Western Tarot symbolism
King of Cups
The King holds a cup and short sceptre on a throne set upon the sea. The source explicitly relates the cup sign to water and says water appears in the suit's court cards. Responsibility, equity and creative intelligence occur in the main list, whereas the supplementary list warns of a person of position whose apparent help conceals ill will.
Loading your archive…
In the sources
The card account
LiteraryThe King holds a cup and short sceptre on a throne set upon the sea. The source explicitly relates the cup sign to water and says water appears in the suit's court cards.
Comparing the lists
LiteraryResponsibility, equity and creative intelligence occur in the main list, whereas the supplementary list warns of a person of position whose apparent help conceals ill will.
Context & interpretation
The active library scan carries L. W. de Laurence’s name and reproduces material associated with A. E. Waite’s Tarot exposition. This entry follows that supplied edition’s card prose and supplementary lists. Historical divinatory assignments and period character labels are distinguished from the pictured symbolism and from independently supported judgements about people or future events.
Original passages
Source 1
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination
his throne is set upon the sea ; on one side a ship is riding and on the other a dolphin is leaping. The implicit isOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Illustrated Key to the Tarot, supplied de Laurence edition; card description, active reader leaf 106
Exact supplied-edition extracted passage actually read; whitespace-normalised quotation anchor and original-leaf mapping checked. Image descriptions attributed to printed prose; no new full-plate visual inspection asserted.
- Edition
- IMJ-0149-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0149-E001-P0106
- Original scan leaf
- 112
- Recorded leaf number
- 112
- Current Reader position
- 106
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Source 2
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination
Beware of ill-will on the part of a man of position, and of hypocrisy pretending to help. Reversed: Loss. Queen.—Sometimes denotes a woman of equivocal character.Open this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Illustrated Key to the Tarot, supplied de Laurence edition; additional meanings, active reader leaf 150
Exact supplied-edition extracted passage actually read; whitespace-normalised quotation anchor and original-leaf mapping checked. Image descriptions attributed to printed prose; no new full-plate visual inspection asserted.
- Edition
- IMJ-0149-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0149-E001-P0150
- Original scan leaf
- 156
- Recorded leaf number
- 156
- Current Reader position
- 150
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Illustrations
Continue exploring
Ace of Wands
A hand from a cloud presents the suit's single stout wand.
Shared source pageEight of Wands
Flying wands carry the numbered suit into an image of swift motion.
Shared source pageFive of Wands
Five youths brandish staves in a scene described as mock combat.
Shared source pageFour of Wands
A garland joins four foreground staves beside a bridge and a house.