In the Knight of Cups we see a young knight on a horse, holding a cup before him. The background shows a barren landscape of mountains with a river running through it. On top of his helmet are two feathers. The knight’s visor is up.
The knight of cups depicts a knight in the midst of a journey, guided or driven by a cup he holds in his hand. Cups in the tarot are all about emotion so the card suggests a journey or path driven by emotion. Even though he is clad in full armour the raised visor shows a lack of imminent danger.
The journey is quiet an important one. It takes the knight across a difficult and barren landscape, in full battle armour. Driven, determined and headstrong are all keywords for this card, underwritten by strong emotion.
The card may portend some spiritual thinking or connection to a higher level of thought. This is depicted via the two feathers in the knight”s helmet, feathers a symbol often used to depict connection to the divine. In Christianity they were used to depict virtues. The feathers in the knight of cups denote a deeply held emotional conviction as the underlying cause of our journey, project or undertaking. We are ready for a battle that may come at the end of it but our preparation and steadfastness should carry us through.
The solitary cup indicates that we are clear in our emotions and understand them. In a sense, we are neither confused nor out of touch with our feelings, in fact, we can be driven to act because of them. In the realm of love, the implications are obvious – we will often act decisively to display our love for another. In work, we can be driven to follow a path based on our emotion rather than our head, perhaps a wise call to consider carefully the reasons behind any work related action.
Knight of Cups Reversed
The knight of cups reversed denotes some journey, path or undertaking that may prove difficult. We may have a sense that we have something to do but are unable to discern what exactly it is – we do not have the clarity provided by the cup held before us.
We should be aware of our own emotions and the emotions of others. Knights are highly charged characters holding deep convictions and careless words or actions may insult them. Now is a time to carefully consider what we do and say lest we insult others.