The King of Cups as Advice: Stay Calm and Kind

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The King of Cups as advice asks for steady hands in rough water. Here is how, and what the reversal says about bottling up.

If you want the short answer, the King of Cups as advice says: stay calm and kind. Feel what you feel, and respond with maturity rather than reaction.

What the King of Cups advises upright

Tina Gong's the King of Cups guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with emotional balance, generosity, diplomacy and control over feeling. In an advice position I read those meanings as an instruction: the attitude or action the card is asking of you, rather than a description of what will happen. The Minor Arcana overview at Biddy Tarot is a useful second reference.

Upright, the King of Cups advises composure and diplomacy: take a breath, respond rather than react, be generous in the way you handle a difficult moment.

What the King of Cups is not asking you to do

The King is not asking you to suppress everything. Calm is not the same as cold.

The King of Cups reversed as advice

Reversed, the King of Cups as advice says you are holding too much in, or using calm to manage people. Let one honest feeling out. A reversed card in an advice position is usually pointing at the habit that is getting in your way, not at a punishment.

The King of Cups as advice in love

In love, the King of Cups advises steadiness and kindness in a hard conversation.

The King of Cups as advice for work and money

For work and money, it advises emotionally intelligent leadership. Advice from a card is reflection. For decisions with legal, medical or financial weight, take it to someone qualified as well.

One step to take this week

In the next tense moment, wait ten seconds before you answer.

For comparison, the Queen of Cups as advice and Temperance as advice ask different things of you. The the King of Cups card meaning page covers the card in full, and the King of Cups as a yes or no, the King of Cups as feelings and the King of Cups as timing cover the other questions people most often ask of it. You can draw a card for yourself with the free daily tarot tool. For a personal interpretation, my guide to an online psychic reading explains how readings work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.