court contemplation

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 16 Jul 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Ravenswing	16 Jul 2002
this one's for you jimilyn-- i've always had (at least) some difficulty with the courts-- i think most of us find this true (except our high priestess, of course...) and it seems a difficulty which extends to those who design decks, else there wouldn't be so many labeling for them (i'm working on a deck with father, mother, son and bride...) but i've been contemplating on them and have found these three arrangements to be a large help. it's all visual, but then again, what is tarot?? the first is one sets the courts out as a reflection of the four world of the kabala. (for the sake of clarity, i'm using king, queen, knight and page as court names) set them out in a square thus-- 1st row-- King, Queen, Knight and Page of Wands 2nd row-- King, Queen, Knight and Page of Cups 3rd row-- King, Queen, Knight and Page of Swords 4th row-- King, Queen, Knight and Page of Penticles Look it over for a while; see what you can find. the second square switches two of the rows, and gives us the astrological ordering of the courts-- 1st row-- King, Queen, Knight and Page of Wands 2nd row-- King, Queen, Knight and Page of Pentacles 3rd row-- King, Queen, Knight and Page of Swords 4th row-- King, Queen, Knight and Page of Cups this'll have a different overall feel than the first the third arrangement is: 1st row-- King, Queen, Knight and Page of Wands 2nd row-- Queen, Knight, Page and King of Cups 3rd row-- Knight, Page, King, Queen of Swords 4th row-- Page, King, Queen and Knight of Pentacles Each row stats with the primary elemental persona. (King of Wands is fire of fire...) If you read rows, you get elemental 'families'; if you read columns, you get inter-elemental 'families' there's lots to this one. all for now, i'll be back with some circular arrangements later eying the world from a hidden perch ravenswing

jema	16 Jul 2002
thanks for posting this steve, will try it out. i esp like that idea of that last rectangle, a good way to really get a grip on the whole fire of water thing. (my card for today was infact knight of water from the thoth)

tigerlily	16 Jul 2002
And now do this with Kings=Air, Queens=Earth, Knights=Fire, Princesses=Water - that's how I see them (no, I never do anything like everyone else, I'm eccentric by birth... ;) )

Ravenswing	16 Jul 2002
tigerlily-- do you also see wands as air and swords as fire?? (i can see the wand whistling through the air and the sword tempered by fire) curious as a cat :D (cheshire, naturally) ravenswing

Umbrae	16 Jul 2002
I see Swords/East/Air/Spring, Wands/South/Fire/Summer

jema	17 Jul 2002
or: knight/swords/air/winter/north king/wands/fire/spring/east page/cups/water/summer/south queen/pentacles/earth/autumn/west the cold north wind brings winter the wands are bursting with life and budding the long lazy summer days by the waterside the fruitful harvest from the earth in fall one can bend the system. i do mostly stick to the crowley definitions though - to have some common ground with the literatur. but it is a good practice to play a bit and change it all around. could one put kings as pentacles? sure one can - i would however had a hard time putting the queens up as wind/swords.

Ravenswing	17 Jul 2002
the final way of arranging the 16 court cards in a square is to give them a good shuffle before laying them out. contemplate the cards; what kind of meaning can you create from this arrangement? you can use this as a daily meditation on the courts. keep notes, and write down the cards order. perhaps one day's layout might amplify another's. if you EVER deal out the same arrangement twice, take careful note of it. there are almost 21 trillion (yes, that's right, TRILLION) different possible squares. to come out with the same one twice is HIGHLY unlikely. if you do, i would think that the universe is hitting you over the head with something of importance to you. i hope these help your understanding of the courts back in flight ravenswing **** hey, wait a minute!! what about a circular pattern?? })

tigerlily	17 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by stevepolsz tigerlily-- do you also see wands as air and swords as fire?? (i can see the wand whistling through the air and the sword tempered by fire) curious as a cat :D (cheshire, naturally) ravenswing No, I see Wands=Fire and Swords=Air; the Wand/Club as enhancing one's power (and OF COURSE it's THE phallic symbol! ;) ) and Swords, cutting the Gordic Knot = the power of the mind.

The court contemplation thread was originally posted on 16 Jul 2002 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.