As a person, Nichomiah is the generous, sentimental, festive man of the reading — a host, a soft-hearted father figure, a boss who cannot say no — often musical, always at the center of the feast.
— The divinatory art of the 52-card deck —
The King of Hearts is the deck’s big-hearted ruler — generous, sentimental, and merry to a fault. In the Playing Card Oracles he is Good King Nichomiah, whose royal capes are said to be so large only to accommodate his overgrown heart: a king who wants only for others to be happy, and gives the treasury away accordingly.
"Good King Nichomiah!" — you can hear the crowds roar. King of merriment and sentimentality, Nichomiah rules his kingdom of Hearts... or does he? Where the Queen of this suit is empathetic, the King is decidedly sympathetic, generously dispensing his wealth even to the point of fault. In this world there are those who will take advantage of such a good-natured fellow.
While the music plays, the wine flows ever more freely and more plates of food are brought for the King’s many guests. If not for the sober presence of his lovely wife Déja, Nichomiah might lose the whole kingdom in a merry wager, or hand the royal treasure to a clever-tongued scoundrel. This King wants only for others to be happy.
As a male card within a suit that is receptive by nature, Nichomiah tends to appear weak — especially as a leader. He exemplifies the shapelessness of his Element, Water, conforming to what surrounds him; his Queen, by contrast, is Water become a wave: powerful, persistent, focused. Neither is good nor bad — but it matters to distinguish between different manifestations of the same energy.
As a person, Nichomiah is the generous, sentimental, festive man of the reading — a host, a soft-hearted father figure, a boss who cannot say no — often musical, always at the center of the feast.
As an energy, he blesses generosity, celebration, and open-handedness — and asks whether the giving is freely chosen or merely the path of least resistance, Water conforming to whatever vessel is nearest.
His excesses are literal: food, drink, spending, sentiment. When he appears ill-placed, look for the clever-tongued scoundrel at the table — and for the steadying Déja presence that keeps the kingdom solvent.
Traditional cartomancy makes the King of Hearts the kindest of the four Kings — a warm, fair, affectionate man; a devoted husband, father, or generous friend; good counsel in matters of the heart.
In the Playing Card Oracles, Kings carry the number thirteen — a number of cosmic majesty, echoed in the thirteen times the moon circles the Earth each year and the thirteen weeks of every season. Kings are characters of nobility and stature: their presence in a reading suggests authority and a governing influence, and they typically represent men of advanced age, experience, or responsibility.
Traditionally the warmest of the Kings — an affectionate, generous, fair-minded man. In the Playing Card Oracles he is Good King Nichomiah: big-hearted, sentimental, and giving to the point of fault, a ruler more interested in his guests’ happiness than in ruling.
Nichomiah is the King of Hearts, number thirteen of his suit — the king of merriment whose capes are said to be cut large only to fit his overgrown heart. He embodies Water’s shapelessness, conforming to his surroundings, balanced by his focused Queen, Déja.
Emotionally rich but soft as a leader: in the Playing Card Oracles, a male card in a receptive suit tends to appear weak in authority. His strength is sympathy and generosity; his vulnerability is being taken advantage of. Surrounding cards show which side is active.
The full grammar of the deck — geometries, timing, and the voices of all fifty-two — lives in The Playing Card Oracles: A Source Book for Divination.