The tarot court cards are a tricky lot, aren’t they?  Judging by the feedback I’ve had recently, it seems they could be one of the biggest challenges that beginners face.

When it come to deciding if a court card represents yourself, another individual or an ‘energy’; there is no book or post that can decide that for you. As a beginner this may seem a bit disheartening.

The thing is, it’s not a struggle because you haven’t yet read the right book or found the secret formula. The only difference between knowing what a card means and not being sure, is your confidence in your own intuition. This is something that will come with experience.

The best advice I can give when it comes to ‘deciding’ which way to read a card is this:

Look at your spread as a ‘big picture’ first and consider all the cards as a whole. Look for patterns. Are you dealing with emotions, love, career or finances? If you’ve asked a specific question then you’ll already have a good idea anyway. Then use the cards to build a story; make connections and form relationships between them. Once you have a basic ‘storyline’ it will be much easier to see where the court cards fit in to it all. You’ll find that other cards that seemed a little ambiguous will suddenly throw clues at you and the whole thing will start to make sense.

Sometimes it just doesn’t fit for a court card to represent another person, the story doesn’t make sense. I would then assume that the card represents the person I’m reading for or myself (if I’m reading my own cards).

Pages

Every reading is different but in my experience I generally see pages more as energy than individuals, unless children and family are integral to the ‘story’. Two pages together in this scenario might make me feel I’m with two children, and if one was the page of cups, or the empress was nearby then another could be on the way. The page of cups quite often screams pregnancy at me, although I feel it can also represent someone who is getting back on their feet emotionally, rebuilding their confidence and self esteem; especially if I saw it with the devil, tower or 5 0f cups, 4 of swords, etc.

Since the pages were messengers way back in the day they are often associated with the receipt of news and communication. For me this is especially true of the page of wands and swords. If I saw the page of wands next to a negative card like 10 or 3 of swords or the tower etc, then I’d assume that the news is not going to be good. However, next to the sun, star, 3 of cups, 6 of wands or any other positive card then I would assume the news will be good.

These neighbouring cards can also indicate what the news is about specifically. Page of wands with 6 of wands can indicate good exam results are about to arrive, with 4 of swords perhaps you’ll hear that somebody is unwell and so on.

The page of swords represents communication, it can indicate that someone will be in touch or or even warn that communications need improvement. If this page is paired with another court card say a king of swords, then perhaps tarot is telling you who this communication will be with. I often see the king of swords as an intellectual and  professional type of guy, therefore conversations with a doctor or lawyer may take place.

The page of pentacles is concerned with material and earthly matters, he prepares and plans for the future. See him with the hanged man and obstacles could present themselves or sacrifices may have to be made.

Knights

The knight of cups nearly always represents a guy to me, especially if I’m reading a relationship spread and particularly if I see evidence of a new relationship (ace/two cups, lovers, etc). He would be the guy with the invites, the one saying all the right things at the right time.

The same goes with the knight of wands; amongst relationship cards he would be the love interest, only he would be a little more cock-sure of himself and more difficult to pin down. If you see him next to pentacles or other wands cards especially then it’s more likely he will be a colleague or business partner.

If a story is looking more like the personal journey of an ambitious individual then it’s likely the knights represent the spirit of the individual. It could indicate their state of mind or next course of action.  The action will be motivated by either; money/security (pentacles), ambition/competition/creativity (wands), love/affection (cups).

I find the energy in the knight of swords to be somewhat erratic and scattered. As an individual he’s a bit of a slippery fish. In a relationship he confuses the women in his life no end.

Kings and Queens

In my experience the kings and queens almost always represent people; whether it’s the person I’m reading for, myself or someone else – but that’s just me. If I see all the kings in one spread I think of important meetings with influential people. All 4 queens can indicate a dispute or gossip.

The king and queen of cups side by side would indicate a couple with deep loyalty and a tight bond. Two queens side by side or close to each other can represent friendship but if one is facing away from the other then there could be a quarrel or disagreement.

I hear alarm bells when I see the queen of cups next to the seven of swords could this be the woman who’s trying to steal your man? Be careful of the queen of cups near any cheating cards. The king of pentacles next to seven of swords – is this guy as successful and wealthy as he says? Just don’t give him your pin number! The king or queen of wands near the seven of wands could be telling you that a friend is competing with you.

It’s really important to consider the surrounding cards as they will tell you much more about who or what the court represents. For example; if a reading generally looks positive, except for a rogue tower that’s sitting smack bang next to a court card, then you have to consider that maybe the tower won’t directly affect the person you’re reading for.

At the end of the day, tarot is an art not a science and the court cards mean whatever it is that you believe them to mean. Just fill your mind with all their many associations, talk to other readers and read as many books as you can. Once you start to trust your intuition you will pull out the relevant information as and when you need it and sometimes you won’t even know how you did it!

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“I can’t get no satisfaction!”
“When I’m riding round the world, and I’m doing this and signing that…”

He sounds like he has it all but he’s still not satisfied! Careful not to take things for granted.

The 4 of cups is a card of dissatisfaction, boredom or lack of interest in your current situation. It’s not a bad thing to want more out of life but we mustn’t forget to appreciate the things and people that we are already blessed with. Sometimes we don’t know what we have until it’s gone!

Continuing on from the wands court cards; today’s post is about ‘cups people’. Cups people are ruled by water and are therefore ruled by their emotions. They feel, they love, they sense and they nurture.

If we consider the nature of their astrological references we can get a much better understanding of these water people:

• Cancer: Caring and nurturing; their family and home life are paramount.
• Scorpio: Passionate lovers. Intense and secretive.
• Pisces: Romantic, sensitive and highly intuitive.

Obviously there is a lot more to each of these astrological character types than I’ve mentioned above, so it would be well worth getting hold of a good astrology book. I’ve always loved Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs but there is plenty of information available online. I’m by no means an astrologer but my keen interest over the years has helped me no end to understand the court cards.

Here are some of the general associations I have the the cups court cards:

Page of Cups

• A child or teenager – sensitive and maybe a little shy with artistic talents.
• New beginnings, new confidence and love of self.
• Pregnancy/conception
• Good news about matters close to your heart.

Negative

• An insecure and over emotional child or teenager
• Letting a lack of confidence hold you back

Knight of Cups

• A romantic young man who is in touch with his emotions.
• An intense and passionate lover
• A sweet talker who knows how to treat the ladies
• A slightly effeminate young man
• Invitations, dates wining & dining, courtship

Negative

• A promiscuous young man
• Jealous, insecure and over emotional
• A daydreamer with his head in the clouds

Queen of Cups

• A sensitive, compassionate and intuitive woman
• A caring woman with a strong maternal instinct
• A woman who understands the needs of men, sensual and passionate.
• Getting in touch with your own emotions and sensuality.

Negative

• A needy and insecure woman
• A promiscuous woman with underlying emotional issues
• The other woman in an illicit affair
• Using sexuality to manipulate a person or situation

King of Cups

• A laid back, sensitive and compassionate man
• A man who offer advice and understanding
• The man we are romantically involved with
• A romantic soul who loves and understands woman

Negative

• A promiscuous man who manipulates woman
• A man who is so laid back he doesn’t get things done
• A man with emotional baggage

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“At last, my love has come along, my lonely days are over, and life is like a song.”

“At last, the sky above is blue. My heart was wrapped in clover, the night that I looked at you.”

So fitting. Etta James describes the joy that can be felt when you finally meet somebody special. The cup is overflowing with emotion, new, pure and still untarnished. It’s early days but it feels good.

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“When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me…”
“There will be an answer, let it be” 

I feel this song really reflects both the sadness, and the potential for peace in the future. Putting the troubles/past behind us and moving forward.

Is Mother Mary the figure that guides the boat to calmer waters?

Reading the court cards can be tricky. Many a time I have dealt a spread full of court cards and I’ve just want to scream, “Who the heck ARE all these people?!”

Trying to work out whether these cards represent ourselves, others around us or are simply lending their energy to the situation is no mean feat. You really need to rely on your intuition to work out how these people fit into the rest of the spread. However, I’ve put together this post to give you a few tips that can help you to make sense of  it all.

One of the first things you should look at is the fire element and the kind of energy the wands represent; think bold, daring, creative, affectionate, loyal, bubbly and charismatic fun seekers!

Another thing to look at is the astrological references; Aries, Leo and Sagittarius:

• Aries; born leaders, thrill seekers, active and sporty.
• Leo; life and soul of the party, born to perform.
• Sagittarius, ambitious and freedom loving .

Here are the general associations I have with each court cards in the suit of wands:

Page of Wands

• Child or teenager – energetic, active, creative & talented
• Good news
• The very early stages of a creative project
• Brainstorming

Negative

• Hyper-active, boisterous

Knight of Wands

• A charismatic young man with a magnetic personality
• Popular with the ladies
• Thrill/adventure seeker
• Sporty and active, maybe an athlete
• A musician or artist
• Competitive and ambitious
• Loves his freedom and doesn’t like to be tied down
• Loves to travel
• Exciting lover

Negative

• Unreliable
• Bored easily
• Tactless
• Insensitive

Queen of Wands

• Ambitious and competitive in her career
• Loyal and affectionate, fiercely protective of her family and friends
• Fashionable/stylish/glamorous
• Likes the finer things in life
• Generous to her friends
• Singer/actress/dancer
• Social butterfly

Negative

• Self-indulgent
• Attention seeking
• Over-dramatic/drama queen

King of Wands

• A passionate lover
• A mesmerising presence
• Accomplished creativity
• An entrepreneur
• A musician, actor, artist or poet – a lover of the arts
• Creative director, film director or music producer

Negative

• Bossy
• Hot-headed
• Stubborn
• Tactless
• Sulky

If you place just one court card in any one position you can get an idea of the type of character it represents but end up stumped as to their purpose or relevance. For this reason I always recommend laying at least one other card beside it.

Note the interaction and dynamics of the court card with adjacent cards; are they facing each other, facing the same direction or opposing? This can tell you a lot; two court cards looking away from each other can indicate a dispute where two facing the same direction may indicate that they’re heading for the same goal. If a court card has his back to a another card which isn’t a court card, it may indicate that this person is not happy with whatever situation the other card represents.

You should also bear in mind that two different court cards could be representative of two sides to the one personality. And just one other thing to confuse things; woman can sometimes be represented by kings if they have a particularly dominant character, whilst more shy and timid males can be reflected in the queens. Likewise with determining age; A young man who has a mature head on his shoulders may come through as a king or an older, more immature man show as a knight – remember there are no rules. This is why it’s so important to work on ‘tuning in’ and reading intuitively.

The court cards where such a challenge for me in my early years that I eventually developed my own spread specifically for them. You can view this spread with an explanation to how it works here. Enjoy!

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“Who’s gonna run this town tonight?”

“We are, yea I said it we are, you can call me Caesar…”

The wands are up in the air and the team is ready for battle. Losing isn’t an option! With a huge display of fighting spirit they are adamant that the town belongs them, this team are formidable opponents. Are you ready to fight for what you want or believe in? Now is the time!

Today I’ve seen a great example of the Six of Wands in action! A dear friend of mine had been looking for a job, unsuccessfully, for the best part of the last two years. She’s a talented individual who had fallen victim to these tough economic times. After many challenges, obstacles and let downs, today my friend finally landed a fantastic new job! Through sheer determination and perseverance, she has finally emerged victorious.

Victory is the essence of this card. It’s about overcoming obstacles, completing challenges and accomplishing your aspirations.This moment of great achievement can mark a turning point, a sharp turn in the the right direction

You could liken the Six of Wands to gaining a qualification and passing exams with flying colours, or receiving an honour for an act of bravery. This achievement isn’t just handed out on a plate, it has to be earned. Whether it’s studying for hours on end, courageously fighting for what we believe in or just a hard slog against the odds, the Six of Wands is the pay off. If we’re talking about a new job, then obviously the pay off can be literal. However, the sense of pride that’s felt isn’t really measured with numbers.

If you’re are a creative, artistic type then the Six of Wands could represent a final show or exhibition after a long time of preparation. A time when all your hard work culminates into one big display or performance, on show for all to see. The recognition that can be gained at such a time can stand you in good stead for the rest of your career, open doors and present amazing opportunities.

This is a welcomed card, beautiful and inspiring, savour the sweet taste of success that it offers and enjoy the moment as it’s truly wonderful.

• Material Wealth
• Financial Security

The King of Pentacles is a worldly man with a knack for success and material achievement. He lives the good life and enjoys fine wine and dining and high quality threads. He can be somewhat showy and his self confidence may lead him to brag about his material possessions.

Essentially the King of Pentacles is a good man who can teach us how to lay solid material foundations and demonstrate how to generate wealth and prosperity.

• Ambition
• Practicality

The Queen of Pentacles is a woman of the world, her ambitious yet practical nature have helped her to accomplish many things. She can offer good, practical advice and give you the benefit of her vast professional experience.

This lady likes the finer things in life and thinks nothing of indulging herself and others close to her in life little luxuries.

• Dependability
• Dilligence

The Knight of Pentacles is a hard working soul, he is quiet and humble and reliable. He may not be too imaginative but it’s his patience and perseverance that will lead him to his achievements. This card can signify a phase when we should embody these traits and use hard work and determination to ensure that our own dreams and aspirations are achieved.

• Work Plans
• Apprenticeship

The Page of Pentacles represents the time in our life when we plan our careers or work life and start. We decide where we would like to study what career path we’d like to follow and then we set the plan in motion. The Page of Pentacles can also indicate that there’ll be good news regarding exam results or promotion.

• Property
• Inheritance
• Prosperity

The Ten of Pentacles represents material security and prosperity. Solid foundations have led to sustainable wealth. Often this wealth has close ties to the home and family so this card can indicate a family business or a property or even an inheritance.

• Wealth/Success
• Pleasure

The Nine of Pentacles symbolises wealth and success, there is a sense of self satisfaction and contentment. This is a really positive and attractive card; the period of time it represents should be relished. On a financial level it doesn’t get much better, this could be due to a windfall or the simply the ripe fruits of labour.

• Learning a New Skill
• Hard Work

The Eight of Pentacles signifies a time of learning , whether it’s academic study or training to acquire a new skill. Hard work now will pay off in the future, this is a period of time when we have to knuckle down and start making headway towards our long term goals.

• Work/Career Decisions
• Perseverance

The Seven of Pentacles symbolises important decisions that need to regarding a work situation. There could be a proposition that creates a work dilemma. Do we risk past hard work and rewards for the possibility of something bigger and better? There is a sense of success about this card but it is long term success and perseverance and determination are required to achieve it.

It’s important that the right choices are made, where we find ourselves in time to come will be a result of good and bad choices made now.