King of Cups upright
Calm in storm; the ship visible in the distance over his shoulder; cup in one hand, scepter in the other. Emotional mastery - not absence of feeling, but the choice of what to do with it.
Stay steady. The King of Cups is the figure people come to when the room has overheated; his composure is his offer.
King of Cups reversed
Reversed, the composure is repression. Or, conversely, emotional volatility hidden behind a calm mask.
Keywords
- emotional mastery
- calm
- wisdom
- diplomacy
- steady heart
Where this reading comes from
Meaning authored from the Rider-Waite-Smith reader tradition rather than copied from any single modern source.
Common questions
- What does King of Cups mean?
- King on a sea-throne - feeling without being swept away. Calm in storm; the ship visible in the distance over his shoulder; cup in one hand, scepter in the other. Emotional mastery - not absence of feeling, but the choice of what to do with it.
- What does King of Cups mean reversed?
- Reversed, the composure is repression. Or, conversely, emotional volatility hidden behind a calm mask.
- Is King of Cups a good card to draw?
- King of Cups belongs to the cups suit, which deals with feeling, relationship and attachment. No card is simply good or bad; what it means depends on the question and where it lands in the spread.
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