Last updated: January 28, 2026
The combination of King of Cups and Six of Pentacles is one of the most powerful transformative pairings in tarot, signaling that significant change is not just possible but inevitable.
Emotional mastery, wise leadership, and the ability to remain calm and balanced in turbulent situations. The King of Cups represents the highest expression of emotional intelligence - the ability to remain calm, balanced, and wise even in the most emotionally turbulent situations. As a person, this card represents someone who has achieved emotional mastery, provides wise counsel, and leads through compassion and understanding rather than force. The keywords most associated with this card—emotional authority, balanced leadership, wise counsel, emotional mastery—give us insight into its core energy.
A time of balanced giving and receiving, generosity, and sharing abundance with others. The Six of Pentacles represents the beautiful balance of giving and receiving that creates harmony and abundance in communities. You are either in a position to be generous with others or you are receiving help and support when you need it most. This card carries the themes of generosity, charity, sharing wealth, balanced exchange, which interact meaningfully with King of Cups's energy.
King of Cups brings intuitive, emotionally-driven water energy while Six of Pentacles contributes practical, grounded earth energy. These complementary forces create a natural synergy, each supporting and enhancing the other's influence in your reading.
When you encounter King of Cups and Six of Pentacles together, consider what area of your life requires the integration of emotional authority with generosity. The cards don't appear together randomly—their pairing is meaningful and specific to your question or situation.
This combination often surfaces during times when you're being asked to hold multiple truths simultaneously, finding wisdom in the space where both cards' messages overlap and inform each other.
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In love readings, King of Cups with Six of Pentacles signals that your love life is undergoing or about to undergo significant transformation—endings that create space for new beginnings.
When these two cards appear together in a love reading, they bring a nuanced message about your romantic life.
King of Cups in Love: Emotionally mature partnerships, balanced romantic leadership, or relationships built on deep understanding. This card can indicate a partner who provides emotional stability, wise guidance, and unconditional support while maintaining their own emotional boundaries
Six of Pentacles in Love: Balanced giving and receiving in relationships, mutual support and generosity. You and your partner support each other generously - emotionally, practically, and perhaps financially - without keeping score or creating imbalances
Together, King of Cups and Six of Pentacles signals that your love life is undergoing or about to undergo significant transformation—endings that create space for new beginnings. This combination speaks to the heart of your romantic situation, asking you to consider how these two energies manifest in your love life.
Release what no longer serves your heart. Transformation in love, while sometimes painful, leads to more authentic connections.
Whether you're single and seeking, newly dating, or in a long-term partnership, this card combination offers relevant insight. For singles, consider how these themes might relate to what you're attracting or need to develop before finding love. For those in relationships, reflect on how these energies play out between you and your partner.
The intersection of emotional authority's energy with generosity's influence creates a specific romantic signature that's meaningful for your situation.
For career and finances, King of Cups with Six of Pentacles signals career transitions, job changes, or major shifts in your professional identity.
In professional matters, this card combination carries specific guidance for your work life and financial decisions.
King of Cups at Work: Leadership through emotional intelligence, diplomatic professional solutions, or authority in helping fields. This card favors careers in counseling, diplomacy, management, law, or any field requiring the ability to understand and work with human nature
Six of Pentacles at Work: Professional success through mentoring, collaboration, or generous sharing of knowledge. You may be in a position to mentor others, share your expertise, or help colleagues advance in their careers
The combination of King of Cups and Six of Pentacles signals career transitions, job changes, or major shifts in your professional identity. These cards together paint a picture of your current professional landscape and the opportunities or challenges ahead.
Embrace change rather than resisting it. Your career is evolving toward something more aligned.
Consider how the themes of emotional authority and generosity apply to your specific work situation. Are there projects that need this combination's energy? Relationships with colleagues that reflect these dynamics? Career decisions that these cards illuminate?
While this combination primarily speaks to career, it also influences financial matters. The transformative energy suggests potential financial changes on the horizon.
Spiritually, King of Cups and Six of Pentacles together marks a pivotal moment in your spiritual journey—an initiation or awakening.
On a soul level, this combination speaks to your spiritual path and inner development.
King of Cups's Spiritual Wisdom: Spiritual wisdom and authority, balanced spiritual practice, or serving as wise spiritual guide. You may be called to provide spiritual guidance, have developed deep spiritual wisdom through life experience, or serve as a bridge between different spiritual traditions or approaches
Six of Pentacles's Spiritual Wisdom: Spiritual growth through service to others and balanced spiritual exchange. You may be called to share your spiritual knowledge, contribute to your faith community, or serve others as part of your spiritual practice
King of Cups meeting Six of Pentacles marks a pivotal moment in your spiritual journey—an initiation or awakening. This is not a random pairing—the universe is highlighting specific spiritual themes for your attention.
Given this combination's energy, consider incorporating letting go rituals, transformation meditation, and embracing the unknown into your spiritual routine.
The intersection of King of Cups's wisdom with Six of Pentacles's teachings creates a unique spiritual lesson. Meditate on both cards together, allowing their combined imagery and symbolism to speak to your soul. What message emerges when you hold both energies simultaneously?
This combination appears when you're ready to integrate emotional authority with generosity of your spiritual understanding. The growth available now requires honoring both cards' teachings.
When either card appears reversed, the combination's meaning shifts toward internal work and blocked energies.
King of Cups Reversed: Emotional manipulation, moodiness affecting leadership, or suppressed feelings leading to control issues.
Six of Pentacles Reversed: Imbalanced giving and receiving, strings attached to generosity, or misuse of power.
Both Cards Reversed: When both King of Cups and Six of Pentacles appear reversed together, this signals a period of significant internal processing. External action may be premature—focus instead on inner work and self-reflection.
The reversed combination asks: What needs to be unblocked or healed before these cards' upright potential can manifest?
The imagery of King of Cups and Six of Pentacles creates a rich visual dialogue.
A mature king sits calmly on his throne, holding a cup while surrounded by turbulent waters that don't disturb his composure. His throne floats steadily on the choppy seas, representing his ability to remain emotionally balanced and provide stable leadership even in emotionally turbulent circumstances.
Key Symbols: **Throne on Water**: Emotional stability - Calm amid emotional seas
A wealthy merchant weighs coins on scales while giving money to two beggars kneeling before him. Six pentacles hang above the scene, representing the balanced circulation of abundance. The scales symbolize fair exchange and the importance of balanced giving and receiving.
Though these cards use different symbolic vocabularies, together they create a visual story greater than either tells alone. Consider how the imagery of one card might respond to or continue the narrative of the other.
King of Cups (14) and Six of Pentacles (6) combine to 20, reducing to 20—the number of significant transition.
King of Cups - Number 14: The number of authority, command, and active expression of the element. Emotional mastery, wise leadership, balanced control over the waters of feeling
Six of Pentacles - Number 6: The number of harmony, balance, giving/receiving, and responsibility. Generosity in circulation - the flow of abundance between those who have and those who need
The combined numerological vibration of 20 brings the energy of significant transition. This underlying numerical influence colors how these two cards interact, adding a layer of completing and transcendent energy to their combination.
King of Cups
The Wise Counselor, The Emotional Master, The Diplomatic Ruler
Six of Pentacles
The Generous Giver, The Fair Distributor, The Balanced Exchange
When The Wise Counselor, The Emotional Master, The Diplomatic Ruler meets The Generous Giver, The Fair Distributor, The Balanced Exchange, these archetypal energies catalyze profound change when they meet, each transforming the other. Consider which archetypal patterns are active in your current situation and how their interaction might be playing out in your life.
These Minor Arcana cards show how the cups and pentacles journeys intersect.
King of Cups's Place in the Cups Journey: The King of Cups represents the mature, active mastery of water energy - emotional wisdom expressed through leadership and balanced control. He sits on his throne amid turbulent waters, yet remains calm. This is the ultimate achievement of the emotional journey: the ability to feel deeply while acting wisely, to lead with both heart and mind.
Six of Pentacles's Place in the Pentacles Journey: The Six of Pentacles restores balance after the hardship of the Five. A wealthy figure dispenses coins to those in need, scales in hand to ensure fairness. This is the lesson of generosity - that abundance flows best when shared, and that sometimes we give, sometimes we receive, and wisdom lies in knowing the difference.
The meeting of cups and pentacles brings together emotion and intuition with material concerns.
Use these questions for journaling or meditation with this combination:
Combined Affirmation
“I lead with emotional wisdom while also embracing the wisdom to give.”
Understanding the astrological and elemental energies behind each card reveals deeper layers of meaning in this combination.
Emotional mastery, wise leadership, and the ability to remain calm and balanced in turbulent situations.
A time of balanced giving and receiving, generosity, and sharing abundance with others.
About King of Cups and Six of Pentacles
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