Knight of Cups - Upright

Minor Arcana

You are a romantic person at heart. You may be intensely passionate and temperamental. You are an intelligent person with a streak of aggressiveness.



Let's hear your interpretation of the card...

I see a man sitting on his horse in full armor looking straight forward keeping his cup firm in his hand.The horse is eager to move on, we have the river passing by telling us that this is a water card.
This picture tell us about a young adult man who travel a lot (from the horse)
From his attitude we can see he has high principals and romantic since he travel the land without the cause for fighting. Since he travel, and experience a lot, we can assume he learn  much and so have to be an intelligent man, he might also be known as a dreamer:)

very good, but also an offer of love or a marriage proposal!

The knight in this card reminds me of Lancelot...the true and pure knight...however it is not because Lancelot 'fell from grace'. Rather, it is Percival, or Parcifal, who achieved the Grail because he was really pure of heart and persevered...notice the similarity between his name and the word persevere.  Intuitively I think that is the advice of this card...if you persevere with a pure heart you will reach your goal and your dreams will be realized.

Since Cups deal with emotions this would be specifically in regard to emotional goals.  So ok, that's my initial read. Now let's go a little deeper and see what we can get and I promise I will keep it simple.

The Cups suit deals with emotional matters, love, sex, marriage, fertility and creativity. Knights bring proposals, invitations.

Correspondences: "The Lord of the Waves and the Waters: the King of the Hosts of the Sea."  
Qabala Correspondence: Knights are assigned the element of Air, since they are equivalent to the sephiroth of Yesod and the realm of Yetzirah (mental realm, realm of formation).
Numerical Value: 4
Elemental Name: Fire of Water
Astrological correspondence: Venus/Moon, expressing intimacy and high-spirit. This person may well be a Pisces.
Mythology: Zephyr, gentle and jealous Western wind that, after having caught Psyche, took her to the palace of Amor.
Yi Jing: 11 Tai/Peace.
3rd Month or Realizing Month, of Summer
  Equilibrist of the Season. Vau.

late afternoon…the sun has begun to sink, and its getting cooler…the colours have a darker tone...and the pace slows a little
West, water, autumn / fall, dusk
An Emotional struggle that brings in a new level of understanding

Divinatory meaning
Upright - Change and new excitements, particularly of a romantic nature.  invitations, opportunities, and offers.  A person who is a bringer of ideas, opportunities and offers.  He is often constantly bored and in constant need of stimulation, but also artistic and refined.  A person who is amiable, intelligent full of high principals, but a dreamer who can be easily led or discouraged.


The Knight of Cups expresses an affectionate and peaceful atmosphere, high-spirit and wisdom. It represents inner peace, harmonious unity of opinions, romantic dreams and being in love. The card shows conciliation and understanding, hours of peace and times when we enjoy the beauty of life.
Professional aspect: The card shows a peaceful atmosphere, when we solve our duties and tasks as playing a game. In case of professional change, it shows that we emphasize our artistic skills. The Knight of Cups defines the way we act and less the definite characteristics of activity.
Consciousness: The card shows that we let our feelings "go" and we have a dreamful concept about the world. After happy experience, we act openly and we see life "in colours". It can epitomize a world of images of our consciousness, the fact that we are concerned with fairy-tales, myths and oniric world. In all cases, we keep at the level of shallowness.
Personal relationships: The Knight of Cups epitomizes joy, love, carelessness - a relationship that develops normally. It means conciliation and expresses the mutual, profound understanding.

Let's look at his personality a little so we get insight into a person this card might represent:


Romantic.....Overemotional
idealizes love..........lacks self-restraint
emphasizes feelings..........is often jealous
concentrates on the poetry of life..........tends to be gushy and melodramatic
remembers special occasions..........blows hot and cold in affections
expresses sentiments beautifully..........brings flowers, but forgets to put gas in the car

Imaginative..........Fanciful
can tap the fertile unconscious..........indulges in idle daydreams
looks beyond the obvious..........has big ideas that come to nothing
never takes the mundane path..........has an unrealistic approach
spins marvelous tales..........has an overactive imagination
is visionary..........can shade the truth

Sensitive..........Temperamental
is aware of moods and feelings..........is prone to mood swings
helps others open up..........can be petulant and sulky
responds deeply to life..........gels melancholy and depressed
understands the pains of others..........broods excessively
is tactful and diplomatic..........takes offense easily

Refined..........Over-refined

appreciates beauty in all forms..........leaves dirty work to others
seeks the finest..........can't face unpleasantness
creates a pleasing environment..........lacks robust good health
understands subtlety..........emphasizes style over substance
is suave and gracious..........gets overwhelmed by pressure

Introspective..........Introverted
values the inner life..........focuses inward to excess
tries to understand why..........avoids active participation
questions motivations..........is driven to self-examination
seeks self-improvement..........exaggerates personal failings
sees below the surface..........can't relax around others

The knight is someone who takes that suit to the extreme. He is an explorer and someone who gets things done. For example, the knight of cups may be a very emotional and intuitive person. They may make great music but don't put them in charge of a figher squadron.

When they refer to an actual person, they designate a man or woman in their late teens or early adulthood. That's not so much about age as about attitude to life. Someone who is married or otherwise firmly settled down will rarely appear as a knight (expect the knight points to specific traits or attitudes of that person).

In readings, a Knight of Cups shows that his sensitive style is involved in the situation as an aspect of you, someone else or the atmosphere in general. You need to ask yourself, "Is this Knight's energy helping or hurting?" If his style is evident, then balance is needed. Are your feelings appropriate or excessive? Are your daydreams unrealistic? Is someone's moodiness driving you crazy? Is your home life ruled by emotion rather than common sense? It may be time for a change. If this Knight's energy is missing, a dose of poetry may be called for. Are you too restrained? Express your feelings. Do you always make the most practical choice? Go for the extravagant one instead. Do you avoid introspection? Take some time to look within and think about your life. Let the Knight of Cups introduce you to his world of romance and beauty. Keywords: Delivers emotional messages .

This person is going to be of fair hair, complexion and eyes.

So..with all this information you have a pretty clear picture of this individual and their personality and what they come into your life to do or if just a message, what the message is. I've even given some clues as to the time of year and even month in which this person/message arrives. Hope I kept it simple enough.

The Knight of Cups
Strong but soft at heart.  Serious yet senseitive.  Take charge kind of person and done with kindness yet affirmative results expected.