78 Weeks: Knight of Cups

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Some amongst us may be working through the deck in a different order, and using different decks.

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Enjoy!

knight of cups

someone entering, usually with drink, charm, looks, or some kind of presentation.
some one leaving, calls to attention that this person is good looking, but theres something about him that isnt right.

For my regular study I've decided to use the Tarot of Marseilles. I'm currently using six (or is it seven?) different versions of this deck. As a part of my study I'm drawing my own version of the card depicting the characters in modern clothing, while attempting to retain the iconography and 'woodcut' look of the cards.

This week, rather than discuss the meaning of the card, I'm going to focus a bit on iconography - what we actually see in the card and some of the difficulties I encountered trying to dress this Cavalier in modern clothing.

Both the Dodal and the Hadar versions of this card depict this Cavalier gripping what can only be described as a 'phallic shape' in his left hand. Both the Conver and the Burdel show that he's carrying the horse's reins in his left hand. I decided on a compromise in my version.

Again, both the Dodal and Hadar show this Cavalier wearing what appears to be a circular hat on his back. In the Conver and Burdel, this appears to be a scarf. For my own reasons having to do with how to dress him, I decided it was a hat.

And finally, as Cups are traditionally associated with Clerics, I decided he needed to wear a dog collar. The poncho just goes along with the hat. To me, he looks like a travelling priest in Mexico.

I attach my version of the card:

Knight of Cups

During my study / meditation on this card I have had lots of conflicting thoughts you could say. In that I keep seeing two different but related sides to this Knights character. As usual my study is based on the Universal Waite, but have looked at a couple of other decks for this card to help clarify my thoughts and feelings, using the Golden and Gilded tarots as well.

On the one hand I see this Knight as an enthusiastic and romantic lover perhaps searching for his mate or being led by his emotions and desire on a quest or even bringing an offering of love in some way. He also appears sensitive to his feelings and of those around him but yet I can't get past the feeling of his immaturity and the thought that he is perhaps in love with the idea of being in love and does not yet understand, or has experienced the depth and strength of true love. I guess that is why he is a Knight and not yet a King

For my version of this card, I deviated slightly from the standard RWS type imagery in that instead of a river in the card I used a waterfall as this sort of connected to the bubbling over or bursting forth of love and feelings - running over a cliff and pouring into the pool below. I have also sort of shown the Knight filling his cup from the waterfall - is he filling it for himself (thinking of his own feelings and fulfillment) or is he filling it to offer to someone else (giving his heart to another and sharing the fresh, new emotions). Selfish or unselfish; shallow or deep; sincere or insincere in what he offers - does he even know himself (or herself).

I guess it is supposed to be every woman's dream - the romantic knight in shining armour bringing gifts and words of love. But I can't help having a 'but' - does he have the stamina or depth of feelings to sustain the ups and downs of love in real life? However then I did think that maybe that is what he is supposed to represent - that first spark of attraction, romance and desire, innocence even. Devotion to feelings, being able to wear his heart on his sleeve and go after his heart's desires. Wanting to appreciate and pursue beauty and dreams of love in life.

Enough romantic babbling for one night!

CreativeFire

Knight of Cups - Revelations Tarot

First impressions
Sternness… Religious, too….

From the book
Upright
He is a sensitive, gentle soul and a dreamer - a hopeless romantic who awaits love.
The Knight of Cups represents a spiritual, soulful, and emotional young person. He or she can be artistic, musically inclined, or just generally a dreamer. This person can often have his or her head in the clouds, and so can be difficult to pin down. He or she also provides light and enjoyable company, is deeply sensitive as a listener, and is loving as a partner.
In situations, this card represents the search or journey for higher ideals. Tasks of greater meaning or projects of humanitarian proportions may surround you. There can also be an air of creativity that compels you to produce works of art or to dabble in theatre or dance.

Reversed
He is removed from his emotions. He turns a blind eye toward them and remains despondent and aloof.
The reverse of this card represents someone who is out of' touch with his or her emotions and inner voice. This person can often be lost or distracted, frequently asking for suggestions or advice but rarely following through. Sometimes he or she can appear aloof and numb to the emotions in his or her surrounding environment. This person is the ultimate escapist, often sleeping or living within fantasies and avoiding the realities of his or her life.
The situations around you leave you feeling numb. It may be a reflection of how you have been dealing with difficult issues or projects. You may find others in your area are cold and heartless too, being logical or clinical and not showing a shred of humanity. Relationships feel amiss as lovers or friends are distant and unattainable.

Images and Symbolism
The knight carries with him an ornate cup, which represents the ideal of the holy grail. He holds the cup close to him as it contains what he deems precious to his life: his emotions and feelings. He uses them wisely and carefully.
He looks into the cup for guidance. His movements are made through the interpretations of his emotions and where they will take him.
On the reverse, the knight barely holds on to his cup. It is of no importance to him. His arms are crossed, for he refuses to budge or take responsibility for his emotions or his feelings.
Color: gold and red, colors for a coat of arms and colors of movement.

Traditional meanings
Upright:
He is enthusiastic, amiable, open to new ideas. He brings offers and opportunities. He is casual in appearance, easily bored.
Reversed:
False promises and duplicity. He has no regard for truth.
My impressions:
Upright
A very stern looking merman holding close to him a gold cup bearing an embossed cross sits in front of a huge, majestic sea-horse in gold and orange. He seems to have his eyes closed, as if meditating.
Reversed
A similar merman – but he holds the cup dangling from his fingertips, tipped off to one side – and it has no cross, either. His arms are carelessly folded, and his seahorse hangs its head as if it had given up hope of something.
My take
The upright image looks like a classic “good guy”. He looks just and honest, thoughtful and successful. The seahorse appears to agree ! I don’t see the book bit about his looking into the cup for guidance – but no matter, he clearly takes the time to consider his actions, which will thus be successful. He seems to have a meditative streak – a dreamer, as the book says. If this represents the querent – good luck, you’re doing OK. If the querent is going to run into him – it will be an association worth pursuing. The reverse image looks sloppy, careless – even don’t care-ish. He couldn’t give a toss, and the seahorse –who I suspect tried to give him advice ! – has given up on him. He looks like a classic lazy guy who has no job and coasts at the expense of others. I would warn a querent off getting associated with this individual ! If it represents them – I would try to suggest a serious change of attitude…

All the cards from this deck can be viewed here.

Thoth

Card name: Knight of Cups

First impressions
A bareheaded young man – almost a boy ! in green armour with massive blue wings sits on a white horse (yes I do know they are technically known as greys !) His back is to us; he reaches forwards with a red cup from which emanates a crab with blue saw-like rays coming out from each claw. The horse is looking backwards at us, with a startlingly turquoise eye – its reins are also turquoise. At the bottom right is a gorgeous turquoise peacock with tail fully fanned out. It appears to be standing under water, and waves are washing over it – but it seems totally unaffected.

From the Book of Thoth

The Knights represent the powers of the letter Yod in the Name. They are the most sublime, original, active part of the Energy of the Element; for this reason they are represented on horseback and clad in complete armour. Their action is swift and violent, but transient. In the Element of Fire, for instance, the Knight corresponds to the Lightning flash; in the Element of Water, to Rain and Springs; in that of Air, to Wind; in that of Earth, to Mountains. It is very important as a mental exercise to work out for oneself these correspondences between the Symbol and the Natural Forces which they represent; and it is essential to practical Magical work to have assimilated this knowledge.

KNIGHT OF CUPS

The Knight of Cups represents the fiery part of Water, the swift passionate attack of rain and springs; more intimately, Water’s power of solution. He rules the Heavens from the 21st degree of Aquarius to the 20th degree of Pisces. He is clothed in black armour furnished with bright wings which, together with the leaping attitude of his white charger, indicates that he represents the most active aspect of Water. In his right hand he bears a cup from which issues a crab, the cardinal sign of Water, for aggressiveness. His totem is the peacock, for one of the stigmata of water in its most active form is brilliance. There is here also some reference to the phenomena of fluorescence.

The characteristics of the person signified by this card are nevertheless mostly passive, in accordance with the Zodiacal attribution. He is graceful, dilettante, with the qualities of Venus, or a weak Jupiter. He is amiable in a passive way. He is quick to respond to attraction, and easily becomes enthusiastic under such stimulus; but he is not very enduring. He is exceedingly sensitive to external influence, but with no material depth in his character.

When the card is ill dignified, he is sensual, idle and untruthful. Yet with all this he possesses an innocence and purity which are the essence of his nature. But he is, on the whole, so superficial that it is hard to reach this depth. “His name is writ in water.”

In the Yi King, the fiery part of Water is represented by the 54th Hexagram, Kwei Mei. The commentary is singularly obscure, and somewhat sinister. It deals with the difficulties of rightly mating such opposites as fire and water (compare the Queen of Wands; but in that case Water is the calming and modulating influence, while here it is Fire which creates trouble.) Swiftness and violence ill suit a character naturally placid; it is rare indeed to meet with a person who has succeeded in harmonizing these conflicting elements. He tends to mismanage all his affairs; and unless sheer good fortune attend him, his whole career will be an unbroken record of failure and disaster. Often his mental “civil war” ends in schizophrenia or melancholy madness. The abuse of stimulants and narcotics may precipitate the catastrophe.

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Images and Symbolism

Frieda Harris says in her essays:

Knight of Cups= fiery part of Water, or water's power of solution. The card represents him as a warrior in black armour, with white wings, on a white horse. In his hand he carries the Cup from which issues a Crab, sign of water in aggression. The peacock symbolises the brilliance of water.

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Also:

Knight of Cups
He is the strength and energy of water, the ocean. the peacock in the waves stands for brilliance, the crab for the aggression of the flood.

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The Cup, says Snuffin, is russet, the mixture of the orange of Hod and the violet of Yesod. The crab stands for Cancer; the rays behind it (I thought they came FROM it !) show the influence of the moon, Cancer’s planetary ruler. He also points out that this Knight is the only court card in the deck that doesn’t wear a helmet – I assume he means male court figure ! The peacock stands for the end of the Nigredo, the blackening stage of alchemical work, and the transmutation of the First Matter in to a more spiritualised form – this is why the Knight has wings; they signify his purified state. His white horse – the colour of the Albedo, the next stage of alchemy, leaps over the peacock to indicate this significant change.
Banzhaf says the cup is the feminine vessel of transformation, and the peacock a reference to the phenomenon of fluorescence, as Crowley states. He – like me – sees rays coming from the cup – which he refers to as the Grail – flames which shine from the merging of water with fire.

Meaning (cribbed from Wasserman)
Represents the fiery part of water. A man who is a graceful dilettante, amiable in a passive way, quick to respond to attraction and easily enthusiastic, exceedingly sensitive but with little depth of character. III-dignified: Sensual and idle man, untruth¬ful, prone to melancholy and drug abuse.
DuQuette
Graceful, poetic, Venusian, indolent but enthusiastic if roused. Ill dignified, he is sensual, idle and untruthful.
Traditional meanings – From Thirteen’s book of meanings:

KNIGHTS
Knights or princes are the spirit of the teenager, all about changes, movement, action. Knights are never still; as the pages/princesses suggest messages, the knights suggest travel and spreading what they know. They are also, as Knights, about engaging in battle.
Elementally, they are Air moving and flowing. As a person, they're likely to stand for a young adult or someone who acts very like a teen. Their beliefs are purer than of an adult, less cynical, more fierce. And like their element, they are prone to argue and fight for what they believe. In this they are most knight like: powerfully, almost unquestioning loyal to a kingdom or cause.
Knight of Cups
As Travel: Travel to lake, river or sea, or by water.
As Change and Movement: As with the Teen years, this card can indicate changes that involve emotional ups and down. The mood in the querent's environment, with friends or family, might switch rapidly from elation to depression, from sorrow to optimism. Especially in regards to a relationship this card can indicate a time of emotional flux, of fights about feelings.
As a Teen or "Teen-like" Person: A knight in the truest sense, this is the knight of love, the "emo" teen: dreamy, sensitive, moody, "deep." He plays music, spends long hours alone in his room with the shades drawn, he writes dark, meaningful poetry. He or she will fall in love, profoundly and romantically, and believe that theirs is the most true, the most intense and spiritual love ever.
They can, likewise, see themselves as more spiritual, artistic or "deep" than others. They have a tendency to believe that others just "don't understand" and can't understand the power of their feelings.
The Knight of Cups should be watched for depression, which can be very real and serious. This teen or teen-like person may be so lost in emotions that they are inclined toward suicide. They are also in danger of experimenting with drugs and alcohol, not to have fun, but to escape from their intense feelings. Though moody, the Knight of Cups is fiercely loyal to anyone and anything he loves, including family.

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My impressions (appearance of the card):
My FIRST impression was that the knight was REACHING for the cup, not that he was already holding it. It still looks that way – like a striving to achieve. The way the horse is looking back almost suggests he thinks it’s a bad idea to go forward. The bare-headedness suggested to me a degree of recklessness; going for broke when that might be unwise. I am also struck by the way the waves seem to merge into the wings. This does NOT strike me as a passive card !

My take (what I make of it/what I might see in a reading where I drew it)
Someone going after what they want without thought for the consequences. Forcing their horse over a too-high-fence, that kind of thing – which would lead me to suggest a degree of caution.

Knight of Cups (Rider Waite Tarot)

First Impressions
Knight in shining armour. Grail Knight. Prince Charming. Lancelot. Riding in on a white steed. All of these come to mind when examining the Knight of Cups in the Rider Waite Tarot. He’s the gleamingest, most romantic figure in the deck. Graceful, gentle and chivalrous, he is a courtly figure of bygone days. His armour is pristine and bright, his expression is peaceful, even his horse is as pretty and perfect and bright-eyed as a carousel pony. I always think that there’s something too good to be true, something carefully contrived, about this character. He’s like something out of a fairy tale.

He (the Knight, I mean) holds the reins in one hand while the other holds the goblet out. It’s as if he’s offering it to his one true love. We can’t see what is in it, if anything. The reins have a pattern like rippling water, and the Knight holds both cup and reins with bare hands. His armour is silvery and shining, plate armour – no dinky dull chain mail, that’s far too plebeian. His helmet is the same shining silver, with the heavy visor pushed up to reveal his thoughtful and smiling expression. Both stirruped feet and helmet are adorned with shiny wings elongated like the Nike of Samothrace. I wonder if the resemblance is deliberate, a bit of a point toward the Knightly aspect of battle, action and achieving victory. Or perhaps to indicate the element of Air of the Knights (or are Kings Air and Knights Fire? Oh dear, I always mix those two up). There’s no mystery about the tunic over his armour, however; adorned with red fish, it points straight at the Watery element of the Cups, and red for the passion of the hot-blooded lover.

The horse’s head is down as if pulling slightly at the reins. Maybe he chafes a bit at the sudden inaction, at being so suddenly halted in mid-stride. He tugs at the reins, and one front hoof and one back are raised as if pawing impatiently at the ground. Water is passive, inactive. But the horse might represent some element of the animalistic, instinctive nature of humans. The base instincts and the impulse that drives Knights to action.

Horse and rider stand on yellow sand beside a lazily twisting river. Trees and rugged cliffs stand on the other side of the river from the Knight, as though it not only represents the Water element, but also a barrier or obstacle. And the sand, emblem of heat and dryness, is an interesting contrast.

The posture of horse and armoured, plumed rider parallels, as has been mentioned so often, that of Death in this same deck. But I’ll look at that in a bit. Isn’t the Knight of Cups’ zodiac association Scorpio? I can’t remember off the top of my head.

The Knight of Cups is usually the most “romantic” card of the deck to me. It is the lover, the great romance, the fairy tale, the being swept off one’s feet. At least that’s how I always see it.

Creator’s Notes
Waite says that this card means:

Waite said:

Graceful, but not warlike; riding quietly, wearing a winged helmet, referring to those higher graces of the imagination which sometimes characterize this card. He too is a dreamer, but the images of the side of sense haunt him in his vision.

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Very true, the bit about being graceful rather than warlike. A dancer rather than a warrior. I always thought of imagination, of dreams, being the area of the Page of this suit rather than the Knight, but Waite is emphatic about it. The last bit, the “images of the side of sense” makes me think of the dreamy yet troubled Knights of the Round Table on their various quests and adventures. And Waite did so love him a good Grail myth …

Others’ Interpretations
In the Pictorial Key to the Tarot, Waite interprets this card to mean:

Waite said:

Divinatory Meanings: Arrival, approach--sometimes that of a messenger; advances, proposition, demeanour, invitation, incitement. Reversed: Trickery, artifice, subtlety, swindling, duplicity, fraud.

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Tarotpedia gives the following keywords:

tarotpedia said:

A visionary
Acting upon intuition or a gut feeling
Idealism
Being romantic, sensitive, or temperamental

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I’m not ordinarily a fan of just keywords for interpretation, but these seemed to be on the money.

Symbols and Attributes
Astrologically the Knight of Cups is associated with Scorpio. So is Death in the Major Arcana, which I think Waite and Colman Smith were hinting at when the two figures came out so similarly. It is a very intense sign, and secretive, with a lot going on beneath the surface; this is the case with the Knight of Cups as well. There’s even the river there like in Death. And it is a sign associated with sexuality, as well. But wait, there’s more. If we go by the decanate system made famous in these parts by Scion (but as I lost his file, I’m going by that on Paul Hughes-Barlow’s supertarot.co.uk website), the Knight of Cups is two-thirds Scorpio and one-third Aquarius. The sigil or glyph or whatever you call it of Aquarius is wavy lines like water that is calm but not still. We see it in the Six of Cups as well, but here we see that in the horse’s reins. Sharing the optimism of the Star, which is also associated with Aquarius, I see this as reflected in the idealization of this Knight.

Elementally he is the Air (Knight) of Water (Cups). Water vapour, then? The transformation from a water to a gas, like the transformation that is Death, the transformation from the old year to the next or the old world to the next of Scorpio and Samhain. Or might it represent fog, or mist? Like fog, this Knight is a bit secretive and doesn’t show everything clearly. Not one to wear his heart on his sleeve, I think.

… maybe I’m just a bit out to lunch on this part of it …

Knights are typically abstracted as searching, as seeking, as questing. When combined with the emotional nature of the suit of Cups, I interpret the Knight of Cups as meaning searching for love, or an abstract ideal. He is on a spiritual quest. He is commonly considered the Grail Knight of the Tarot. Opinions seem to vary on exactly which Grail Knight he is - Lancelot, Galahad, Parsifal, likely others (I’m not really very conversant on Arthurian legend at all) - but I see him as Galahad. Usually depicted in legend as the pure of heart and intention, as the chaste and ideal, as the “perfect knight” and the very picture of medieval chivalry, he is the one I picture here as the Knight of Cups.

The knight sits in profile, riding to the right. Or arrested in the process of riding to the right, he is still facing ahead. Forward looking, as a knight should be.

While he wears armour, his hands are bare. No gauntlets, no gloves. For all that he self-protective, not revealing all, he is still open and receptive to sensation and new experience. He is willing to risk being hurt in the process, if it means a chance to grasp happiness, experience, sensation. With one of those bare hands he holds the cup. He is open to romance, to love, to relationships. He even holds it out as if offering a drink to the one he loves. With the other hand he holds the reins of the horse. He is in control of, yet receptive to, his instinctive and animal nature. His armour itself is pale, almost white. I see it as a bit of a pun: the fair-haired boy, the knight in shining armour, the man wearing the white hat. He’s the good guy. The plumes on helmet and heels make us think of those on the god Mercury, or Hermes. The god of communication, Mercury is an interesting side note to this Knight’s character. And Hermes is associated with times of transition, of transformation. The theme of Scorpio again. The fish on the garment over his armour is a link to the element of Water, and also to Jesus as I found when looking at the fish in the Page of Cups’ cup. Again, it all ties back to the whole Grail thing. The fish are red, as red is the colour of passion. The Knight of Cups is a lover, and a passionate one.

The horse is white like the horse that Death rides, but also a sign of peace. Notice how he seems to be stopped. It’s as if the Knight, dwelling in a dreamy landscape of his own, is so unaware of what is happening around him that he has slowed the horse to a stop. His imagination, his dreaminess, is turned inward so much so that the outer world does not matter or even exist. As he grows in maturity he will no doubt learn to express his creativity and imagination outward, to accomplish much and do much good. But for now he is in a little world of his own.

This is, I think, also expressed somewhat in the river that runs before the Knight. Because the Knight of Cups is more inwardly focused, lost in his dreams, the creative force is lessened. This is reflected in the fact that the life-giving water is seen as an ocean in the King, the shore of a sea or lake in the Queen and rolling waves in the Page, and just a narrow river in the Knight. The river is narrow, choked off, and the land around it is arid and parched. I don't mean that he's emotionally stunted or anything, just that he turns it inward and not out. Note too that the river cuts him off from the rugged mountains of his journey. His dream world is divorced from the real one. He has to bridge the gap between the two.

My Interpretation
The Knight of Cups is the quintessential romantic dreamer. One that is so engaged in his dream world that it is as if the real world is irrelevant. It fades away to insignificance. And this isn't necessarily a good thing! Rather it makes him a little dreamy and unreliable when it comes to real-world matters. But on the plus side he is an incurable romantic, eternal optimist and passionate yet considerate lover.

He might be an idealized dream lover. One that isn't real, one that exists only in the imagination. Or even more abstract, a quest for ideals or his own unattainable dream.

DECK: LoScarabeo
TITLE: Knight of Chalices

Visual Impressions & Symbolic Interpretation:
A young, light brown/dark blonde haired man of good physique sits upon a Dragon/Sea-Serpent reminiscent of a Chinese Dragon. The word “dragon” comes from the Greek work for “snake”. The creature has been used to represent uncharted territory, power, and spirituality. Throughout history, the Dragon has been an agent of good or evil ends. They are often the guardians of treasure, keepers of secrets, and often possess wisdom and clairvoyance.
He wears naught, but a delicate chain with a pink lotus pendant. A necklace is often a sign of identity; more visible and obvious than other pieces of jewelry. The chain itself is suggestive of bondage. The Lotus is a complex symbol which, as a flower, rises from the primordial Waters (feminine Cups) of Darkness into the Light; brought to life by the power of the Sun (masculine). The Lotus is often a symbol of triumph of the Spiritual realms and the journey to enlightenment. It can represent death and rebirth, but also the estrangement of love.
He holds a golden chalice in his right hand. Out of it emerges a green snake with brown speckles. The snake is another dual-symbol; a common representative of cunning, wisdom, healing; sexuality; and regeneration, reincarnation. The snake’s forked-tongue sticks out as his coiled body faces the Knight. The forked-tongue is often associated with suspicion, lies, and deceit. The snake’s green is a colour of resurrection, hope, the sea, fertility, regeneration, soothing and refreshing; fitting for a representative of Air/Water. It can also represent: movement, inexperience, innocence, freshness, and youth; all which are fitting for a Knight. Another trait attributed to the colour green is jealousy, which I see especially fitting for this Knight of Chalices.
The Knight’s face is pointed towards the cup, containing the snake, but his gaze might easily be shifted beyond what he holds…
The dragon-snake he is astride has dominantly blue scales. Blue is a colour of truth, intellect, and contemplation; fitting for a Knight, representatives of Air. Also, of spirituality, eternity; sober, somber, depression, melancholy; fitting for the suit of Chalices, representatives of Water. The Dragon-Snake also has a yellow belly, fins, snout and eyes. This colour is fitted for the suit of Air as representing the intellect, truth, intuition; or negatively as cowardice and treachery. Suiting the Element of Water it can positively represent: goodness, light, life, immortality, endurance and/or timelessness. Negatively, it can represent the suit of Chalices as mourning or quarantine.
Upon closer examination, the Dragon-Serpent’s head has what appears to be both a set of wings and horns. The presence of wings indicate flight, weightlessness, release, rising above, transcendence, spirituality, knowledge, enlightenment and freedom. They can sometimes represent a diety or messanger. Horns, on the other hand, are a very masculine and phallic symbol. Less obviously, a horn can be used as a container; receptive and feminine.
The Dragon-Serpent’s mouth is open, barring fangs, but it seems neither angry nor happy. The creature’s body however, thrashes at the environment; throwing up white-tipped waves in the blue-green water that surrounds them…

Initial Impressions: thoughts and actions divided, distraction, openness

LoS LWB: “Prince of Chalices” Light – Zeal. Shadow – Intolerance.


Book T: (In my mind, the foundation, if you will, of both the Rider-Waite-Smith and Crowley-Harris-Thoth decks.) Titles this card “The King of Cups. The Prince of the Chariot of the Waters. Prince & Emperor of Nymphs or Undines.” The LoS card rides his sea-serpent as if it were a Chariot. Surely, this sea-creature could be related or referenced to the Nymphs or Undines it speaks of. Book T refers to the character as being “subtle, violent […] a fierce nature with calm exterior” as the character of the LoS deck appears calm, while his serpent friend (perhaps his animal instinct) thrashes at the waters around them. The Knight/Prince of Cups/Chalices is the Air of Water and rules from the last decan of Libra to the first two decans of Scorpio.

In Tarot and Astrology, Kenner speaks of Scorpio (the majority of the astrological influence on this card) as being home to an “underwater world” containing the “deepest mysteries of life”. The Knight of Chalices in the LoS deck is certainly depicted in such a world, and his concern may very well be focused on these mysteries supported by the Elements of “intellectual Air and Waters of emotion”. The character certainly appears to be intense, passionate, perceptive and analytical as Kenner suggests. These qualities are often symbolized by “surf and sea animals,” represented by the LoS character’s dragon and serpent; as well as “storms, hurricanes, whirlpools of confusion” which could certainly be the eloquent translation of Air meeting Water and the surroundings of the LoS character’s card. Scorpio often falls on and between the dates of October 23rd and November 22nd; during the Autumn season of decay and fermentation. The Ancient Egyptians used an upright serpent to represent this sign, and the modern sign resembles the tail of a dragon. Both creatures make an appearance on this card. The dragon resonates with Scorpio’s enduring, deep, passionate, magnetic, and creative qualities; the serpent, with Scorpio’s strong sexuality, quick wit, intelligence, and sharp tongue.


RWS “Knight of Cups” COMPARISON:

Similarities:
- Both riding an animal
- Both holding a golden cup in right hand
- Presence of water
- Could/not be focused on the cup

Differences:
- LoS riding sea-serpent; RWS riding horse
- LoS man is naked; RWS is armoured
- LoS water is present in surroundings; RWS has a stream of water with mountains

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot: Waite writes that the Knight of Cups is graceful, quiet, imaginative, dreamer haunted by his visions. He can represent an arrival, approach, a messanger; advance, proposition or invitation. Reversed, Waite writes that it can represent trickery, swindling, duplicity and fraud. Later on, Waite adds that he can represent a visit from a friend, bringing unexpected money or reversed as irregularity.


CHT “Prince of Cups” COMARISON:

Similarities:
- Both have non-descript backgrounds: blue-green, watery, etc.
- Both male characters are naked
- Both male characters are riding something
- Both are riding in/on something
- Both are holding a cup which issues a snake
- Presence of flowers

Differences:
- LoS is riding a sea-serpent; CHT is riding a chariot drawn by an eagle
- LoS character wears a lotus flower pendant; CHT holds a flowery bocquet
- LoS holds his cup with his right hand; CHT holds his cup in left hand

Book of Thoth: Crowley writes that the Prince of Cups is a card of “Great Power”, containing an active and critical energy. He writes that Scorpio is the “most mysterious of the signs”, being subtle, secret, crafty and artistic. Also, notably that his appearance of calmness is a mask to his passionate nature. This character can be easily feared: distrusting, incapable of understanding, ruthless, focused on personal gain, irresponsible, uncontrollable, and too ambitious. Positively, Crowley writes that it can represent wisdom, good will and sincerity.


KEYWORDS I find especially suitable, courtesy of Understanding the Court Cards by Mary K. Greer:

Positive Aspects: love, help, seeking, romance, invitation, dreams, “knight in shining armor”, feelings, visions, psychism, reflection, creation, imagination, chivalry, goals, gallantry, courtly, charming, affectionate, pleasure, flattery; the arts, spirituality; emotion, visits, invitations, proposals, offers, mysticism, journey, amusement, relaxation

Negative Aspects: rivalry, flighty, too emotional, insecurity, (unwanted) seduction, moodiness, escapism, fickleness, cons, indolence, being “out of touch” with reality, infatuation


FINAL SYNOPSIS: The LoS Knight of Chalices is an especially dual-character. On one hand he can be a charming Knight: a loving, sincere, devoted person; on the other he can be a deceptive, arrogant con-man. In general, his personality is really turned inward towards the deeper mysteries of life. This character is a highly contemplative being; acutely aware of the hidden currents that flow within us all. His intelligence and desires make him especially ambitious and driven, but not always for the ;best' (for us, or himself!) cause.