Knight of Cups

Upright

romantic quest · invitation · charm in motion

This Knight rides a horse that is not in a hurry, a cup held like an offering. Follow the invitation if it is kind — romance, an apology, a creative quest, water in motion, not a flood. Arrive; do not only announce that you are arriving.

Reversed

mood as a stallion · mixed signals · a pursuit that is all weather

The horse is prancing and the cup is spilling, or the quest is a way of never landing. Steady the gait. Mean the toast. Knight of Cups reversed is often beautiful weather with no rain gauge — feelings that need a date, a sentence, a door.

On the card

• The offered cup

  A sincere approach. Romance as a ride toward someone.

• The horse

  Steady water, not a charge. Feeling with a gait.

• Wings on the helm

  Idealism. Beautiful — and check it against the ground.

When it shows up

This looks like the letter, the invitation, showing up with a feeling instead of a strategy.

History

A knight in fish-decorated armor approaches a river, cup raised, the horse at a measured walk. Waite’s Knights are action; this one is the slowest, the watery part of water. Smith’s wings on the helmet echo the caduceus of the Two: feeling as a mission, not a raid.

If you want to sit with it

What are you approaching — and is the cup as honest as the horse is pretty?

Optional. Nothing is saved.