King of Cups - "Light at the Edge of the World"

 The King of Cups, (Orpheus) represents the authority that calms turbulent waters through creativity, compassion and empathy of the healing doctor, counsellor and priest.
 
This King  is one of my favourite  of the court cards because of what the King of Cups represents. I would say he embodies the very best of qualities and personality characteristics a human being can ever possess and exhibit.

The ideal of perfection and wisdom in another for me, comes the closest, when I think of the Canadian anthropologist, Dr.Wade Davis. Every time I hear him speak about the human condition, and how anthropology can provide healing answers to so many of the world's problems, I can't help but wish there were more people like him particularly in positions of political power.

If there were only more of us who comprehended the importance of learning from, accepting and appreciating cultures, what a better world it would be, knowing and understanding that race is a fabricated myth, perpetuated mostly by those concerned more with power and control.

Dr. Wade Davis is a modern day King of Cups in so many ways and poignantly articulates so insight-fully, how human beings are more alike than different, in that we all greatly share and originate from the same genus.

The King of Cups represents the authority that calms turbulent waters through creativity and compassion of the healing doctor and counsellor.

I posted a highlighted link below, to a recent talk Dr. Wade Davis gave on Ideas.

Dr. Wade Davis

King of Cups - Orpheus

I've heard it said, only the wounded healer can heal and who we find within ourselves.

The representation of water depicted in the King of Cups symbolizes the overt search for relationships to guide and help others.

The Mythic figure of Orpheus is embodied in this card, who was priest, healer, poet, musician and truly, a creative soul. Sadly he seemed destined for unhappiness meeting an untimely end as the wounded healer, having a great compassionate and empathetic heart, toward every living thing and yet couldn't heal the wounds of his own heart. I believe many of us have aspects of this wounded healer embodied in our personality, and we need to learn to heal ourselves.

This kind of individual is often characteristic of the personality in the helping professions, or is simply found among many, whom for what ever reason seem to care for others more than themselves, and can't trust life quite enough to take it's course.

A timely card today, as I think about how difficult it is for many of us to completely trust in the goodness of the Universe when we witness so much suffering all around us, perhaps in the form of broken relationships, either through resentment, or separation through death, leaving us angry, and questioning why. It can be a challenge to find our way back to some kind of emotional stability.

I may no longer be the kind of wounded healer who can't heal all of her wounds, but I do have a wounded faith.

King of Cups - My Burnt Potato

Today on my walk in the countryside, the Autumnal fragrances were intoxicating. The woodland, the earth, and the burning wood smoke, made me think of the days when these smells blended with the scent of the horse I'd ride this time of the year. It's was my idea of heaven on earth.

When you burn your potato in the microwave, like I did the other night, that's the end of that potato, but that smell hovers in the air for days, and it's really awful, an experience I'd rather forget, and I'll definitely avoid doing again in the future.

Smell is a sense that resonates deep in the memory of days gone by, of past relationships beginnings and endings. You suddenly find yourself in the present and you wonder what does this all mean? And ask, why am I here in this situation? It can be very confusing.

The sensitive, sympathetic, creative and poetic musician, the wounded healer, King of Cups thinks about this. He's lost emotionally, but more than willing to go above and beyond in extending his kind hand and heart; empathetic toward others, but can't seem to heal his own wounded heart. He's unable to achieve the fulfilling relationship which is so desired. He often loses the very thing he most desires.

The King of Cups never relinquishes control, as he doesn't ultimately trust the world of the unconscious, which he can't see.  He's enthroned in water, but can't submerge himself for fear of drowning, which is a metaphor for one letting go, or surrendering to another.

Many of us feel the same way the King of Cups does, not quite trusting life enough to take it's course, because we've been wounded through personal relationships, often those with parents; and we form relationships where we remain in control, and can't be that deeply hurt again.

By remaining in control, we cheat and short change ourselves. This King of Cups is rather like that old burnt potato in the microwave, burnt, wounded, with little to no purpose. We are unable to find happiness within ourselves, and are unable to be born before we die.

If I didn't Have Your Love - Leonard Cohen

 If the sun would lose its light And we lived an endless night And there was nothing left that you could feel That's how it would be What my life would seem to me If I didn't have your love to make it real If the stars were all unpinned And a cold and bitter wind Swallowed up the world without a trace Ah, well that's where I would be What my life would seem to me If I couldn't lift the veil and see your face And if no leaves were on the tree And no water in the sea And the break of day had nothing to reveal That's how broken I would be What my life would seem to me If I didn't have your love to make it real If the sun would lose its light And we lived in an endless night And there was nothing left that you could feel If the sea were sand alone And the flowers made of stone And no one that you hurt could ever heal Well that's how broken I would be What my life would seem to me If I didn't have your love to make it real

King of Cups - The Ideal Father

The King of Cups is a card of emotional balance. Something that's often hard to find within ourselves.
John Bradshaw once said that 95% of the population is dysfunctional and co-dependent in some way, and the other 5% are in denial.

I remember back in the 80s when I first heard about ACOA Adult Children of Alcoholics and the given description of the behavioral personality characteristics displayed by those who grow up in alcoholic homes. It very accurately described me to a tee and that was just the beginning of my own personal recovery journey.

 I was relieved to learn why it was I'd felt so emotionally imbalanced all my life, and to know I wasn't alone in what I thought was my weirdness. It has hard for me to remember there ever being a time I didn't feel this way, that I didn't belong or that happiness was for everybody else, but it eluded me.

What an incredible relief it was to finally begin to understand why I behaved the way I did, to appreciate, accept and eventually come to love the person I am.

The King of Cups embodies the mythic figure Orpheus the singer. He represents for me the kind of father that most of us envision as being ideal.. He is both priest and healer who seeks to form relationships with others and yet his relationship with himself is lacking in that he doesn't seem to know how to make himself happy. The King of Cups is the image of the Wounded Healer and he is far from perfect.


None of us grow up with an ideal father though it is often easy for us to put them on a pedestal and see them  as perfect, even in the face of abuse, neglect or abandonment in some way.

Forgiveness and acceptance of our fathers as they truly are, comes when we do this not for them, but for ourselves. Then we can begin to love them not in spite of who they are, but because of who they are.

King of Cups - The Caring Heart of the Artist

I realize this card it is truly my favourite Court Card. The King of Cups is full of compassion and counseling for others, with the sensitive, wise and caring heart of an artist who was both poet and musician, represented by the Mythic figure Orpheus.

These qualities are so admirable and highly regarded and can be seen as being very positive. The negative aspect is that the King is unable to help himself and is known as the wounded healer. Many in the helping professions tend to crash and burn, because they extend themselves beyond their limits, in order to help others without addressing their own personal issues. I had once experienced this myself years ago as a counselor.

I heard it said that the best way to get your focus off of your own problems is to help someone else. This is often true especially if you are feeling sorry for yourself our full of worry and anxiety about your life. However if your motivation is to do this in order to avoid your own problems, this is not going to work for long and isn't healthy.

Certainly, those who are helpers do have insight into other peoples problems and are initially very good at assisting them in many compassionate ways. However this cannot happen consistently over a long period of time, because the individual will eventually come up against their own struggles and eventually will be unable to ignore them.

The message found within the King of Cups is that taking care of ourselves is an absolute must. If we can't take care of ourselves first, we can't really be there to effectively help others.

The King of Cups - The Guy With The Big Heart

The King of Cups (Orpheus) is a deep feelin' kinda guy, and he has a very big tender heart. Helping others is what he most values above all. Being both priest like and healer, with a generousity of spirit, people might think they can take advantage of him. They would be very much mistaken, as he is neither unintelligent nor naive. Often folks equate the ability to feel or display deep emotion, particularly in men as weakness. This is not true, it is in fact a strength.

This loving and compassionate King fills his life with creative activities like poetry, music, art, that speak to, and touch the soul. He is open, honest, and wants to help others in what ever way possible. Living life by way of the heart, enables this King to be an example to others, he is a leader for change, making the world a more compassionate place.

He urges us to pay attention to matters of the love and the heart, as it is truly the most important thing in our lives especially, through relationship with ourselves, with others, and with the God of our understanding. We are all interconnected to each other and to the earth.

In Greek mythology, Orpheus is described as being the wounded healer, because he cannot seem to help or heal himself, which is a dichotomy. He is disconnected from himself. Many people who are in the helping professions are the same, but they cannot go on this way, as it is an imbalance, and can lead to burnout or ill health.

At some point I'd like to think that King Orpheus will get himself into recovery of some kind, in order to heal his wounds, so he can be the best kind of healer and priest that can have the kind of intimate relationships he so longs for in his life. This recovery is about making a kind of soul bargain, that Deepak Chopra  speaks of in his book, Path To Love. A soul bargain means we have a trust and faith in things unseen, believing that there is a greater good that loves and cares for us, and that there is a plan. This faith will enable Orpheus to let others into his heart, allowing them to love him, as he loves.

King of Cups - Where The Nightingales Sing The Sweetest

Early this morning I had a very vivid, lucid dream, that stayed with me. It caused me to have confused feelings of happiness and sadness. I asked a question of the cards, and then drew the King of Cups, which corresponded with my happy/sad dream.

The sad story of the singer Orpheus who was lonely and unhappy, is embodied in the King of Cups. Orpheus was both priest and healer but was unable to heal his broken heart, and was the wounded healer.  He met with a gruesome revengeful death, at the hands of the jealous Dionysus and was buried by the Muses at the foot of Mount Olympus. There, the nightingales were said to sing more sweetly than anywhere else on earth.

Many of us relate to this wounded healer we can heal others, but can not seem to help ourselves. When the King of Cups is manifested in our own relationships, we find ourselves losing the very thing which we most desire, because we lack the trust in our personal lives, and matters, in the realm of the heart, become rather like a self fulfilling prophecy.

The King of Cups ultimately does not trust the world of the unconscious, which he is unable to see. He is reluctant to submerge himself into the water of emotions, as he fears he will drown if he lets go, and gives his heart to another.

When we ask a question of the cards, we may not like the answer. It is better to know, than to have false hopes or illusion, and it is a good thing to accept the reality we might be dealing with, so we can be better prepared. It is not always easy to accept that our dreams and reality are not always the same thing.