King of Cups Combination Insights into Tarot Pairings

The King of Cups is one of the court cards in the Minor Arcana that represents mastery over the element of water and the realm of emotions, relationships, and creativity. When combined with other cards in a Tarot spread, the King offers additional insights based on its inherent meanings and characteristics. Understanding King of Cups combinations provides a more nuanced interpretation of the cards and the energies present in your situation.

In this expansive guide, we will explore the King of Cups paired with every other card in the Tarot deck. You will gain deeper comprehension of the intuitive messages and guidance each pairing provides. Whether you are an experienced reader or just learning the cards, this reference will enhance your ability to extract meaningful details from King of Cups combinations in your spreads.

Major Arcana

King of Cups and The Magician

• Meaning: Manifesting emotions into action and creation
• Explanation: The Magician represents initiating projects and bringing ideas into reality. Paired with the emotionally mature King, this combination signifies manifesting creativity, passions, and intimate connections into tangible expression. There is great potential for artistic pursuits or cultivating healthy relationships when these two Major Arcana meet.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Magician’s tools for manifestation combine with the King’s mastery of the emotional realm to produce creative action. The King’s throne is a solid foundation for the Magician’s endeavors.

King of Cups and The High Priestess

• Meaning: Wisdom and mastery of emotions and intuition
• Explanation: The High Priestess is the keeper of sacred, inner knowledge and intuition. With the King, this suggests a deep understanding of one’s feelings and subconscious. There is emotional maturity, introspection and wise guidance of the heart. Listen to your intuition.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The High Priestess’s scrolls of esoteric wisdom complement the King’s mastery of emotions and relationships. Her cool detachment balances his compassion.

King of Cups and The Empress

• Meaning: Nurturing and providing for loved ones
• Explanation: The Empress evokes nurturance, fertility and maternal care. Combined with the King, this indicates deep caring for others, especially family. There is a need to provide comfort, security and affection to loved ones. Make time for close connections.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Empress’s lush garden and fruits of abundance pair nicely with the King’s compassion and emotional support. He draws on inner resources to nurture.

King of Cups and The Emperor

• Meaning: Emotional control and mastery
• Explanation: The Emperor is the archetype of structure, authority and control. With the King, this suggests restraint over one’s feelings and passions. There may be a rigid approach to relationships or strict boundaries set. Or it can indicate discipline applied compassionately.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Emperor’s throne of structure balances the fluidity of the King’s watery realm. He brings order to emotional turbulence.

King of Cups and The Hierophant

• Meaning: Spiritual guidance on relationships
• Explanation: The Hierophant represents traditional institutions and spiritual counsel. Combined with the King, this points to seeking wise advice around matters of the heart or creative passions. Mentorship may be available. There is a need for spiritual grounding.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Hierophant’s religious authority complements the King’s mastery of compassion. Traditional values meet emotional wisdom.

King of Cups and The Lovers

• Meaning: Emotionally fulfilling bonds and partnerships
• Explanation: The Lovers card focuses on relationships, connections and choices. With the King, it suggests strong bonds, intimacy and romantic partnerships featuring maturity, compassion and good communication. Make heart-centered decisions.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Lovers’ angel blesses the union while the King offers grounding through his mastery of relationships and emotions. Deep connections are forged.

King of Cups and The Chariot

• Meaning: Directing emotions with focus towards victory
• Explanation: The Chariot represents drive, determination and willpower directed toward success. Combined with the King’s compassion, it indicates firmly yet kindly moving relationships or creative endeavors forward towards emotional fulfillment and passion’s victory.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Chariot’s warrior pairs will with the King’s emotional mastery to triumph over challenges and achieve goals. His throne is the solid base directing their movement.

King of Cups and Strength

• Meaning: Inner fortitude and courage with compassion
• Explanation: Strength depicts bravery, patience and control over animal instincts. With the King, it suggests fortitude and courage in emotional situations and relationships. There is gentle firmness to overcome challenges or resist urges guided by compassion.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The woman’s strength and patience complements the King’s mature mastery of feelings. He applies compassion to overcome difficulties or help others.

King of Cups and The Hermit

• Meaning: Serenity, solitude and inner wisdom
• Explanation: The Hermit represents solitude, soul-searching and inner wisdom. Paired with the King, it indicates a time of emotional contemplation and serenity. Withdraw to gain perspective and insights on relationships or creativity. Meditate on passions.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Hermit’s lantern of introspection lights the way for the King as he draws on intuition and emotional mastery during a retreat. Time alone nourishes the soul.

King of Cups and Wheel of Fortune

• Meaning: Emotional ups and downs, changes in relationships/creativity
• Explanation: The Wheel of Fortune symbolizes the cycles of change, ups and downs of life. With the King, this suggests emotional turbulence or alterations in relationships and creative flow. There are highs and lows, but his maturity and compassion help navigate them. Allow life’s ebbs and flows.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Wheel’s inevitable spinning brings shifting tides that the King adapts to through his deep understanding of emotions and connections. He rides the waves.

King of Cups and Justice

• Meaning: Fairness and justice in emotional matters or relationships
• Explanation: Justice represents law, truth and fairness. Combined with the King, it points to seeking balance and justice around relationships or creativity, especially healing from past wounds or trauma. There is a need for impartial mediation in conflicts. Counsel with equality.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The scales of Justice weigh the emotions as the King strives to find equilibrium and moral high ground. His throne establishes a compassionate base.

King of Cups and The Hanged Man

• Meaning: Emotional surrender and new perspectives on relationships/creativity
• Explanation: The Hanged Man signifies pausing to shift viewpoints and gain enlightenment. With the King, this indicates an emotional stalemate or need to let go, allowing new perceptions and insights about relationships or creative flow. Surrender provides a fresh outlook.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Hanged Man’s suspended state mirrors the King’s waiting compassionately for clarity. By releasing control, understanding dawns from a higher vantage point.

King of Cups and Death

• Meaning: Emotional transformation and rebirth
• Explanation: Death represents profound change, regeneration and transitions. Combined with the King, it points to deep transformations occurring around emotions, relationships or creative pursuits. There is a need for rebirth after significant endings. Metamorphosis is possible.
• Imagery and Symbolism: Death’s skeletal figure washes away the old as the King oversees necessary emotional changes, providing mature guidance through upheaval toward renewal. Out of endings, new beginnings emerge.

King of Cups and Temperance

• Meaning: Emotional balance, moderation and patience
• Explanation: Temperance depicts harmonic integration, moderation and patience. Alongside the King, this symbolizes finding equilibrium between passions and reason, action and inaction. There is a need for composure in relationships and level-headed creative flow. Bring calm perspective.
• Imagery and Symbolism: Temperance’s angel mixes emotions artfully as the King oversees with compassion. He provides grounding and soothes turbulent feelings and relationships.

King of Cups and The Devil

• Meaning: Enslavement to unhealthy passions or patterns
• Explanation: The Devil represents addiction, bondage and unhealthy attachments. Combined with the King, it can suggest creative blockages or being trapped in toxic relationships unable to break free. There is a need to release obsessive patterns and acknowledge where maturity is lacking.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Devil’s chained figures reveal shadow aspects of the King. His compassion falters amidst unhealthy bindings that distort emotions and connections. Honesty and courage can release these.

King of Cups and The Tower

• Meaning: Sudden emotional upheaval or revelations
• Explanation: The Tower symbolizes sudden upheaval and destruction of the status quo. Alongside the King, this points to unexpected emotional turmoil disrupting stability, revelations shattering perceptions in relationships or creative passions. While distressing, this can catalyze growth.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Tower’s intense lightning blast cracks open the King’s controlled facade, exposing vulnerable truths and suppressed emotions now requiring compassionate rebuilding.

King of Cups and The Star

• Meaning: Healing, faith and inspiration
• Explanation: The Star card signifies healing, purity and inspiration after turmoil. Paired with the King, it indicates emotional healing is occurring, renewed faith in relationships and creative inspiration flowing after difficulty. Have hope by accessing intuitive guidance.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Star’s gently flowing water soothes the King’s realm as her luminous starlight guides his compassion to bring emotional healing and inspiration. Faith is restored.

King of Cups and The Moon

• Meaning: Emotional uncertainty, fears, confusion
• Explanation: The Moon represents illusion, anxiety and the unconscious. Alongside the King, this points to emotional turmoil and uncertainties around relationships causing confusion and fear. Things may not be as they seem. Avoid knee-jerk reactions.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Moon’s glowing path reveals only partial truths that the King tries understanding while navigating by intuition through emotional unsteadiness. Hidden aspects of self or others rise up.

King of Cups and The Sun

• Meaning: Emotional fulfillment, joy and positivity
• Explanation: The Sun is about vitality, success and positivity. Combined with the King, it indicates emotional fulfillment, joyous creative expression and delight in relationships. There is optimism for passionate connections and pursuits. Share your radiance.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Sun’s shining rays warm the King’s compassionate heart, fueling his emotional mastery to spread joy, vitality and success in relationships and creativity.

King of Cups and Judgement

• Meaning: Emotional renewal, rebirth and redemption
• Explanation: Judgement symbolizes awakening, absolution and rebirth. With the King, it signifies emotional renewal after releasing the past, rebirth in relationships and creative purpose after self-reflection. There is new understanding. Forgive and transcend outdated patterns.
• Imagery and Symbolism: Judgement’s angel of rebirth sounds the call as the King willingly examines his heart and emotions to absolve past hurts. This enables maturity, grace and revived passions.

King of Cups and The World

• Meaning: Emotional fulfillment, wholeness and flourishing creativity/relationships
• Explanation: The World card represents successful completion of a cycle, wholeness and unity. Paired with the King, it indicates emotional fulfillment after a journey, relationships integrating all aspects of self, and flourishing creative expression. Feel complete.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The World’s flowering wholeness blossoms in the King’s compassionate realm, as he achieves mastery of emotions, bonds and creativity through integration of all parts within the self.

Wands

King of Cups and Ace of Wands

• Meaning: Passionate new beginnings, inspiration
• Explanation: The Ace of Wands symbolizes new opportunities, inspiration and passion. Alongside the King, this indicates emotionally inspired creativity and relationships bursting with potential. There is optimism around projects or connections. Feel reinvigorated.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Ace’s sprouting wand sparks creative passion in the King’s realm. He tends this new beginning attentively so it may flourish in inspiring directions.

King of Cups and Two of Wands

• Meaning: Contemplating future passions and relationships
• Explanation: The Two of Wands represents planning and foresight. With the King, this symbolizes envisioning the emotional landscapes of future relationships or creative projects and making mature choices towards desired directions. Reflect before acting.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The figure’s vista complements the King’s emotional wisdom to thoughtfully craft strategic plans for passions and connections to unfold. He surveys what’s ahead.

King of Cups and Three of Wands

• Meaning: Anticipation and foresight for passions/relationships
• Explanation: The Three of Wands signifies hopefulness and anticipation about the future. Paired with the King, this indicates optimism about relationships or creativity expanding in positive directions while prudently laying foundations. There’s excitement for what’s to come.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The figure’s gaze at the expanding ships mirrors the King’s perspective, as he eagerly and compassionately anticipates growth in relationships or creative projects, while wisely preparing.

King of Cups and Four of Wands

• Meaning: Emotional stability and celebration in relationships
• Explanation: The Four of Wands reflects stability, community and celebrating achievements. Alongside the King, this suggests building emotional security in relationships and creativity, and celebrating connections, milestones and collaborations. Appreciate how far you’ve come.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The decorative gateway establishes structure in the King’s realm as he oversees relationships and passions maturing through milestones worth honoring. There is emotional stability.

King of Cups and Five of Wands

• Meaning: Tension, conflict amidst passionate pursuits
• Explanation: The Five of Wands indicates conflict, tension and competitiveness. With the King, this points to clashing perspectives or power struggles creating emotional discord amidst relationships or group creative projects. Address this honestly but calmly.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The figures’ sparring disturbs the King’s peaceful realm. He intervenes with maturity and compassion, aiming to resolve tensions and restore harmony so pursuits can continue productively.

King of Cups and Six of Wands

• Meaning: Public recognition for creative passions/relationships
• Explanation: The Six of Wands symbolizes victory, acclaim and praise. Alongside the King, this suggests relationships or creative/artistic pursuits gaining public notice and appreciation, bolstering confidence. Enjoy this emotional boost graciously.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The figure’s victory parade is celebrated in the King’s compassionate realm. He offers graceful congratulations for accomplishments related to passions and bonds, while keeping ego in check.

King of Cups and Seven of Wands

• Meaning: Defending values, beliefs around passion/relationships
• Explanation: The Seven of Wands depicts perseverance and defensiveness when beliefs are challenged. With the King, this indicates emotionally defending relationships or creative endeavors, firmly yet calmly standing ground. Trust your convictions.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The figure’s unwavering stance reflects the King’s mature but intense protection of cherished values around his emotional commitments and passions against external doubts. He holds steady.

King of Cups and Eight of Wands

• Meaning: Fast paced communications about passion/relationships
• Explanation: The Eight of Wands represents swift communication and progress. Alongside the King, this symbolizes lively, passionate exchanges about relationships or creativity that energize and move things forward quickly. Respond promptly and thoughtfully.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The wands’ rapid flight electrifies the King’s realm with vibrant, enthusiastic communications circulating about cherished connections and creative efforts. Events unfold rapidly.

King of Cups and Nine of Wands

• Meaning: Resilience amidst emotional fatigue around passion/relationships
• Explanation: The Nine of Wands signifies perseverance through exhaustion and adversity. With the King, it points to resiliently enduring emotional fatigue concerning relationships or creativity, while courageously facing challenges. Pace yourself.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The weary but determined figure reflects the King’s state, as he draws on his deep strength to compassionately support passions and bonds amidst trying circumstances. He remains dedicated when depleted.

King of Cups and Ten of Wands

• Meaning: Emotional burden, pressure around relationships/passion
• Explanation: The Ten of Wands indicates being over-burdened, pressured and burning out. Paired with the King, this suggests emotions are heavily strained concerning bonds or creativity, with immense duties weighing down spirits. Delegate or release responsibilities.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The stooped figure parallels the King’s exhaustion from extreme obligations depleting his emotional reserves and zeal. By offloading passions and connections to others, his compassion can be renewed.

King of Cups and Page of Wands

• Meaning: Emotional inspiration and curiosity for new passions
• Explanation: The Page of Wands symbolizes curiosity, inspiration and messages. Combined with the King, this represents fresh inspirational stirrings of emotion that stimulate interest in new relationships or creative endeavors. There is an eagerness to explore passions.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Page’s explorations into the King’s realm bubble with enthusiasm and wonder, kindling his curiosity towards new emotional experiences, relationships and creativity. The Page delivers inspirational news.

King of Cups and Knight of Wands

• Meaning: Warm, inspired leadership in relationships and creativity
• Explanation: The Queen of Wands represents courage, determination and inspiring leadership. Paired with the King, this indicates creatively guiding relationships or passions with charisma, spreading enthusiasm warmly. Nurture talents in others.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Queen’s vibrant authority empowers the King’s realm with vigor, purpose and vision to nurture relationships and creativity meaningfully, while building confidence. Her torch lights the way.

King of Cups and King of Wands

• Meaning: Mastering emotions and inspiration in relationships/passions
• Explanation: The King of Wands depicts mastery, vision and leadership. Alongside the Cups King, this symbolizes excelling in relationships or pursuits by blending emotional maturity and compassion with inspired action and direction. Balance feelings and vision.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Wands King’s fiery drive propels the Cups King’s watery realm ahead with imagination and intuition working in harmony. Together they masterfully integrate emotion and inspiration.

Cups

King of Cups and Ace of Cups

• Meaning: Overflowing emotions, new relationships full of love
• Explanation: The Ace of Cups reflects new feelings, spirituality and relationships. Paired with the King, it indicates fresh emotional connections to others, self and creativity with the potential for profound intimacy, joy and renewal. Let your cup runneth over.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Ace’s cup pours new feelings into the King’s compassionate realm, overflowing his heart with loving possibilities for relationships and creative endeavors. Emotions saturate all.

King of Cups and Two of Cups

• Meaning: Deep emotional and spiritual bond with another
• Explanation: The Two of Cups represents partnerships, duality and connection on all levels. Alongside the King, it points to a profound emotional, intimate and spiritual relationship based on mutual understanding, attraction and sense of belonging. A lasting bond forms.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The figures’ ceremonial bonding integrates seamlessly with the King’s realm, formalizing a deeply meaningful relationship created through shared trust, values, passions and intuition. A union on all planes.

King of Cups and Three of Cups

• Meaning: Celebrating emotional connections and creativity
• Explanation: The Three of Cups symbolizes friendship, community and celebration. With the King, this suggests coming together joyfully with loved ones to celebrate emotional connections, happiness in relationships and share in creative accomplishments. Friendships deepen.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The dancing women integrate festively into the King’s compassionate realm, as he joins them in delighting in emotional bonds, relationships and expressing the outpouring of creativity within a caring community.

King of Cups and Four of Cups

• Meaning: Emotional apathy, contemplation and reevaluation
• Explanation: The Four of Cups represents emotional apathy, contemplation. With the King, it suggests a period of introspection, reevaluating relationships and assessing creative motivations. There is some tuning out from passions and connections. Look inward.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The figure’s disengagement resonates within the King’s realm, as he withdraws compassionately into solitude to contemplate his emotional landscape and connections. He turns inward seeking revitalization.

King of Cups and Five of Cups

• Meaning: Grieving losses in relationships and creativity
• Explanation: The Five of Cups reflects grief, loss and disappointment. Alongside the King, it points to grieving lost relationships, setbacks around creative efforts or unmet expectations. Though sorrowful, there are emotional reserves to heal. Focus ahead.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The weeping figure is comforted by the King’s mature presence amidst grief over lost connections and passions. By acknowledging sorrow while tapping resilience and intuition, he slowly mends his compassionate heart.

King of Cups and Six of Cups

• Meaning: Nostalgia, childhood emotions influencing relationships
• Explanation: The Six of Cups represents nostalgia, childhood memories and innocence. With the King, it signifies past relationships, youthful experiences and family dynamics influencing current bonds and passions. Reflect on how the past emotional imprint affects the present.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The children integrate memories and sentimentality from the King’s youth into his current emotional landscape and relationships. He contemplates with maturity how the past resonates now.

King of Cups and Seven of Cups

• Meaning: Emotional distractions, fantasies and confusion
• Explanation: The Seven of Cups symbolizes fantasy, lack of clarity and distraction from too many options. Paired with the King, this indicates emotions are clouded, causing relationship confusion and creative paralysis. Fantasy obscures reality. Ground intentions.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The cups’ fantastical visions swirl around the King’s realm, muddling emotional reasoning and discernment around connections and passions. By staying centered, he sees past illusion.

King of Cups and Eight of Cups

• Meaning: Emotional withdrawal and disconnecting relationships
• Explanation: The Eight of Cups represents walking away, disconnecting from a situation or relationship. With the King, it suggests sorrowfully but necessarily moving on from once fulfilling relationships/creativity that now leave you emotionally unfulfilled. Seek meaning elsewhere.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The figure’s departure echoes the King’s grieving but deliberate leave-taking of drained passions and emotional connections, as he intuitively transitions towards more soulful bonds and creative renewal.

King of Cups and Nine of Cups

• Meaning: Emotional fulfillment around relationships and creativity
• Explanation: The Nine of Cups symbolizes satisfaction, happiness and wish fulfillment. Alongside the King, it indicates contentment in cherished relationships and the ability to express creativity to your heart’s desire. Savor this pinnacle of emotional achievement.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The figure’s self-satisfaction resonates through the King’s realm, as he fulfills his potential for profound connections, compassion and creativity. Abundant emotions nourish his spirit.

King of Cups and Ten of Cups

• Meaning: Lasting contentment and emotional bonds with community
• Explanation: The Ten of Cups represents lasting happiness, security and community. Paired with the King, it suggests achieving enduring emotional satisfaction in relationships and creative expressions that provide stability. Cherish this communal spirit.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The happy family integrates smoothly into the King’s compassionate realm, formalizing enduring bonds, creativity and emotional balance within a supportive, nurturing community.

King of Cups and Page of Cups

• Meaning: Playful emotional energy and intuitive messages
• Explanation: The Page of Cups symbolizes happy news, curiosity and creativity. Alongside the King, this indicates light-hearted emotional energy and intuitive messages around relationships or passions arriving to spark inspiration. Embrace playfulness.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Page’s fish emerges full of joyful surprises within the King’s realm, igniting his creative spirit and emotional happiness in relationships through flashes of inspiration, fun and intuition.

King of Cups and Knight of Cups

• Meaning: Romantic relationships and creative pursuits with passion
• Explanation: The Knight of Cups represents romance, imagination and charm. With the King, this suggests relationships or creative efforts pursued passionately and intuitively, directed by compassion and romantic energy. Follow your heart devotedly.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Knight’s quest stirs imagination guided by emotions in the King’s realm, as he rides ardently towards connections and creativity that fulfill romantic needs while retaining maturity and wisdom.

King of Cups and Queen of Cups

• Meaning: Intuitive, nurturing emotional leadership and support
• Explanation: The Queen of Cups symbolizes compassion, intuition and support. Alongside the King, she provides empathetic emotional guidance around relationships and creativity, with gentle care and receptivity. Nurture from the heart.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Queen’s river of subconscious feelings flows into the King’s watery realm, as her intuitive nature complements and amplifies his emotional maturity and depth around passions and bonds.

King of Cups and King of Cups

• Meaning: Emotional mastery, depth of compassion, spiritual values
• Explanation: When the King of Cups repeats, it represents ultimate mastery of relationships, emotions, intuition and creativity through spiritual groundedness and depth of care for others. Your highest ideals are realized. This is emotional maturity perfected.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The dual Kings unite their realms powerfully, indicating full actualization of compassion, emotional wisdom and meaningful values around bonds and passions. Intuition flows to them effortlessly.

Swords

King of Cups and Ace of Swords

• Meaning: Cutting through emotional confusion and creative blocks
• Explanation: The Ace of Swords represents clarity, breakthroughs and new ideas. Alongside the King, this symbolizes cutting through emotional confusion to gain understanding in relationships and clear creative obstacles. Fresh possibilities emerge out of discernment.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The sword’s swift cut pierces the veil around the King’s emotions and passions, allowing innovative inspiration and illuminating insight to flow freely. Mental acuity meets compassion.

King of Cups and Two of Swords

• Meaning: Emotional stalemate, truce around relationships/creativity
• Explanation: The Two of Swords represents indecision, truce and stalemate. With the King, it points to being at an emotional crossroads around relationships or creative direction. More reflection is needed to break the tension. A compromise maintains peace for now.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The seated woman resonates with the King’s temporary truce amidst uncertainty around passions and connections, trying to discern the best path ahead through intuition while preserving harmony. Stillness before decisions.

King of Cups and Three of Swords

• Meaning: Emotional heartbreak, sorrow and betrayal
• Explanation: The Three of Swords signifies heartbreak, betrayal and separation. Alongside the King, this represents intense emotional anguish over severed relationships or shattered creative efforts. Though extremely painful, there are lessons and healing ahead after honoring the grief.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The piercing heart echoes in the King’s compassionate realm as relationships and passions crumble apart, requiring his maturity and resilience to process this betrayal and loss while maintaining faith in emotional bonds.

King of Cups and Four of Swords

• Meaning: Contemplative retreat for emotional/creative renewal
• Explanation: The Four of Swords depicts rest, retreat and contemplation. Paired with the King, it suggests a purposeful, compassionate withdraw from relationships or creative work to recharge and gain perspective through introspection. Take a time out.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The resting figure aligns with the King’s conscious emotional retreat to revive his energy and ideas. By disengaging, he can approach relationships and passions from a meditative place of reflection.

King of Cups and Five of Swords

• Meaning: Emotional conflicts around relationships/creativity
• Explanation: The Five of Swords represents conflict, manipulation and hostility. With the King, it points to sharp disagreements concerning relationships or creative pursuits that cause underlying resentment and tension. Avoid being drawn into ego battles. Restore compassionate communication.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The combative figures disrupt the King’s harmonious realm, as arguments around passions and connections cause painful division. With maturity, he can mend breaches through empathy and openness.

King of Cups and Six of Swords

• Meaning: Emotional transitions towards peace after turmoil
• Explanation: The Six of Swords symbolizes change, passage and leaving turmoil behind. Alongside the King, it suggests transitioning relationships/creativity to a more tranquil setting following emotional conflicts or upheaval. The worst is now behind you.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The boat’s passengers echo the King departing tumultuous feelings and situations, voyaging with hope and intuition towards more peaceful, cooperative relationships and creativity. The storm passes.

King of Cups and Seven of Swords

• Meaning: Guarded emotions, covert agendas around relationships
• Explanation: The Seven of Swords represents secrecy, deception and strategy. With the King, it points to being guarded emotionally, hidden agendas concerning relationships or passions, and potentially sneaky motivations obscured by compassionate pretense. Discern others’ true intents.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The escaping figure resonates with emotionally veiled aspects in the King’s compassionate realm. He strives for transparency while intuiting when relationships or passions may be deceiving through strategic facades.

King of Cups and Eight of Swords

• Meaning: Feeling trapped in negative thought patterns and emotions
• Explanation: The Eight of Swords symbolizes being restricted, powerless and limited by false beliefs. Combined with the King, it suggests feeling confined by limiting perspectives around relationships/creativity that undermine emotional confidence and passions. Broaden your viewpoint.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The tethered woman mirrors the King feeling bound by rigid thoughts concerning bonds and creativity. By acknowledging these imagined restrictions compassionately, he can cut through them for liberating clarity.

King of Cups and Nine of Swords

• Meaning: Anxiety, grief around relationships and creative pursuits
• Explanation: The Nine of Swords indicates anxiety, trauma and despair. Alongside the King, this symbolizes emotional grief, anxiety and rumination concerning bonds or passions that causes suffering. Look for positives and release through compassion for self and others.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The distressed figure resonates with the King’s realm clouded by worry and tension that torment imagination. He responds with caring awareness to relieve suffering and restore peace of mind around relationships.

King of Cups and Ten of Swords

• Meaning: Painful conclusion, loss around relationships/creativity
• Explanation: The Ten of Swords represents an ending, loss and inevitable closure. With the King, this indicates a painful but final severing or failure concerning relationships/pursuits. While difficult, complete the cycle and process the emotions before starting anew.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The stabbed figure parallels grief and loss closing a cycle in the King’s realm of emotions and passions. By surrendering, the King compassionately processes this severing, allowing healing space for fresh bonds and creativity.

King of Cups and Page of Swords

• Meaning: Curious, open outlook on relationships and passions
• Explanation: The Page of Swords represents curiosity, mental energy and new ideas. Paired with the King, this symbolizes an inquisitive, open outlook concerning relationships and creativity that revitalizes perspectives and stimulates potential. Embrace questioning.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Page’s bird ignites the King’s interest and fresh insights about bonds and passions. This mental quickening keeps his compassionate heart and mind agile, flexible and engaged.

King of Cups and Knight of Swords

• Meaning: Headstrong passion pursues relationships and creativity
• Explanation: The Knight of Swords depicts forcefulness, determination and even aggression. Alongside the King, this suggests fervently pursuing relationships or creative interests headstrong yet not harshly. Harness conviction behind compassion.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Knight’s focused charge spurs action in the King’s realm that, while intense, aligns emotions and logic to actively develop bonds and passions. Conviction is tempered with care.

King of Cups and Queen of Swords

• Meaning: Clear boundaries and direct communication in relationships
• Explanation: The Queen of Swords symbolizes perceptiveness, directness and truth without sentimentality. With the King, she enables clear insights into relationships/creativity and boundaries communicated compassionately. Be forthright but kind.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Queen’s sword of discernment complements the King’s emotional maturity, cutting through illusions harming bonds and passions while conveying necessary truths with sensitivity. Honesty aligns with care.

King of Cups and King of Swords

• Meaning: Intellect strengthens emotional relationships and creativity
• Explanation: The King of Swords represents logic, intellect and truth. He aids the Cups King in logically navigating relationships and passions, providing structure and strategy to balance compassion. An intellectual approach grounded by emotion creates synergy.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Swords King’s ordered realm complements the watery Cups domain, blending acute reason with emotional maturity. Together they craft relationships and creativity intellectually guided by wisdom, values and intuition.

Pentacles

King of Cups and Ace of Pentacles

• Meaning: Abundant new beginnings in finances, relationships and creativity
• Explanation: The Ace of Pentacles reflects prosperity, opportunity and manifesting desires. Combined with the King, it indicates abundant potential for flourishing relationships, successful creative efforts and financial gain through compassion and emotional wisdom. Value strength of bonds and talents.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The ornate coin generates wealth and opportunity that the King oversees with benevolence, utilizing resources to enrich relationships with security and express creativity meaningfully. Fortunes multiply through care.

King of Cups and Two of Pentacles

• Meaning: Balancing relationships, creativity and finances
• Explanation: The Two of Pentacles represents balance, juggling priorities and adaptability. With the King, it suggests multitasking duties around relationships, finances and creative interests. Draw on intuition to manage obligations while sustaining passion. Remain flexible.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The dancing figure resonates with the King skillfully overseeing multiple spheres. He maintains equilibrium between relationships, money matters and creative pursuits through astute emotional awareness.

King of Cups and Three of Pentacles

• Meaning: Building stable relationships and creative works
• Explanation: The Three of Pentacles symbolizes teamwork, collaboration and building something substantial. Paired with the King, this indicates steadily constructing enduring, meaningful relationships and creative works by cooperating compassionately with others. Join forces for stability.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The workers integrate smoothly into the King’s relational realm, collectively combining their skills to manifest stability and put passions into practice through collaboration, benefiting bonds.

King of Cups and Four of Pentacles

• Meaning: Protecting emotions, relationships and resources
• Explanation: The Four of Pentacles represents conservatism, control and protection of assets. With the King, it suggests carefully preserving emotions, relationships and creative works by not overexposing them. Manage resources prudently for security.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The figure’s closed posture resonates in the King’s realm, indicating possessiveness around bonds, passions and finances. While securing stability, the King balances openness and protection.

King of Cups and Five of Pentacles

• Meaning: Feeling excluded from relationships or passions
• Explanation: The Five of Pentacles signifies hardship, rejection and exclusion. Alongside the King, this indicates feeling emotionally rejected from relationships or groups, or unable to fully express creativity. Though isolating, perseverance and compassion can mend rifts.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The outcasts parallel isolation within the King’s concerned realm. By bridging differences with empathy and maintaining self-worth, he can restore acceptance where passions and bonds had strained.

King of Cups and Six of Pentacles

• Meaning: Sharing compassion, resources and creativity generously
• Explanation: The Six of Pentacles represents generosity, charity and sharing wealth. Combined with the King, it suggests compassionately offering emotional support, finances or creative resources to enrich relationships and help others. Benevolence and talents distributed judiciously bear fruits.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The patron resonates with the King’s caring approach to distribute assets, creativity and counsel where relationships need strengthening through magnanimous emotional giving. Freely share your blessings.

King of Cups and Seven of Pentacles

• Meaning: Evaluating efforts towards relationships and creativity
• Explanation: The Seven of Pentacles symbolizes assessment, reward for hard work and investment. With the King, it represents reflectively evaluating relationships and creative endeavors to determine if more input is needed for fulfillment. Make adjustments compassionately.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The appraising farmer mirrors the King wisely taking stock of bonds and passions. While grateful for progress, deeper emotional investment may further dreams and harvest richer relationships.

King of Cups and Eight of Pentacles

• Meaning: Focused dedication towards mastering relationships/creativity
• Explanation: The Eight of Pentacles depicts skill development, diligence and patience in perfecting an endeavor. Alongside the King, this symbolizes tirelessly honing relationship skills and creative mastery through compassion, commitment and concentration. Refine your craft.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The blacksmith’s focused labor resonates with the King’s realm as he devotes energy towards emotional intelligence in bonds and technical proficiency in creative outlets, integrating mind, body and spirit.

King of Cups and Nine of Pentacles

• Meaning: Self-sufficiency, confidence and discipline in relationships/creativity
• Explanation: The Nine of Pentacles represents self-reliance, refined confidence and discipline. With the King, it suggests gracefully excelling in relationships and creative realms through emotional maturity, confidence in talents and applying wisdom. Value your capabilities.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The poised woman mirrors the King’s quiet assurance gained from experience and inward reflection. Independence and self-knowledge empower bonds and creative vocations fruitfully.

King of Cups and Ten of Pentacles

• Meaning: Legacy, long-term prosperity in family relationships/creativity
• Explanation: The Ten of Pentacles symbolizes lineage, heritage and establishing a lasting legacy. Alongside the King, it indicates nurturing familial bonds and creative abundance to be passed down through generations. Your contributions will continue to enrich.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The family integrates deeply into the King’s caring realm, formalizing enduring prosperity and emotional ties through creative works and values instilled in kin to steward. His benevolent influence endures.

King of Cups and Page of Pentacles

• Meaning: Practical approach to relationships and creativity
• Explanation: The Page of Pentacles represents practicality, diligence and scholarship. Paired with the King, this suggests a studious, grounded approach applied compassionately to understand relationships and pursue creativity responsibly. Be pragmatic yet imaginative.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Page’s careful study brings expertise to the King’s realm, complementing emotional depth with pragmatic analysis, research and tangible efforts to craft relationships and creativity judiciously.

King of Cups and Knight of Pentacles

• Meaning: Loyal, dedicated relationships and creative efforts
• Explanation: The Knight of Pentacles depicts dedication, consistency and responsibility. Combined with the King, this symbolizes committed loyalty and reliable effort given to relationships and creative endeavors. Follow through on passion projects step-by-step.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Knight’s arduous journey mirrors the King’s long-haul perseverance and determination to see relationships and creativity manifest steadily through pragmatic processes, not just imagination. They build resolutely with care.

King of Cups and Queen of Pentacles

• Meaning: Secure, nurturing relationships and practical creativity
• Explanation: The Queen of Pentacles represents nurturing, sensuality and prosperity. Alongside the King, she provides secure, stable relationships and creative outlets. Finances allow passions to thrive. There is always warmth and comfort to share.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Queen’s verdant garden flourishes within the King’s watery realm. By blending emotional depth and earthy pragmatism, they craft abundant relationships and creative works that provide, protect and nourish practically.

King of Cups and King of Pentacles

• Meaning: Leadership, mastery in finances, relationships and creativity
• Explanation: The King of Pentacles depicts accomplished mastery, prosperity and leadership. Paired with the Cups King, this symbolizes excelling in managing relationships, finances and creative interests through emotional wisdom and grounded efforts. Hard work aligned with values prospers.
• Imagery and Symbolism: The Pentacles King’s flourishing domain complements the Cups realm, integrating financial savvy with compassion. Their leadership builds enduring legacies and abundance through pragmatism guided by humanistic intuition and ethics.

FAQs

What does the King of Cups tarot card mean?

The King of Cups represents mastery of emotions, compassion, creativity and relationships. He is a caring leader who acts from the heart and intuition. He offers wise counsel on matters of feelings, intimacy and imagination.

What does the King of Cups reversed mean?

The reversed King of Cups can indicate blocked creativity, emotional manipulation or detachment, inability to connect meaningfully, bottled up feelings, or using intellect to override compassion. Relationships may suffer from moodiness or passive aggression.

What does the King of Cups mean in love?

In love, the upright King of Cups signifies a compassionate, devoted partner who connects emotionally and sensually. He takes relationships seriously and offers stability. Reversed can indicate problems with emotional availability, intimacy or destructive behaviors.

What does the King of Cups mean in a career reading?

In career, the upright King of Cups points to leadership roles well-suited to counseling, healing, creativity and emotional intelligence. He oversees with compassion. Reversed can mean creative blocks, emotional volatility or manipulation in the workplace.

What does the King of Cups mean spiritually?

Spiritually, the upright King of Cups reflects mastery of emotions, intuition aligned with compassion. He has deep reservoirs of empathy, patience and imagination. Reversed can indicate blocked psychic abilities, emotional wounds impeding spiritual growth.

What does the King of Cups mean with the Lovers?

The King of Cups paired with the Lovers suggests a spiritually deep, emotionally fulfilling romantic partnership based on compassion, intuition and mutual understanding. This is a profound bond of true minds and souls.

What does the King of Cups mean with the Ace of Cups?

The King of Cups with the Ace of Cups indicates new love, creative inspiration and emotional renewal overflowing with potential. Fresh intimacy, joy and purpose fill relationships with the compassion to nurture this new beginning.

What does the King of Cups mean with the Four of Wands?

The Four of Wands combined with the King of Cups signifies harmonious relationships reaching stable new heights. There is celebration of commitment and creativity in a loving community offering emotional security through shared compassion and values.

What does the King of Cups mean with the Seven of Swords?

The Seven of Swords paired with the King of Cups can represent hidden agendas and guarded emotions around relationships, blocked intimacy and chicanery masking as compassion. Discern others’ truthfulness in bonds.

What does the King of Cups mean with the Eight of Pentacles?

The Eight of Pentacles with the King of Cups reflects tirelessly honing relationship skills and creative talents with disciplined compassion. Hard work and emotional wisdom create mastery of craft and deep bonds.

Key Takeaways

• Upright King of Cups brings emotional maturity, compassion and creative intuition to other cards in a reading. He stabilizes and cares.
• Reversed King can indicate blocked passions, moodiness, manipulation or detachment depending on the pairing.
• Court cards amplify qualities in the King – Knights add passion and action, Queens intuition and nurture, Kings strategy and leadership.
• Major Arcana combine broader themes and energies with the King’s emotional mastery.
• Minors blend everyday circumstances involving relationships, creativity, spirituality and more with the qualities embodied by the King.
• Consider imagery, symbolism and number meanings for further insight into King combinations.
• Reference the meaning summaries provided to understand the unique blend of energies produced with each pairing.

Conclusion

Interpreting King of Cups combinations requires synthesizing the meanings associated with both cards in the pairing along with intuition about their interactions. This guide outlined detailed interpretations for all 78 possible combinations with the King to help build your comprehension. Understanding how the compassionate King merges with other Tarot cards provides richer insights in readings.