How fitting that the King of Cups would show up on St Nicholas Day eve!
King of Cups is the compassionate father, kind and generous. As a ruler, he is the benevolent, cooperative authority. The Rider Waite Smith deck even includes a ship, connecting to St Nicholas as the patron saint of sailors.
No, I’m not making a case for King of Cups being a representation of St Nicholas. But St Nicholas is a good mnemonic for the King of Cups personality.
By now, you’ve probably noticed that the card from the Tarot of Ceremonial Magick is titled Knight of Cups. And I keep talking about the King of Cups.
As if there weren’t enough complexity in Tarot, there are some decks that use Court ranks of Knight, Queen, Prince and Princess. Ceremonial Magick is one; the Golden Dawn Tarots are others. In that line up, the Knight is equivalent to the King in decks like the Rider Waite Smith. I’ll warn you that there’s some controversy over that assertion, but I work within that view.
So, to know whether the Knight is a Knight (air) or a King (fire), you need to know a little about your deck’s lineage. Aeclectic Tarot is an excellent resource to find what you need to know.
As fire of water (Kings = fire, Cups = water), the King of Cups has the ingredients for creativity. And his is the kind of creativity that leads to achievement.
So, he’s great news for artists who are looking to channel their emotions into something salable.
King of Cups also has lots of depth. There’s attention to emotional content in there, connections to the subconscious and spiritual concerns.
You can ask yourself questions about all those aspects when King of Cups appears. And there’s one more question you want to be sure to ask . . .
What will give the most pleasure, most consistently?
May lasting pleasure be yours!