Lead with kindness and keep your balance.

In modern yes or no readings, the King of Cups leans yes. His steady care points to yes.

The king in the tarot court, and the history behind the card

Kings hold the outward mastery of their suit. In the water suit that mastery looks like calm in the middle of a storm.

Here is how the King looks across the four suits:

• King of Wands: leadership, vision, determination
• King of Cups (this card): emotional balance, diplomacy, wisdom
• King of Swords: authority, truth, intellectual power
• King of Pentacles: wealth, abundance, leadership

When A. E. Waite published The Pictorial Key to the Tarot in 1910, he listed these divinatory meanings for the King of Cups: “Fair man, man of business, law, or divinity; responsible, disposed to oblige the Querent; also equity, art and science, including those who profess science, law and art; creative intelligence.”

Reversed, he gave: “Dishonest, double-dealing man; roguery, exaction, injustice, vice, scandal, pillage, considerable loss.”

Common questions

Is the King of Cups a yes or no card? It leans yes. He is calm and kind.

Who is the King of Cups as a person? Often a calm, wise, caring person who handles emotions maturely. Court cards can describe any gender.

What does the King of Cups mean in love? Mature, steady love. Reversed, emotional distance or manipulation.

Try this

Try this small spread for the King of Cups. Use it before a hard conversation.

Affirmation: I meet strong feelings with steadiness and care.

Reversed affirmation: I drop cold control and reconnect with real feeling.

If you keep a tarot journal, take one of these questions to it: How do I stay steady when emotions run high? Where am I calm, and where am I numb? Who needs my steady presence right now?

What next

Cards that sit close to this one are Temperance (the Major Arcana card of balance and calm), Queen of Cups (his partner on the water throne) and King of Swords (the air King, ruling through clear thought).

The King of Cups is part of the lesson Meet the court in my free Tarot for Beginners course. To see the whole suit on one page, go to the suit of Cups. To keep walking the suit, read the card before it, Queen of Cups, or go back to all the card meanings.

For more on the court, see Tarot court cards without confusion. For every card with keywords, affirmations and examples, see my book The Novice’s Guide to Tarot. If you would like a printable cheat sheet for all 78 cards, my 45-page Tarot Workbook is on Etsy.

Sources

• A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1910), Part III, sections 1 and 2.
• Pamela Colman Smith and A. E. Waite, the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot (London: Rider, 1909).
• Nicolas Conver, Tarot de Marseille (Marseille, 1760).
• Lauri Mukkala, The Novice’s Guide to Tarot, entry for the King of Cups.
• Aleister Crowley, 777 (London: Walter Scott, 1909), columns of the decans, the Minor Arcana and the court cards.
• Israel Regardie, ed., The Golden Dawn (Chicago: Aries Press, 1937 to 1940), “Book T”, titles and attributions of the small cards and the court.