Western Tarot symbolism
Knight of Cups
The account calls the Knight graceful rather than warlike and gives him a winged helmet associated with imagination. It also describes him as a dreamer whose vision is occupied by sensory images. The primary list offers arrival, an invitation or a messenger's approach. The later meanings narrow this to a friend's visit with unexpected money, a more specific oracle assignment.
Loading your archive…
In the sources
The card account
LiteraryThe account calls the Knight graceful rather than warlike and gives him a winged helmet associated with imagination. It also describes him as a dreamer whose vision is occupied by sensory images.
Comparing the lists
LiteraryThe primary list offers arrival, an invitation or a messenger's approach. The later meanings narrow this to a friend's visit with unexpected money, a more specific oracle assignment.
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
wearing a winged helmet, referring to those higher graces of the imagination which sometimes characterize this card. He too is a dreamer, but the images ofOpen 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 108
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-P0108
- Original scan leaf
- 114
- Recorded leaf number
- 114
- Current Reader position
- 108
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Source 2
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination
A visit from a friend, who will bring unexpected money to the Querent. Reversed: Irregularity. Page.—Good augury ; also a young man who is unfortunate inOpen 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.