King of Cups
The king of cups in the tarot's Minor Arcana: a king with a short sceptre and a great cup, his throne set on the sea. A. E. Waite read it as a responsible man of business, law or the church; art and science.
Meaning
In Waite's words: "He holds a short sceptre in his left hand and a great cup in his right; his throne is set upon the sea; on one side a ship is riding and on the other a dolphin is leaping."
What does the King of Cups mean?
Waite's meanings are "fair man, man of business, law, or divinity; responsible, disposed to oblige the Querent; also equity, art and science, including those who profess science, law and art; creative intelligence"; reversed, "dishonest, double-dealing man; roguery, exaction, injustice, vice, scandal, pillage, considerable loss". His list of additional meanings adds "beware of ill-will on the part of a man of position, and of hypocrisy pretending to help", and reversed, "loss".
In older decks
The Italian suit is coppe, cups, among the marks of the earliest cards in the British Museum's catalogue of 1876. Papus reads it as "A fair man, a friend", and also a barrister, judge or ecclesiastic.
Read next
- Next in Tarot cardsAce of SwordsThe ace of swords in the tarot's Minor Arcana: a hand from a cloud grasping a sword, its point encircled by a crown. A. E. Waite read it as triumph, conquest and great force.
- The same shape in Andean and Inca symbolsTumi (ceremonial knife)A ceremonial knife with a half-moon blade from the north coast of ancient Peru. The gold tumis of the Sicán (Lambayeque) culture carry a god on the handle, often identified as Naylamp, the dynasty’s mythical founder. The Tumi de Oro was declared a pre-Columbian symbol of Peru in 1981.
See also
The Fool, The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Hierophant.
Sources
- The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, by A. E. Waite, William Rider & Son, London, 1910 (the sacred-texts.com transcription, on the Internet Archive), The Lesser Arcana; Some Additional Meanings of the Lesser Arcana
- The Tarot of the Bohemians, by Papus, Chapman & Hall, London, 1896, translated by A. P. Morton (scan on the Internet Archive), The Divining Tarot, second lesson: the minor arcana
- A Descriptive Catalogue of Playing and Other Cards in the British Museum, by W. H. Willshire, Trustees of the British Museum, London, 1876 (scan on the Internet Archive), General history: the marks of the suits
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols formed from curves and waves, letters and numbers or squares and rectangles.
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 30, 2026. How we research
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