Should we strive to master and control our emotions? This is the question posed by the King of Cups; a card we have recently discussed and here he is again. Emotions are everything. I recently read “Hidden Spring” by Mark Solms which I will in no way be able to accurately summarize here but in this really good book about the brain, Solms argues (I think) that emotions are essential to understanding what human consciousness is and how it works. I find it really interesting to learn about neurological frameworks for understanding emotions since these two things, in the Tarot, are very much separated. The world of the mind is represented by air and swords and the world of the heart is repressed by cups and water. Of course, the Tarot existed long before advanced, contemporary neuroscience. But still, to think about the way emotions work and to think about where those emotions come from is really interesting.
So, to control these emotional states is an interesting dilemma, perhaps. Some emotions are based on body regulation; if you feel hungry or if you feel thirsty; these are emotions that your body ecology puts forth. To address these motions, you eat or drink. Then there are external emotional forces; when you see something that is gross you feel disgusted. According to Solms, there are then instinctual emotions in between those two areas; emotions like play and love and fear. These are not learned behaviors but something we naturally feel as mammals and these emotions come from the various memories, brain stem activities and neurological pathways in our brains. Whew, that is very sciency!
The King of Cups evokes feelings of emotional mastery or balance; at this point in the progression you have learned to control the emotions that sometimes control you. The King holds a cup and a scepter with one foot in the water (the creative, subconscious) and wears a flowing blue gown. I often find myself feeling like the King of Cups; constantly battling to keep my emotions in check and pretending like I have it all together when really my emotional cup is constantly in danger of spilling over. This is a hard lesson to learn sometimes; that you don’t always have to be in control. But this King of Cups card tells us that emotional control can bring beneficial outcomes.
Often the court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, King) in a suit are connected to people in life that represent these ideas. So think about someone in your life who is your emotional guidepost; the person who you turn to when you feel like you need to get your emotions in check or make sure the things you are feeling are rational and normal. Or; perhaps the King is a creative influence in your life, someone you look up to who uses emotion, heart, creativity and love to stir the spirit and rouse the slumbering muses in all of us. If you need some creative spark, someone to jump start your emotional response center, look for this person in your life. And when you know who this is, thank them and give them a big hug. Because emotional connection will carry us all through this life like drops of water in a wide, wide river.