The King of Cups is one of the most important cards of the Minor Arcana.
Below you will learn everything about its meaning both in the upright and reversed position.
In addition to the general interpretation, the topics of love, health, career, finances and destiny are also explained in detail.
The King of Cups Keywords
Upright: Wisdom, Calm, Tolerant, Diplomatic
Reversed: Moody, Cool, Agitated, Manipulative
The King of Cups Tarot Card Description
The King of Cups sits on a stone throne in the middle of a troubled and turbulent sea.
He wears a blue robe, expressing his connection to the element of water and the subconscious, and above it a yellow cape with a red hem, which in turn stands for his power and authority.
Around his neck, the King of Cups wears a fish-shaped amulet as a sign of his creativity. In his right hand, he holds a cup, which stands for his inner thoughts and feelings.
However, he does not look at the goblet but into the distance, symbolizing that he is at peace with his own feelings and can instead share his concentration and wisdom with his environment.
In his left hand, he holds a scepter, which is a symbol of diplomacy and influence.
The stone throne of the King of Cups is in the midst of a turbulent more. Yet despite the surging waves, the king remains calm and steadfast, knowing that calm follows every storm.
On one side of his throne, a fish protrudes as a symbol of his emotions, by which he does not let himself be overwhelmed but is master over them.
A ship rises from the waves on the other side, embodying the king’s wisdom and tolerance. As the ruler of the seas, he has come to know and appreciate many foreign peoples and their customs.
Upright King of Cups Tarot Card Meaning
The Tarot card of the King of Cups reveals that you live in harmony with your feelings and mind and thus radiate a deep calmness to your environment.
Even in very difficult or upsetting situations, you control your emotions and can thus make rational decisions both for yourself and those around you.
You are not so focused on your emotions because you have already dealt with them intensively and know when it is necessary to express your feelings.
Because of your calmness and composure, you are like a rock for your social environment, which defies even the strongest storms and helps other people to get through the storm unscathed.
The King of Cups also stands for a huge amount of wisdom that you have acquired in the course of your life and share with the people around you.
Wisdom does not only mean that you have good intellectual skills but also includes emotional competencies as well as creativity when it comes to solving problems.
Only when you are in good contact with your inner self, you can draw from the inexhaustible source of your subconscious, which gives you wisdom beyond books.
By continuing to trust your intuition, you will be able to face any problems and challenges in life with serenity and creative solutions.
Another characteristic of the King of Cups is his extensive tolerance and diplomatic skills. By leading a tolerant lifestyle and being free from prejudice, you can learn a lot from your fellow human beings, no matter what color their skin is or what culture they come from.
You will learn a lot about other cultures and peoples and yourself, through such broad knowledge.
Tolerance enables you to form valuable and deep relationships with many different people and enables you to mediate conflicts between your fellow human beings.
Your diplomatic skills make you a sought-after contact in disputes, and you thereby create a high degree of harmony in your environment.
Do you want to know what today holds for you? Draw your Daily Tarot Card now for free!
Upright King of Cups Tarot Love Meaning
Single
In the love tarot reading, the King of Cups stands for a tolerant attitude towards your choice of partner.
Don’t narrow the circle of people you would enter into a relationship with unnecessarily by fixed dogmas, but instead open yourself to different characters and get a feeling for who suits you best.
By being tolerant of the characteristics of those around you, you will discover many new qualities that are endearing and enrich your love life.
The more tolerant you are to your counterpart, the more he will open up to you, which already lays the foundation of a deep basis of trust.
Another aspect of the King of Cups for you as a single is that your past relationship experiences contain a lot of useful knowledge for your next partnership.
Through the relationships you have already had with other people, you already know the ups and downs that every couple has to face. You can calmly reflect on why some relationships failed and what positive lessons you took away from them.
Use this wisdom for yourself to make your upcoming relationship long-lasting and fulfilling.
Relationship
In a relationship, the King of Cups encourages you to lead conflicts solution-oriented instead of too emotional. Be a role model to your partner. Act diplomatic and work with him to find a solution to your dispute.
Emerging feelings of anger or fear in an argument are okay as long as they do not take control of you, so you can objectively discuss your dispute with your partner.
Your diplomatic attitude will transfer to your partner so that an initially highly emotional dispute will increasingly calm down.
Another important message of the King of Cups in a partnership is that you show tolerance towards the other partner. We all have rough edges, which we sometimes rub against or bump into.
Instead of wanting to change the partner at any cost, we should practice tolerance and learn to love and appreciate the small imperfections because they are, in a sense, the spice of a relationship.
True love develops when both partners appreciate each other and love and accept the other as he is.
Do you want to know how your love life is developing? Draw your Love Tarot Card now for free!
Upright King of Cups Health Meaning
For your health, the King of Cups means allowing yourself more rest periods in everyday life.
That will allow your body to recharge its batteries and mobilize your defenses. Use the breaks to relax and thereby reduce stress. Afterward, you can start the day with new energy and vigor.
Furthermore, the King of Cups stands for returning to old healing methods that our grandparents already knew.
Profit from the wisdom of past generations by trying old remedies like calf compresses or herbal compresses. These often have few side effects and gently activate your self-healing powers.
Do you want to know how your health situation is developing? Draw your Health Tarot Card now for free!
Upright King of Cups Career Meaning
For your job, the King of Cups means that you should always act diplomatically in conflicts between colleagues. You create a positive working atmosphere through your skill to solve disputes in a fair and solution-oriented way.
Your co-workers appreciate your advice, so you play a supporting role in the overall satisfaction of your department.
In addition, the King of Cups stands for a high degree of tolerance towards different work styles and personalities at your work. Different people and characters can contribute to the diversity of ideas and problem solving on the job.
However, this is only possible if there is an atmosphere of mutual respect and appreciation towards all colleagues.
Do you want to know how your professional situation develops? Draw your Career Tarot Card now for free!
Upright King of Cups Finances/Money Meaning
In financial matters, the King of Cups encourages you to seek advice from experienced advisors. That can be special financial advisors or good friends/relatives who know through years of experience exactly how to invest your money.
Good advice usually costs a little more but will save you a lot of money in the long run, which you would have to pay for expensive mistakes without an advisor.
Another meaning of the King of Cups is to stay calm when your finances do not develop according to plan.
Especially if interest rates or shares do not rise, you should not panic, but calmly evaluate the current situation. Often patience in financial matters pays off much more than hasty actions, so always keep your long-term goal in mind.
Do you want to know how your financial situation is developing? Draw your Finance/Money Tarot Card now for free!
Upright King of Cups Destiny Meaning
For your destiny, the King of Cups means that you should continue to practice tolerance towards your fellow human beings.
Thus you will be able to take a non-partisan position in conflicts and bring together different points of view. Your social environment will appreciate you as a far-sighted mediator and show gratitude towards you.
Do you want to know what your destiny has in store for you? Draw your Destiny Tarot Card now for free!
Upright King of Cups Personality
The King of Cups stands for a character that rests firmly in itself. Nothing can upset him, so he is able to keep the overview even in difficult situations.
Furthermore, the card indicates a person who always tries to settle conflicts diplomatically. In doing so, he tries to consider the points of view of all parties involved.
Upright King of Cups Tarot Past/Future
Past
In the past, you have often managed to solve conflicts diplomatically. Think back to how you were able to appease the disputants.
Lately, you have practiced tolerance towards your fellow human beings. That will open new ways for you.
Future
You will face a difficult challenge in the future. Use your intuitive wisdom to find an appropriate solution.
Things may get quite turbulent shortly. Keep your inner calm to be prepared for the coming storms of life.
Upright King of Cups Tarot Card – Yes or No
The King of Cups cleary points to a yes answer. Trust your inner wisdom when making your decision. It will surely show you which way to go without taking unnecessary risks.
At the moment, you are definitely on the safe side with a yes answer. You can go about your daily life again with a peace of mind.
Reversed King of Cups Tarot Card Meaning
The King of Cups Reversed reveals that you are very agitated at the moment and not the master of your emotions. In arguments or difficult situations in life, your feelings often take control of your mind and prevent you from dealing with the situation rationally.
Because of your moodiness, which rages like a raging storm inside you, it is difficult for you to hear your inner voice or intuition. You run the risk of losing yourself in your emotional chaos instead.
Calm down your emotional inner life through meditation, sports or with the help of friends and get a clear mind. That will help you to get better access to your intuition, which will help you to become more calm and balanced.
The King of Cups Reversed shows you that people in your environment are trying to manipulate you. Manipulation works especially well when someone has a deep relationship with you and uses it to get their way without you noticing.
A true friend would never leave you in the dark about his motives and avoid any harm that you could take.
Often your own needs are hurt by manipulation or you are sent ahead to carry out someone else’s conflicts. Watch carefully who has already tried to deceive you in the past and avoid such contacts accordingly.
The King of Cups Reversed symbolizes that you behave very coldly and emotionless towards other persons. You ignore your inner feelings and look at the world purely cognitively and rationally.
But our feelings are very reliable messengers when it comes to first impressions or things that we cannot fully grasp with our mind.
If you negate your emotions and suppress them, you deprive yourself of a large part of the joy of life to which they contribute.
Furthermore, you are less able to empathize with the feelings of your fellow human beings and give them help and support accordingly.
Try to create a time in your everyday life where you can face your feelings and process them, so you will slowly rediscover how enriching the world of emotions can be.
Reversed King of Cups Tarot Love Meaning
Single
The King of Cups Reversed shows you, as a single person, that you are struggling with your feelings right now and are correspondingly agitated. Due to the inner storm of emotions raging inside you, you seem unapproachable and not very stable to outsiders.
Try to steer your way back into calmer waters by reflecting on where your agitation comes from and by actively relaxing to calm your emotions.
As soon as you are in tune with your feelings again and don’t let them overwhelm you, you will be able to venture into a new relationship.
The King of Cups Reversed Tarot card also reveals that your search for a partner is very calculating and takes place little on an emotional level.
Don’t make your choice of partner dependent on external social expectations, like a specific profession. Such an attitude will inevitably lead you into an unhappy relationship.
Because the core of every relationship is the mutual affection from which later trust, compassion and security grow. Trust your heart and let it guide you. It will reveal the path to your True Love, free of prejudices or expectations.
Relationship
In a partnership, the King of Cups Reversed card warns against mutual manipulation and deception. To manipulate one’s own partner means that his wishes and needs are placed below one’s own.
Deception in a relationship is often a sign of lack of trust and in the long run, leads to serious crises in the partnership.
If you notice that your partner is taking advantage of you and manipulating you, do not hesitate for long and confront him. Sometimes manipulative behavior is learned from early childhood and the person concerned is not even aware of it.
Another aspect of the King of Cups Reversed is that the partnership suffers emotional fluctuations, which in their proportions complicate living together.
Such capriciousness inevitably leads to heated conflicts, in which the actual core of the dispute quickly fades into the background.
Agree on a respectful conflict culture and take to heart the basic rules of appreciative communication, such as leaving excuses or speaking in I-messages, so that you can calm down inside and quickly bring about a solution to your conflict.
Reversed King of Cups Health Meaning
The King of Cups Reversed shows that you feel very agitated. Your inner restlessness can quickly lead to other symptoms such as insomnia or mood swings.
During periods when you are very agitated, a short relaxation exercise or physical activity can help to restore your inner peace.
Another aspect of the King of Cups Reversed is that you try to calm your emotions with harmful substances. Alcohol, cigarettes or sleeping pills are dangerous for your health in excess.
Instead, try to bring your emotions back into harmony through physical exercise or meditation. The more often you manage to balance your feelings on your own, the less dependent you become on external substances.
Reversed King of Cups Career Meaning
The King of Cups Reversed reveals that people try to manipulate you at work. Someone wants to use you for his purposes and does not care about negative consequences that could affect you.
Better keep a low profile in open conflicts and don’t do anything that could harm you in the short or long term at work, only to do someone a favor.
Furthermore, the King of Cups card indicates an undercooled working atmosphere at your work. Everyone thinks only of his own interests and teamwork is a foreign word for most of your colleagues.
Try to rekindle some warmth for your field by supporting your colleagues and actively working on improving your relationships.
Reversed King of Cups Finances/Money Meaning
The King of Cups Reversed warns you against rash spending on a spontaneous whim. There is a danger that you will quickly lose a lot of money and end up hardly being able to afford anything.
Suppress your first impulses to buy and write down your most important wishes. Then you can create a savings plan and only make a purchase when you can afford it.
Furthermore, the King of Cups Reversed warns you to be careful because someone is trying to manipulate you to get your money.
Be very careful with alleged “emergencies” that occur several times a month or large one-time sums. Lend your money only to reliable acquaintances who you know will pay you back.
Reversed King of Cups Destiny Meaning
As a destiny card, the King of Cups Reversed means that you are very much guided by your emotions.
Due to the lack of control of your emotions, you often feel very restless and agitated. Create an oasis of calm in your stressful everyday life to calm your emotions and ground yourself again.
Reversed King of Cups Personality
The reversed King of Cups represents an internally troubled personality. He finds it difficult to find his inner balance, so he is constantly under power.
It also describes a personality that tends to manipulate others. In this way, he wants to enforce his own needs by all means, without regard for the consequences for his fellow men.
Reversed King of Cups Tarot Past/Future
Past
A past event still stirs you up very strongly. Only if you manage to smooth the waves peace will return.
Someone from your past was very cold during your last meeting. Ask yourself if such a relationship is still worthwhile.
Future
Your moodiness can block important opportunities in the near future. Instead, you should focus on what you want to achieve.
Soon someone will try to manipulate you in his sense. See through his deception in time so that you do not take any damage.
Reversed King of Cups Tarot Card – Yes or No
The matter stirs you up internally. That makes it difficult for you to accurately assess the short- and long-term consequences of your choice.
A “no” can therefore give you additional time, which you can use to cool down your mind.
The Cups Tarot Card Meanings
- Ace of Cups Meaning
- Two of Cups Meaning
- Three of Cups Meaning
- Four of Cups Meaning
- Five of Cups Meaning
- Six of Cups Meaning
- Seven of Cups Meaning
- Eight of Cups Meaning
- Nine of Cups Meaning
- Ten of Cups Meaning
- Page of Cups Meaning
- Knight of Cups Meaning
- Queen of Cups Meaning
- King of Cups Meaning READING NOW