Today's card is the King of Cups.
You would expect it to be the total opposite of the Queen of Cups we looked at the other day. Not so. Like any good marriage, these two cards work together in a symbiotic relationship, not a dependent one. They don't need or complete each other...yet the two together are far, far greater than the sum of the parts.
The King of Cups is a card of guidance, and wisdom. Like many things, this guidance can be understood in terms of the great trinity of mind, body and spirit.
The guidance may come from a literal, physical, mentor, teacher or "hero". Anyone can be our inspiration. Anyone can teach us by example. One example is sports figures. I'm always inspired by Mario Lemieux, who is my age, and how he returned time and again to a high level of play despite so many health challenges. If he can play a period of major league hockey in atrial fibrillation, then I should be able to chunk off a few pounds and exercise for 20 minutes a day. Another example is the Max Talbot goal in the last 30 seconds game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals last year -where we all learned to never, NEVER give up. You can re-evaluate, change goals, change tactics, change directions...shoot from the backhand if you have to, but that is a VERY different thing than stopping, stagnating and giving up in defeat.
Ok, I'll admit it...I'm looking forward to watching the hockey game tonight...go Pens!
But back to mind-body-spirit trinity and the guidance that the King of Cups card speaks of...
So guidance CAN come in very tangible, physical-realm forms...through others, books, movies - anything. "Truth is where you find it"
Guidance can also come from our own inner knowing, sometimes called our "higher selves". This speaks to the idea of mind...the inner world. Tarot is especially adept at helping us to access that innate wisdom. The King of Cups reminds us of that. Far from opposite, the Queen of Cups shows us the way to find that access...through stillness. When we are able to quiet our physical and mental selves, then we can best access our inner knowing and the intuition that we all posses.
That leaves the third part of the triad...spirit. Everyone has different ideas about this, and we'll leave a detailed discussion of spirituality for another day. For now, let's just related the idea of spirit and spirituality to the King of Cups and the idea of guidance. Spirit here alludes to a source of inspiration that is both outside of ourselves, and outside of physical existence.
Some call it angels, other spirit guides, the spirit of deceased loved ones, devas, nature spirits, holy ghost...there are many, many different names for the experience of spiritual guidance. By whatever name you choose, it is a wonderful, uplifting experience. If it isn't...then it isn't true and loving guidance. Set your intention to the loving highest and best, and that is what you receive. If anything else happens, then you must seek in-person help to learn what is wrong and how to correct it.
But again, here we see the King and Queen of Cups working together. Far beyond any gender-opposites, we see the yang of active guidance, and actively seeking guidance, coupled with the exquisite stillness of the king of cups. We must be still in ourselves to hear the whisper of true and loving guidance...be it from the subtle realms of spirit or the equally magical realms of our own insight and wisdom.
May you see the guidance that is all around you.
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