When is my brother my uncle?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 21 Feb 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

gargoyle_guarded	21 Feb 2005
In an attempt to explore the tarot a little bit further, I've been thinking of a different way (for myself anyway) to start reading the court cards as people. Using standard card associations with the King being a father, the Queen a mother, the Prince/Knight a brother, the Princess/Page a sister....I'm curious as to how others would interpret a card showing up in a spread as an aunt or uncle? What about a grandmother or grandfather? I'm thinking of using the suit of cups to identify immediate family members, the suit of pentacles to identify co-workers or casual acquaintances, the suit of swords to identify in-laws, and the suit of wands to identify aunts/uncles/cousins. For example: Prince/Knight of Cups would be a brother Princess/Page of Pentacles would be a female co-worker Queen of Swords would be a mother-in-law King of Wands would be an uncle

souljourney	21 Feb 2005
I love that... the Swords are in-laws. LOL. Oh...that's too funny. Well...maybe a mother-in-law could be the Devil. Oh that's not a court card, but could be accurate. SJ

Kiama	21 Feb 2005
Personally I prefer not to see the Court Cards as too specific (e.g. the traditional 'Hair Colour, Zodiac Sign, Age', etc.) For me, the Court Cards can signify any number of things, but when it comes to people they most commonly signify personality traits (though whether the traits in question are dominant, recessive, blocked, etc, depends on surrounding cards and the question!) Therefore, for me I Think to use certain cards as family members narrows the playing field... To me it suggests that ALL Fathers are like the King Cups (with all his personality traits), and ALL Mothers are like the Queen of Cups... Which is of course not true. Especially when you get a querent who has a particularly bad relationship with their Mother/Father. I prefer to tell the querent what the Court Card symbolizes, and let them decide who that is in their life. After all, they know better than me! Having said all that, I do know of many Tarot readers who often assign relations to Major Arcana - Wives to the High Priestess; Mothers to the Empress; Fathers to the Emperor, etc. Just my thruppence! Blessings, Kiama

Eco74	21 Feb 2005
That would also depend on what kind of relationship one has with ones inlaws, family etc. For some the family they grew up with is more wands or pentacles, while the workplace can provide the emotional fulfillment of the cups. Also the relationships vary from time to time so there may be a danger in getting to categorical. It is a good idea to place them like this to increase the comfort-level with the courts though, but do stay open to the signals from the cards themselves and not only to the structures they belong in.

gargoyle_guarded	21 Feb 2005
Cool. I probably should have mentioned I use my court cards as modifiers. So, I'm not worried about these cards themselves becoming "too pigeon holed" because I am certain the card following the court will clear everything up during the reading. When I consider possibilities like this one, it's more because I'm looking for a familiar baseline than an exact science. And no matter the meaning assigned to the card, intuition always prevails. ;)

MeeWah	21 Feb 2005
gargoyle_guarded wrote: ...For example: Prince/Knight of Cups would be a brother Princess/Page of Pentacles would be a female co-worker Queen of Swords would be a mother-in-law King of Wands would be an uncle gargoyle_guarded: If I follow the reasoning correctly, then: Prince/Knight of Cups could also refer to a sister? King of Swords, father-in-law. Queen of Wands, aunt. As for grandparents, there are no Court cards left; leaves the Majors. Reason for turning to Majors is grandparents usually representative of the patriarch/matriarch influences in a family hierarchy so possibly 1-The Magician as the progenitor of a lineage with 2-The High Priestess as counterpart. Or 4-The Emperor & 3-The Empress for the respective representations. Though I prefer to not assign specific associations to Court cards, your idea worth exploring. & for consideration as even an alternate category of meanings for relationship dynamics. Since your other ideas/approaches such as card combinations work for your own readings, I tend to see this could work also within the reading context simply since the idea occurred. Agree with Eco74 that aspects of the work relationships could present as Cups if the emotional satisfaction is obtained from the work environment (& which I have seen expressed). By the same vein, a romantic relationship present as Pentacles (& also encountered). If this idea is explored, please do post the results.

gargoyle_guarded	21 Feb 2005
MeeWah wrote: gargoyle_guarded: If I follow the reasoning correctly, then: Prince/Knight of Cups could also refer to a sister?***** King of Swords, father-in-law. Queen of Wands, aunt. Hi MeeWah. I always look forward to your responses. :) Yes, to the King of Swords being a father-in-law and the Queen of Wands being and Aunt. But I was thinking more that the Princess/Page of Cups would be a sister.***** I didn't realize the humor behind using swords to represent in-laws. My original reasoning wasn't because I was trying to indicate conflict - I happen to love my in-laws. It is because swords (in certain combinations with other cards) represent legal matters to me. So, a brother-in-law would be a Prince/Knight of Swords. He's my brother in "law". As I was falling asleep last night I also considered the grandparents. So, I'm glad you mentioned this because I came up with nothing other than an additional card would have to appear in the spread in order for the King to represent a grandfather. Using the Major Arcana is a wonderful idea and I love your reasoning behind this! Many times people can't wait to tell me how much they disagree with my methods. That's ok. Unless I'm reading cards for those nay-sayers, I guess they need to remember it really doesn't affect them. ;) I know to some it will seem I'm getting in over my head with this method but I can honestly say that once my mind is made up, the cards and I form an agreement. They always tell me what I need to hear instead of what I want to hear. Many of the methods I use started as ideas or concepts. There is not too much I fear in this world so trying a new approach is something I'm more than willing to do. The card combinations and other methods I've tried/enjoyed have been accurate more times than not and now I trust that when a certain card combination appears, that it is a sign for me to delve deeper into the situation. Judging by my clients' satisfaction and amazement, I see nothing wrong with this. This is what works for me personally so I am going to explore it further like you say MeeWah. Thanks for your input!

MeeWah	21 Feb 2005
gargoyle_guarded wrote: Yes, to the King of Swords being a father-in-law and the Queen of Wands being and Aunt. But I was thinking more that the Princess/Page of Cups would be a sister.***** Oops, sorry about that (not up to speed today). Meant Princess/Page of Cups but mind went blank. I do not see the Court cards as always gender-specific & resorted to "neutral". gargoyle_guarded wrote: ...swords (in certain combinations with other cards) represent legal matters to me. So, a brother-in-law would be a Prince/Knight of Swords. He's my brother in "law". Agree. Based on certain card combinations such as Swords with Pentacles I can see either a medical doctor or a teacher. Since there are 78 cards, the combination possibilities a-plenty for all types of associations. gargoyle_guarded wrote: ...Judging by my clients' satisfaction and amazement, I see nothing wrong with this. This is what works for me personally so I am going to explore it further like you say MeeWah. Thanks for your input! Whether through the "programming" of the cards, the intuitive or both, the true barometer always the clients' reactions &/or the gut. I would not fix what ain't broken. & very much looking forward to your results!

The When is my brother my uncle? thread was originally posted on 21 Feb 2005 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.