The King of Cups is the master of loyalty and love. This card represents kindness, compassion, and commitment to family.
Like all the Court cards, The King of Cups often represents a real person in your life. In this case, the person is a loving and generous partner.
The King of Cups can also represent a role you’re ready to play, and it encourages you to find a fair balance between your head and heart. Look at situations logically, but also trust your intuition and emotions.
Stay true to your feelings and don’t let other people knock you off course.
When you see The King of Cups card reversed, it can mean your emotions are not in balance. Others are influencing you or pushing your buttons, and it’s making you feel emotionally drained or unstable.
You might feel moody, depressed, or jealous, and you may be letting your emotions drive your actions. Take the time to center and realign yourself before things get out of hand.
This card can be a reminder to use logic along with emotions to keep things in perspective.
This reversed card can also show that someone in your life is being manipulative or controlling. When The King of Cups is upright, it’s all about balance, but when it’s reversed, it means certain emotions are getting out of hand.
Recognize a lack of emotional maturity in this person and don’t let them control you. You might even need to leave the situation if things continue.
Reading this reversed card using the “blocked/restricted” meaning
Okay, let’s talk about how you can read your reversed King of Cups card. First, you can use the “blocked/restricted” reversed card meaning. When you read your cards this way, you look for an obstacle standing in front of the card’s upright meaning.
So for The King of Cups, this means something is blocking your balance, diplomacy, or emotional maturity. You’re letting your emotions overcome you and need to address the obstacle head-on.
Say you pull the reversed King of Cups card thinking about your family. You and your brother had a falling out years ago, and ever since, it’s been very tough for you to be around him.
Even when he says nothing triggering, his mere presence is enough to make you lose your cool. You get very emotional whenever he’s around, and you often start crying and feeling deep emotions you haven’t addressed.
You’ve been avoiding seeing your family much because it’s so difficult for you guys to be in the same room. Here, the reversed King of Cups card shows you must deal with this obstacle to enjoy family time again.
Have you ever tried doing family counseling with your brother? It might help to have someone impartial around when you talk. You can also go to therapy on your own to work through this.
Your emotional reaction is negatively influencing more than just your relationship with your brother. All of the family is suffering, and you owe to them and to yourself to heal and move past this.
Reading this reversed card using the “opposite” meaning
Another way to read your reversed King of Cups card is using the “opposite” reversed card meaning. When you read your cards like this, you use the opposite of the card’s upright meaning.
For The King of Cups, this means instead of diplomacy and balance, you have thoughtlessness and instability. Something is out of whack in your life, and it’s causing issues.
For example, you might pull the reversed King of Cups card thinking about your spending habits. You’ve been living a pretty frugal existence most of your adult life, but something happened that made you want to cut loose.
You were the victim of a car accident; a drunk driver rear-ended you at a stoplight. Even though you weren’t seriously hurt, it was scary and made you want to live in the moment.
Ever since, you’ve been indulging in all kinds of things—expensive dinners, fine clothing, and even a new apartment in an upscale building. But you’re noticing that your funds are dwindling, and you’re digging into your savings a lot.
Here, the reversed King of Cups card tells you it’s important to find a balance. It’s great you’re enjoying yourself and not feeling as restricted as before, but you’ll end up in a tough financial spot if you keep up this pace.
Make sure your spending is in alignment with your values, and is coming from a place of abundance and happiness, not fear and scarcity. You can still have fun, but don’t blow all of your money and have nothing left over for emergencies and the future.
Reading this reversed card using the “worse” meaning
You can also read your reversed King of Cups card using the “worse” reversed card meaning. When you read your card this way, you take the card’s upright meaning and put a negative spin on it.
So for The King of Cups, you have commitment and love, but maybe it’s not what you want right now.
Say you pull the reversed King of Cups thinking about a romantic partner. You’ve just started dating again after a tough breakup, and you want to take things slow.
You met someone you really click with, so you’ve gone out a few times. But already, he’s coming on strong. He’s at a point in his life where he wants to settle down and is thinking about kids.
He told you he loves you on your fourth date, and even though you didn’t say it back, he keeps reminding you. Here, the reversed King of Cups card tells you to listen to your intuition.
Even though you’re having a good time with this guy, if the two of you want different things, it might be hard to make things work. Try being honest about how you’re feeling and let him know things are moving too fast.
If he’s really interested in you, he will take what you say to heart and give you more time to figure out your feelings and get comfortable.
He may be the King of Cups for someone else, but for you, he’s all reversed.
Reading this reversed card using the “no/not” meaning
Finally, you can use the “no/not” card meaning to read your reversed King of Cups card. When you read your cards like this, you put a “no” or a “not” in front of the card’s upright meaning.
For The King of Cups, this can mean “no compassion” or “no loyalty.” You’re hanging on to faith and loyalty for someone who doesn’t deserve it, and it might be time to take a step back.
Say you pull the reversed King of Cups card thinking about a girl you have a crush on. You went to high school with this one girl who always caught your eye.
She was beautiful, artsy, and kind to everyone, so you couldn’t help but fall for her. But the truth is, she never paid you much attention back then, and you often wondered if she even knew you existed.
Now, she’s pretty big on Instagram, and you follow her closely. You comment on all her photos and have sent her a few DMs, always hoping she’ll get back to you.
But just like in high school, you haven’t gotten a response. Here, the reversed King of Cups tells you that if you’re feeling hurt by this, maybe you’re holding out loyalty for the wrong person.
This girl hasn’t ever shown interest and continuing to have hope will be painful and self-destructive. It might be time to shift your affection to someone who will return it. You deserve to be loved by someone who loves you in return.