Minor Arcana · Cups
Knight of Cups
invitation · idealism · emotional expression
What Knight of Cups means
A borrowed form is silent about what lies behind it. The symmetry runs both ways: someone practised can produce the form with nothing behind it at all, and someone with a great deal behind them can produce little that resembles it. Knighthood ran on a form of exactly that kind, a code of conduct entirely separable from the sentiment it was supposed to carry. Separability is what makes such a code useful. A convention supplies a way of acting before anybody involved knows what is warranted, the person acting included. The Knight is the move that can be made while the feeling behind it is still unreadable.
Upright
Let feeling find a thoughtful form: an invitation, a creative gesture, or a conversation. Match the beauty of the intention with care for its effect.
Reversed
A lovely promise needs a dependable follow-through. Check whether you are relating to the person or situation as it is, or to an imagined version.
A question to sit with
How can I make a caring intention concrete?
Traditional attribution
Air of Water. Attributions follow the Golden Dawn with Waite's numbering.