Madame Endora's (Secret Circle) Study Group: THE KING

THE KING : Authority And Diplomacy

To make things easier, I have attached an image of the card.

From The Book:
The king represents a dominant male figure. A distinguished and wise man, the king is a natural leader who can assess and take charge of any situation. He is, at times a lawmaker and judge, and must balance power with diplomacy. The king also represents great riches and inheritance.

Open For Discussion

I get a Tarot Emperor feel with this one,only...kinder.He seems to be a quite protective and benevolent kind of guy,he´s the Farao after all(son of Ra,the sun-god).The image is golden;the most precious material of all according to the alchemists,as the king is pure of heart.

The King

genna said:

The image is golden;the most precious material of all according to the alchemists,as the king is pure of heart.

Click to expand...

While gold is to represent pure of heart it can also represent greed, chaos. For we all know that gold changes a man and even a king can become selfish for his own intent and wants. However, he may be the king but often times it doesn't mean he is wise. Becareful how one reads this card and how it is laid with the other cards. Even great Kings have fallen from defeat and some by their own doings.

However, the card by itself tells me this is a man who rules by authority and diplomacy, This is not always the case. See his hand is up as if saying stand there, do not come any closer. He holds the staff, could it be the staff of wisdom or the staff of war? The Ank represents balance so there we know he can rule with compassion. He is truly the Wise King who as been around for quite sometime and knows even though he as the Authority he must not abuse it. One must always rule with a kind hand and compassion for his own people.


Reversed: Tells me that his authority is gone along with his diplomacy. He as fallen short of being the king of his realm. His words of wisdom have turned on him for he as become selfish, overbearing and chaotic. He no longer rules with a kind hand and compassion in his heart. He as lost his balance. He has indeed dethroned himself. He as lost sight in to what is really important to him and his people or his kingdom. He as also lost his compassion which may be because his heart as become cold and bitter or that greed as turned him to forget the importancce of those whom he serves.

One must serve with wisdom, compassion and diplomacy. Greed serves only self.

The first thing I noticed was his hand. I thought it was saying, STOP! Rethink what your doing/thinking.

And the row of people on the wall. Look like gaurds to me. So depending on the question. The person should be more or less gaurded in the way they think about a situation.

This card has a strong reserved feel to it. Much authority and decorum. This card to me represents all things done in an orderly manner. There is also the deep mystery from the Egyptian persona. The image and the hieroglyphs state that king is outside the realm of time. The king's influence is timeless and last from century to century. The image is very authoritative.

heres a few of my thoughts on the king....

His hand is up, halt, who goes there is my first thought, but my second thoughts are saying he holds his hand to stop people from begging. Don't beg, just ask, dont bow before me and grovel at my feet - just ask and I will do what I can to help you.

His throne isnt large or ornate, preferring his actions to speak a lot more than the gold and time it took to make a huge throne. He would like to help his people rather than speak money on himself.

However we only see half his face. We only know the king, the role and act he plays, we rarely know the public face, the man under the crown. There is a 'mask' here as well, one that he needs to wear and we let him wear the person and individual shouldnt matter - but when it does then the king rules only for power and the self rather than the good of his people.

I see the King as something we can sometimes channel. Do what is right for those around us rather than for own development for once. Be the 'king' of a situation and use our diplomacy and authority over a situation. Or it could be a sign of when we need to accept we need help and guidence from our 'betters'. Dont let pride get in the way of help from a king that cares little for it.

Sezo
x

Edited to add...
Is he holding up the Hand of Fate?!

I can see this King as The Emperor Also I can see some of the King of Pentacles in him from The Mythic Tarot where the KofP is represented by King Midas, who wished he could turn everything to gold, when this wish was granted even his food turned to gold when he touched it, this made life very difficult as one can imagine & showed his greed & a lack of foresight, which can be the negative side of ambitions of prosperity! A kind of "be careful what you wish for!"