1. Tarot
2. Card meanings
3. King of Cups

Minor Arcana · Cups

King of Cups

• responsible
• equity
• art and science
• creative intelligence

Upright meaning

Steady, responsible feeling: Waite gives equity, art and science, creative intelligence. Calm in moving water.

Reversed meaning

Reversed, Waite gives double-dealing. A prompt to keep words and actions aligned.

• double-dealing

Symbolism

A king's throne set on the sea; a ship rides on one side and a dolphin leaps on the other.

Group

Minor Arcana · Cups

Element, astrology

Not given by Waite, so we give none

Source

Our own plain-English summary of A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1911), Part III §2 (The Lesser Arcana). The keywords are Waite’s own words. Waite’s fortune-telling lists also contain harsher terms; we keep to the reflective readings he gives and never state an event as certain.

Tarot is a tool for reflection, not a prediction of fixed outcomes. This is not medical, legal or financial advice.