Most new explorers of the tarot would agree that the court cards are the most difficult to understand.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://i.postimg.cc/BbqV8Pbk/Tarot-Court-cards.png)
Therefore, let’s just begin by taking a look at these 16 people.
When you can grasp this, the rest is all butter.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://i.postimg.cc/d1zGXbPB/Tarot-courts-1.jpg)
The truth is, they are some really fascinating people when you look at them in a simplified way.
There is really no right or wrong way to read these cards but it does help to extract more wisdom if you know something of their community.
Before we dive in it’s important to address that you have a good tarot deck for genuine study.
If you don’t know what a good tarot deck is then, go ahead and click over to our second post in this series of 10 articles. These are specially designed to quickly get you using your cards like a pro.
9 Important Things to Know for Choosing and Cleaning Your First Tarot Deck
If you missed the first post in this series,
7 Steps in 30 Minutes or Less to Learn the Tarot Cards,
And finally, the last and third article so far, is
Tarot Wyzdom with Love: How to Dissect the Tarot Cards
There are many websites, articles and books explaining the 16 court cards in-depth but for today’s purpose we will be looking at the most basic points to get you feeling confident quickly and easily.
At the bottom of this post, you will find a list of further resources for continued exploration.
We began discussing in Dissecting the Tarot how the minor arcana contains several groups of four:
Numbered cards (#1-10)
Court cards (2 masculine, 2 feminine)
- Elements (Earth, air, fire, water)
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#1
First, let’s Meet the elements
Meet the Elements
Element | Suit | Attributes | Gender | Atomic Correspond |
---|---|---|---|---|
Earth | Pentacles | physical/wealth | fem/daughter | carbon |
Air | swords | mental/thoughts | masc/son | oxygen |
Fire | wands | passion/spirit | masc/father | nitrogen |
Water | cups | emotion/intuition | fem/mother | hydrogen |
A printable, more detailed version can be found at this link
Study the chart above and become familiar with its’ contents.
#2
Charting the Courts
Notice in the chart below how the Rider-Waite and Thoth inspired decks contain different court cards. Aleister Crowley omitted the King.
Rider-Waite | Thoth | Level of wisdom | Element | Action |
---|---|---|---|---|
King | Knight | mature | fire/red | Sitting/passive |
Queen | Queen | mature | water/blue | Sitting/passive |
Knight | Prince | scholar | air/yellow | Moving/active |
Page | Princess | immature | disks/green | Stands or sits/active |
Study the chart above. Now, make comparisons to the previous Elements Chart.
This is where it gets really fun. Do you see where the elements are listed in both charts?
Notice there are elements for:
Each suit (pentacles, wands, swords, cups)
Each Court Card (king, queen, Knight, Prince)
Make yourself flashcards or cheat sheets so you can memorize the four elements (earth, air, fire, water). At this point, it’s important to really grasp the attributes of each of the elements.
This is one of the few things we will recommend you actually memorize.
#3
The Elemental Chart of the Courts
XXXXXXX | Wands (fire) | Cups (water) | Swords (air) | Pentacles (earth) |
---|---|---|---|---|
King (fire) | Fire/Fire | fire/water | fire/air | fire/earth |
Queen (water) | water/fire | water/water | water/air | water/earth |
Knight (air) | Air/fire | Air/water | air/air | air/Earth |
Page (earth) | Earth/fire | earth/water | earth/air | earth/earth |
The chart above works like a times table.
Find the two elements of each person. When the elements are combined the sum is that of more complex characteristics of the personality.
For example: All Knights, in the tarot, are AIR but there is an entire suite of AIR, symbolized with a sword.
The Knight of Swords would, therefore, be Air/Air. Which means he has double qualities of that of Air.
Knight/AIR + Cups/WATER = Air/Water
Queen/Water + Pentacles/EARTH = Water/EARTH
...and so on.
Consider the qualities of each element and how the personality is affected in addition to what that might look like.
The Activities section of this article contains a printable chart for you to use.
#4
Understanding the 16 personalities.
Get to know the elements, blend it with maturity and status and you are on your way to mastering the court cards.
Using the Court Cards in a reading is easy when you keep in mind that these are not necessarily a particular person. Read it as the qualities or personality of the court card character.
The last step is to put this community to work for you. Use them in a reading and just simply play with them to get to know them.
Using the court cards there are all kinds of fun activities to do. Below are some ideas to get you started but if you come up with your own ideas go ahead and follow your inner guidance. After all, isn't that what tarot is all about?
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Activity: Meet the Court Cards.
- Print out 3 copies of the chart below.
- The first one you will complete with the elements like the Elemental Chart of the Courts above.
- The second one, based on the elements of each card, this time, write down the qualities and attributes of each card, thus defining the personality of each character.
- Finally, place your court cards in the same pattern as the chart and test yourself in defining each card. Are you surprised at how well you now understand these cards?
- Using your 3rd chart, fill in the boxes with people you know personally or people in the media that you believe possess the appropriate qualities. For example: The Queen of Cups is Water/Water. You might say she is Mother Teresa but the Princess of Swords might be Joan of Arc.
REMEMBER: masculine is not always a man and feminine is not always a woman
Another activity to practice what you just learned…
The Court Dramas
- Shuffle only your 16 court cards.
- Lay a selected amount of them...begin with 3 for simplicity, in front of you.
- Write or say out loud if you are doing it in a group, a short story about these three characters and how they might react together.
- Imagine a play where a fourth character enters the stage unexpectedly. How might the plot develop?
- Create family groups then develop possible storylines, elaborating on the attributes from the above charts.
Tarot Party Games
- You and your friends can each draw a Court Card then interact with one another as that personality. Try guessing who each other is.
- Another version is to take turns with your friends holding up your court card so you cannot see it but your friends can. We like to stick the card to our forehead. Ask “yes/no” questions until you guess the card. For example: "Is it a man?, Is the person sitting in a chair?, Is there a horse?".
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Now that you are familiar with some basics we encourage you to explore even deeper. All of the court cards have also astrological associations. If you have an interest or background in astrology this might be a great path for your personal study.
Clicking through these links and/or making any purchase
through them supports building a more loving world and
continuing the Epic Journey.
Tarot and Astrology: Enhance Your Readings With the Wisdom of the Zodiac by Corrine Kenner
Tarot and Astrology: The Pursuit of Destiny by Muriel Bruce Hasbrouck
In addition, Carl Jung
explored archetypes and as a result, he has left a great legacy of written work on comparing the Court cards to Jung's archetypes. This is a wonderful direction of study for those interested in psychology.Sugggested further research and resources list:
clicking through these links and/or making any purchase
through them supports building a more loving world and
continuing the Epic Journey.
Suggested Beginner Books
- Tarot for Beginners: A Holistic Guide to Using the Tarot for Personal Growth and Self Development by Meg Hayertz
- How to Read Tarot: A Modern Guide by Jessica
- The Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot by Johannes Fiebig
Book List for Study of the Court Cards
Understanding the Tarot Court by Mary K Greer
Tarot Court Cards for Beginners: Bring Clarity to Your Readings by Leeza Robertson
Your Tarot Court: Read Any Deck With Confidence
Upcoming Tarot Course Study Materials
- Universal Waite Tarot
- Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Tarot Journey to Self-Awareness (A New Edition of the Tarot Classic) by Rachel Pollack
- Thoth Tarot Deckby Aleister Croweley
- The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols by Angeles Arrien
As always,
Love is available
for a variety of tarot readings to support you in creating the future you desire.
Tarot Wyzdom with Love
is now taking appointments.
--------------------------@@@@@-------------------------
In the next article of this series,
we will take a closer look at the
16 Court Cards.
Remember to...
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I LLLLOOOOVVVEE this post. The tarot has confounded me all these years - I gave up and actually do my own readings of my own drawings because the tarot has been too impossible to learn - but I will try again with your posts!
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This is really great feedback! I love your enthusiasm and the fact that my posts are inspiring you to give it another try is very encouraging to me.
I'm loving the Follow. Check out my FB page www.facebook.com/tarotwyzdomwithlove
Invest in yourself and Shop my services. Go ahead and click on the button and make an appointment.
Keep on Steemin'! HUGS
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Actually no... I cannot get a reading- my intuition is so strong for me that I cannot let another read me as it throws me off, but thank you! And I just love the tarot classes
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I understand the power of suggestion and the responsibility of a conscious reader. Most readers are not aware of what they are doing. I get you. XOXO
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Thanks wow - that is an amazing observation- and you are correct- I guess it is the power of suggestion... good point!
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