the king of cups as an alcoholic?

[ladyofhearts]

does anyone see the king of cups as a heavy drinker..an alcoholic? i have read if the card is reversed it indicates this. but, has anyone had this card come up in a reading, upright, where it did indeed indicate someone had a bad drinking problem? does the upright king of cups always indicate postive things about this card? or can the upright king of cups also have a negative side to him?

 

[Sulis]

I've seen him as a heavy drinker before. It all depends on the context of the reading but I know that once I saw him as an alcoholic and I was right.

 

[Thirteen]

Oh, yes. Cups in their negative have always stood for indulgences, addictions (especially alcohol), depression, and lethargy. Without a doubt, any cup card can signify drinking, and if ill-aspected, over-indulging. Which means that the King of this suit, when ill-aspected, can stand for an alcoholic.

 

[Wonderwoman]

Big Time

Absolutely one of the interpretations of this King! The cup as a "drink" used to bypass me all the time and then I began to really disect the image and it became clear, All the Melancholy that a drink can bring!

Ww

 

[rwcarter]

There's a phrase "to be in the cups" as a euphemism for drinking. As someone who has mastered the qualities of his suit, the King could then been seen to be an alcoholic.

 

[ladyofhearts]

one more question.....does the king of cups HAVE to be reversed to indicate an alcoholic? or can the upright card indicate a heavy drinker too? thanks to all replies!!!!

 

[rwcarter]

For me, he could be upright and indicate that because I don't use reversals. If one did use reversals, the upright KC could indicate that if the position were a negative - something bad you need to know about the person, the person's worse fault, etc. An upright KC could also be shown to be that way through the application of elemental dignities.

 

[nisaba]

for me, the King is someone who has mastered "things of the Cup", so someone who knows exactly when to stop drinking, or possibly a dry alcoholic in recovery who hasn't (and won't) touch it any more.

To me, the Knight, who is more gung-ho and still learning, is more at risk of alcoholism. In Scapini's Vetrate deck (stained glass) he's even portrayed that way: he has fallen out of his horse's saddle, his ankles are twisted up in the reins, there is a silly, drunken look on his face - and through all of this, he has used every ounce of control that he has left, keeping the precious Cup upright, so as not to spill any of hte alcohol that he doesn't want to lose.

 

[Fabiannemo]

I would agree with both rwcarter and nisaba.

If in the context of the position in the spread as negative or a "shadow", or the nature of the question is about faults or warnings, an upright King of Cups would indicate to me an alcoholic who drinks to escape his reality or emotions.

However, i would be more inclined to see the Knight of Cups as more of the regular booze hound, both reversed and upright.

 

[GoddessArtemis]

The negative/reversed King of Cups is an alcoholic - lol. This has come up as such in readings for someone I knew and it was dead right. Check out the King of Cups in the Druidcraft deck...he's even got a red nose to show for it!

GA