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Minor arcana · Cups · water
King of Cups: tarot card meaning
Keywords: Authority and vision · water. Confident command of feelings, love and intuition. Steady leadership and generous vision.
Upright meaning
Confident command of feelings, love and intuition. Steady leadership and generous vision.
Reversed meaning
Control or misuse of power in feelings, love and intuition. Lead with heart again.
The suit and the number
Cups are the suit of water: feelings, friendship, love, imagination and the inner life. Its element is water, and the water signs of the zodiac are Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.
Kings are the outward, authoritative mastery of the suit. So the King of Cups is authority and vision applied to emotions, relationships, love and intuition.
Questions to reflect on
- Where in my life does "authority and vision" feel true right now?
- What would the upright meaning ask me to do this week?
- If the card felt reversed, what is blocking or delaying it?
Draw it yourself
Draw a free one-card, three-card or Celtic Cross reading in the Tarot Room. Traditional pairings for this card: Rose quartz sphere, Jasmine incense and All crystals.
Tarot decks and accessories
King of Cups: questions
What does King of Cups mean upright?
Confident command of feelings, love and intuition. Steady leadership and generous vision.
What does King of Cups mean reversed?
Control or misuse of power in feelings, love and intuition. Lead with heart again.
Is King of Cups a yes or no card?
Tarot isn't a yes/no oracle, but readers who use it that way usually read King of Cups upright as a gentle yes and reversed as 'wait'. Treat it as a prompt for reflection.
What element is King of Cups?
King of Cups belongs to the suit of Cups, linked with water and with emotions, relationships, love and intuition. In astrology the water signs are Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.