Knight of Cups and Death

TemperanceAngel

lark said:
Maybe the Knight of Cups is Death as a young man?
Lark, I really like that!!!

I always think of the Knight of Cups as following your heart, dreams, ambitions.....
XTAX
 

TemperanceAngel

Just to add, I really like it when someones post stays in your head...Death is quite often not a physical death, so the Knight of Cups as Death as a young man could easily be seen as the emotional content of a death.

Does this make sense? Have I explained myself properly?

What happened to Vincent and Mac22, they really spiced up the RWS discussions, I miss them....

XTAX
 

TemperanceAngel

lunalafey said:
Interesting, and quite fitting. Think about who Death must be as an individual. He needs to be strong, for the emotions of humans may interfear with his duty. He must be merciful, taking lives before thier time, because it's just the better thing to do.
A being of Love, sympathy and strength.
luna, I just re-read your post properly and I think maybe we are along the same train of thought here....
XTAX
 

jema

Of course I have a naughty mind at times, perhaps the Knight of cups is the giver of "small deaths"
;-)
 

lunalafey

jema said:
Of course I have a naughty mind at times, perhaps the Knight of cups is the giver of "small deaths"
;-)

ROFL!
 

lark

jema said:
Of course I have a naughty mind at times, perhaps the Knight of cups is the giver of "small deaths"
;-)
Yup he did that just for practice.
Then when he grew up, he got into the big time stuff...
Death with a capitol "D"

In my notebook my two keywords for the Knight of Cups upright are Lover and Desire.
So your naughty little suggestion fits in very nicely with how I've always seen him.
Of course he means others things to but I always start there.
 

Lilly

Arcana-bending Knight?

Hi all,

I just wanted to share these ideas, but know, please, that these ideas represent how the cards speak to me, so you may not see them the same as I, so, with that in mind, here's my contribution to this thread. :)

Knight of Cups
Cups is represents Water -- It's zodialogical signs are Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.

The energy of water is flowing and various intangibles play a large part in the energy of water. It's an element of deep emotion that can range from the exteme compassion to self-pity.

Water respresents the dreamers, mystics, artists and anyone who is in touch with the deeper dimensions and people who tend to need time alone in the inner realm.

The Knight, as in all suits, is a messenger, and he carries the news of some immediate importance. In the case of the Knight of Cups, its' most likely to be news related to emotional or spiritual issue, something is about to change emotionally and there is an air of expectancy regarding his message; perhaps the person for whom the card is selected it's a marriage proposal, or promotion at work or something.

Incidently, the Swords is similar to Cups in the sense that Swords is related to the emotions and (the Knight of ) an approaching difference of opinion with someone close to the reader, either a business partner or lover, brother or sister or spouse or parent.

Here are two suits related to the intangible, water (Cups) and air (Swords) and they are both on white horses! Death, too, is on a white horse! ... and ...

And of course, card 13 powerfully suggests a putting away of the old. Something deep and personal or emotional is about to be turned away. Superficial changes won't get the job done. (Note the King lying dead beneath the horse -- suggestion, the end of established or previous authority)

The Death card is related to Scorpio, which is the ruler of life's ultimate mysteries including, I guess, sex, death (the end of past authority, law, tradition) rebirth and regeneration (the rising sun and its growing energy).

Another note, in each of the knight cards you see only what each suit is related to: that is to say, Swords, an air sign, shows blowing winds; Wands, a fire sign, shows a wand being held like a lance, although I'm not sure how the element of fire is represented here, unless it's in the fact that the horse is the same color as the wand; Pentacles, an earth sign, shows a plowed earth in the background, and Cups, a water sign, has the river.

I believe that all four suits are represented in the number 13 card, since it's message applies to everyone eventually, although I can't exactly tell you how they are all represented ... I'd like to see if anyone else see's all four suits represented on this card.

So, did the Knight of Wands grow up an move into the majors from the minors? I doubt that. If the knight "grows up" to be anything, he would the King of the suit where he served as knight. Death was never a knight, or anything else for that matter, it has just always been, and will always be. The only real constant in the universe is change.

This is my first post on this forum, although I've been reading and learning for some time, now.

Peace to you all.

Lilly
 

Reverie

this is an interesting thread. just thought I would mention that I got the
Knight of Cups and Death cards after asking if someone would contact me soon.
 

Dstar

Sorry to be a party pooper :) but I don't see that much similarity between the two cards. The important thing to note about the horse's posture in these cards is it's head, and there is a clear difference in these two. There is also a big difference in the posture of the knight and Death, the knight is clearly stiff and self absorbed or 'blinkered' in the picture...Death rides much more easy and confident, almost standing on the stirrups, and Death seems completely aware of the surroundings, unlike the Knight.

There is a river in both cards, but there is a river flowing through many of the cards...perhaps the same one...that carries us through life and beyond. Interestingly, the Knight of cups looks as though he is about to cross that river...or will he stop and perhaps fill, or empty his cup? Or perhaps his orientation at a right angle to the river shows that, for the moment, he is removed from the flow, pausing, lost in thought, or too concerned about the water in his own cup? Death though, matches the flow of that river...marching slowly but confidently, as it does, not stopping, swallowing all in the path.

Sorry, it's only my opinion...but they seem quite different. I think perhaps there is a similarity in the 'steadiness' of the horses.

Great topic though, it's good to look for these aspects, and perhaps you are right...and I haven't seen it yet.

D.
 

Vincent

Dstar said:
Sorry to be a party pooper :) but I don't see that much similarity between the two cards.
I can see the similarity, but whether the similarity has any intended occult significance, is something else. The divinatory meaning for the Knight of Cups is given as; Arrival, approach--sometimes that of a messenger... which does have a kind of grim similarity with Death.

But, as someone mentioned in the Hermit and Moon thread, artists have their own favourite images they might use in different works. Just like a guitarist will use the same riff in different songs.

Many people have noticed the similarity between these two cards, and Durer's painting of 'Knight, Death, and the Devil' which you can see here;
http://www.msjc.edu/art/djohnson/art100/100lecture8.html

It's interesting to note the parallel between the Christian Knight, (in Durer's engraving), ignoring Death and the Devil as he travels on the road, doing God's work, and Death, (in Waite's card), ignoring royalty, priesthood, women and children as he also goes about God's business.




Vincent