The Court Cards
Getting to know the different approaches to interpreting the Page, Knight, Queen and King is na important step on any Reader's Tarot journey.
Every Tarot deck conatins 16 Court cards, aslo known as face cards, coat cards or people cards. Newcomers to Tarot may feel a little daunted or cinfused when it comes to interpeting them, but there is nothing to fear.
At first glance, a King could be confused with a Knight or the Emperor, and Queens might be muddled up with the Empress. However, by taking the time to study your decks you will quickly learn how to identify who is who. It is useful to bear in mind that - unlike other types of Tarot card, on which scenes of action or a story are usually portrayed - the Court cards tend to simply feature a figure sitting on a throne or a horse.
Questions For The Cards
There are several key questions to aske whn thinking about any type of Tarot card - and these apply to the Court cards too:
What function do they serve?
What is their history?
What systems exist for interpreting them?
And who, utimately, has the authority to say what these card means?
Fortunately, there are sevral useful systems for bringing the Court cards to life. Each method has its own pros and cons, but Readers who choose to explore these will find themselves empowered.
The meanings of the COurt cards have been changed significantly over time, but the oldest ones have never been competely abandoned, especially by more traditional Tarot Readers. It is important to understand the history of Court cards to place different methods of interpretation in context. These cards are probably the Arcana that have evolved most over time in terms of interpretation, even though their imagery has remained fairly consitent.
Getting to know the Court Cards
Try this exercise to deepen your knowledge of the Court cards.
First, pick one of your favourite decks, then separate the Court cards from the rest of the pack. After examining them, place the cards in piles, with QUeens in one, Kings in another and so on with the Knights and Pages. Compare and contrast the images you see in the cards.
Now arrange the cards by suit, with the King, Queen, Knight and Page of Pentacles together and so on. What similairites and differences do you notice? Which cards are you most drawn to and which do you dislike?
Pick a Court card to represent yourself - who would it be and why?
Representations of the royal court - Page, Knight, Queen and King - appear in the Court Cards, each of which has its own symbolic significance.
The Court Cards can also assume different names according to the deck.
A desire to correct the gender imbalance in these cards - with three male figures and only one woman - was one of the reasons modern authors broke away from this tradition. The Page can be found at times as a Princess, the Knights as a Prince, the Queen as Mother and King as Father.
There are two commonly used methods for interpreting Court Cards - one is a traditional technique and the other a modern adaptation.
Traditionally, when a Court Card appears in a Spread, this indicates a real person, his or her actions and the influence that he or she has over a situation. The card reveals what sort of person this represents, as follows:
Knave - youth
Knight - young Man
Queen - woman
King - mature man
Meanwhile, the suit for each card indicates the physical appearance of the person represented:
Wands - red hair, fair skin
Swords - black hair, fair skin
Cups - blonde hair, fair skin
Pentacles - dark hair, olive skin
So, the King of Wands, for example, represents a mature man with red hair and fair skin. This system has the benefit of being simple but can result in a limited reading due to its narrow literal interpretation of the cards.
Using a more modern approach, however, the court cards indicate strategies for action, associating watch figure with a role:
Knave - learning
Knight - action
Queen - perception
King - control
This way of looking at the card allows the Reader to avoid preconceived ideas regarding race, age and gender, as it can be applied to a wide range of people and to any situation.
When interpreting a Court Card, it's necessary to match its role to the area represented by the suit: passion and desires for Wands; emotions and feelings for Cups; objects and practical matters for Pentacles; thoughts and communication for Swords.
For example, the King of Cups represents the need to control the emotions, while the Knight of Pentacles represents the need to act in a pragmatic way. In general, the Court Cards suggest a way or a strategy for dealing with a certain situation.