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Welcome to part 15 of my 16 part series Meet the Court Cards – each week we will hang out with ONE court card and dive deeply into the symbols, personality traits, talents and dark side. This is similar to my Major Arcana Meanings Deep Dive series, but we’ll also explore how each court card acts in the context of love, work and money.

I’ll give you specific ways to embody this card as well as some journalling questions to help you connect with this card on a more personal level.

Let’s dive into the King of Cups – he’s a touchy feely counsellor type who loves hugging, chick flicks and spiritual retreats….but should you REALLY trust him with all your problems?

Sit back, relax and discover the personality, meanings and secret symbols of this King…

Element = Water (emotions, feelings, connection, relationships)

Astrology = Cancer, Pisces, Scorpio

Keywords/Personality Traits

Deep, sensitive, caring, nurturing, emotionally intelligent, intuitive and has an interest in spirituality. His masculine and feminine sides are well balanced, he loves chick-flicks, books like Twilight, yoga, crystals and spiritual retreats.

Perhaps he was a former alcoholic who used booze to drown his strong feelings, but has since learned how to work with his emotions in a healthy way and wants to inspire others to do the same.

Symbols:

water = emotions, depth

concrete slab and feet on firm surface = stability amidst emotional turmoil

blue = peace, calm, clarity, communication

cup = holding a space

fish necklace, scaled feet = navigating deep water (emotions) with ease

concrete slab and feet on firm surface = stability amidst emotional turmoil

Talents:

The King of Cups has achieved mastery in the emotional realm, which is a very tricky realm to master! He knows how to work with his feelings and process them and is great at helping others do the same.

He’s deeply intuitive and empathetic, making others feel instantly comfortable and trusting. He communicates from the heart (a rare trait!) and is a gifted healer. Although his healing powers mostly come from his ability to just sit and hold a space for someone…which doesn’t sound like much, but it really is!

At a Party…

You’ll find the King of Cups off in the corner, quietly listening to someone ramble on about how terrible their husband is. He’ll nod empathically, eyes wide with emotion and understanding…he lives for this kind of stuff.

You may even find yourself particularly drawn to him if you’re having problems in your life and need a shoulder to cry on (he’s a magnet for that!). There’s just something about the way he makes you feel SEEN and HEARD and HELD that makes you want to spill your heart out to him and tell him everything.

At work…

The King of Cups isn’t really “career driven” in the traditional sense, but he IS driven to help others in the emotional and healing realms.

He makes a fantastic counsellor, therapist or teacher. Teaching yoga, doing social work or working in a spiritual field, providing energy work or past life regression are all areas he’d be good in. He’s endlessly patient and compassionate and has this way of making others feel valuable and capable in his presence.

In an office setting he may or may not be “the boss” but he’ll always be trying to bring in special trainings like Non-violent Communication and team building events. This can be great or….rather irksome!

In love…

The King of Cups loves love! He’s the most romantic of all the kings and lives for the sappy, schmultzy stuff.

In relationships, he’s mature, loyal and sensual, never leaving his partner guessing how he’s feeling – he’s a wonderful communicator with a penchant for deep emotional connection, eye gazing, long endless talks about feelings and slow, sensual massage.

The only downside is that he demands his partner always be revealing their emotions and deeper currents to him, which can be exhausting. Not everyone wants to talk, talk, talk all day about their feelings!

In Money…

Money isn’t super important to the King of Cups, but he always seems to have a good financial “flow” going on. He believes money is tied to one’s emotions, so when money is tight, he works on his emotional blocks.

Raw emotion is the payday he is looking for – not riches or material gain. Rich relationships and having someone open up to him and share their feelings is what charges him up, not making a ton of money or having flashy things.

He Thrives on…

Deep conversations, hugging, eye gazing, having someone bare their soul to him and tell him all their problems. The King of Cups thrives on connecting deeply with others and helping them release their emotional blocks.

The ideal vacation for the King of Cups is a week long spiritual retreat doing hippy dippy things with like-minded touchy feely types.

Dark Side of the King of Cups…

On a bad day, this King can be your typical EMO guy – pouting in the corner, hoping someone will fawn over him. He can be moody and overly sensitive, but tight lipped about how he’s feeling, keeping everyone guessing as to what pissed him off so much.

He can be a bit too emotionally self indulgent, spending way too much time “unpacking” his feelings and pondering himself to the point of self absorption.

What does it MEAN?

When the King of Cups shows up in your reading, he could be trying to tell you any of the following:

♥ Honour your feelings, no matter what they are (every emotion is a gift)

♥ Nurture your relationship to your emotional self

♥ Now is the time to just sit with something without judgment

♥ Get into your heart before you communicate

♥ Prioritize your connections and relationships with others

King of Cups Reversed…

• Feeling cut off from your emotions

• Trouble feeling your feelings or even being afraid of them

• Being too self indulgent and navel gazey when it comes to your feelings (instead of processing them, you marinate in them)

Embody it…

You can embody the energy of the King of Cups by doing the following things:

~greet your feelings (whatever they are) with welcoming gratitude…

~work with your emotions (explore them, process them, hear their message)

~hold a space for yourself (just sit with your emotions)

Journalling Questions:

♥ What aspects of this King do you relate to?

♥ Who in your life is like the King of Cups?

♥ Where in your life could you use the deep sensitivity and heart centeredness of this King?

♥ What is your relationship to your feelings like? How do you respond when a negative feeling arises?

Tell me your thoughts!

Did you enjoy this deep dive? Who do you know that’s just like this King? Let me know in the comments below…

♥ Join me next time as I dive into the King of Wands – the most electric and DANGEROUS King of all!  Hop on my mailing list so you won’t miss out!

***Grab your FREE Court Card Cheatsheet right HERE!***

You may also enjoy…

Court Card Tarot Meanings
Tarot Meanings Deep Dive series (Major Arcana)