King of Cups

UPRIGHT

The King of Cups sits on a throne floating on a turbulent sea, a fish leaping behind him, a ship sailing past. He holds his cup steady. The card is emotional mastery — feeling honored without being ruled by it, the diplomat, the wise counselor, the man who has learned to remain still in rough water.

REVERSED

Reversed, the King of Cups is emotion suppressed into volatility, or wisdom faked by a man who has never felt his own water. The card can name a person whose calm is brittle, a partner whose silence is a form of withholding, or the querent's own fear of what would happen if they let the sea move.

Return to the full deck, or draw the cards and see King of Cups in context.