The Court Cards

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 20 Dec 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

imagoddess	20 Dec 2002
OK - how many interpret a court card to mean an actual person, expecially if it appears in the position of future, environment of outcome? I have a hard time interpreting a court card as a person, as I am more inclined to view the cards as reflecting the non-material. Please share any and all thoughts!

imagoddess	20 Dec 2002
Sorry folks, I should have done my homework, obviosly this has been discussed before. PLEASE BE PATIENT - I'm a newbie!

Diana	21 Dec 2002
imagegoddess: First, welcome to the Aeclectic Tarot Forums! Secondly, even if this topic has been discussed on numerous occasions, please don't hesitate to give us any new insights you may have, or a different way of saying the same thing, which might just make someone say "Eureka!". And if anyone else would like to contribute anything, please go ahead. The Court cards can be confusing and any information is always appreciated. Just to get back to your comments, if you consider the Courts to be non-material, it doesn't really make that much difference very often. Let's say you get a court that would mean "empathy" in the spread. Well, you will encounter that empathy whether it's in your heart, or in the surrounding environment, or from a particular person. The important thing is to recognise it when you see it, because that will be an important factor to take into consideration (according to your spread).

Trogon	21 Dec 2002
Howdy imagoddess! In regards to court cards... When I first started learning the Tarot (not all that long ago... ;) ) I kind of thought that the court cards usually referred to a particular person. However, it has been my experience, more recently, that the way I was originally learning the court cards didn't always fit. This was the idea of the courts of a particular suit referring to a person with a particular appearance - Wands = blonde hair, blue eyes, Cups = brown hair, hazel eyes, and so forth. However, this has not necessarily turned out to be the case in the majority of my readings. In many of my readings, when a court card comes up, if it seems to represent a particular person, it more often represents certain traits for the person, or the influences that person might be having on the querrent. There have been a few times that the appearance things did match up as well. I usually find this out by asking something along the lines of "does this person (described by these traits) have XXX hair?" I have asked this several times... it seems to match up about 50% of the time, so may just be coincidence. The traits & influences seem to match up every time. Hope this helps...

Osher	21 Dec 2002
Hey! You are not alone, I find that most people, including me, find the court cards the hardest to read. They can be people, or situation, or other things. There are so many ways of reading them that I find the best is to read the other cards, and then come back to them. I've been reading cards for a while, and I am only just getting the hang of the Pages and Knights. The Kings and Queens are next. However, in my experience, the Kings and Queens seem to represent people more often than the Pages and Knights. Not sure why this is. Or I am just plain wrong!!!!

Alex	21 Dec 2002
court cards myself. And I so frequently get them. It works well when you read for someone else who's got no history of learning the Tarot. Then you say "I see a man who's middle-aged, very kind and ..." and that will be reflected to you as "ah, of couse, my unkle...". Things are different when we are trying to learn the Tarot and come accross a court card. If there's not that initial "ah, my boyfriend/ brother/ co-worker" here, then you never find out what that card is. It's even worse when you first identify a court card with "mom" or "sister" and latter it appears within another context and you keep refering back to "mom" when it's about something else. In a way I think the Tarot is akin to psychoanalysis in that it cannot be applied to oneself with a lot of accuracy. Cause some knowledge of it and some knowledge of the subject matter can make interpretation very very messy. I still don't have an answer for your question. It IS hard, really. Alex. Quote: Originally posted by imagoddess42283 OK - how many interpret a court card to mean an actual person, expecially if it appears in the position of future, environment of outcome

cuddles	21 Dec 2002
hehe...add me to the list of newbies having one heck of a time with those court cards. when they are in a spot representing a person it's not that bad, but in some spots i find it really hard. i haven't been able to pin down why. then the other day i had the knight of wands in a spot representing a person. i'm still learning and use books to help me understand the meanings of the cards. one book said one thing about him, and another had a very different understanding! so just when i thought i was ok......

zander770	21 Dec 2002
well? for ONE thing they don't have those MONICERS on 'em, like the major keys, do they? secondly, most times there's not too much "action" going on in the cards, like the "pips..." (they all sorta "look the same"; all the kings, all the queens sitting, etc, etc...) one thing my friend elizabeth carter bissette http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/tarot taught me is this: to alway make sure i watch where the Court Cards are "looking" in a spread--what Cards they are "looking" at, AND, if that other card's another Court Card? "ut oh..." look out! then, they're having a "conversation..." more than TWO Court Cards? hmmm...could be and "argument..." and, maybe...just MAYBE! they are "talking" about YOU!!! also, here's a fairly New Idea (it's in robin wood's deck/book, too): kings = ruling principals. this one Tells You. queens = reflecting principals. she'll Guide you! knights = active principals. they'll Engage you in Adventures (also, they're the "messingers..." hence: the Horses). pages = learning principals. this one opens New Horizons! now, then: go play in Court... ~Z~770 })

Alex	22 Dec 2002
see Pages, mostly when I see more than one in the spread, as a lot of back and forth messages between the querent and other people, about some important matter. Often the Page of Cups makes me think of the curiosity, naivitat and trust characteristic of that "first love" we experience sometime in high school and never again. When it comes for a young person, is OK; for "older" people it may signify being overly naive and trusty concerning a relationship matter; and the need to look a bit deeper into the matter in order to get a more "realistic" take. Alex. Quote: Originally posted by zander770 pages = learning principals. this one opens New Horizons!

Silverlotus	22 Dec 2002
I've always pretty much read court cards like the rest of the Minors. Occasionally, depending on the issue and the spread, I read them as people. One idea about the court cards that never made sense to me was what Ms. Cannon Reed wrote in her books and the LWB to go with the Witches' Tarot. She more or less said (and pardon me if I get it wrong, I'm taking this from memory) that if you drew a court card, draw another card and lay them in the same position. Read the two cards together with the court card modifying the meaning of the other card. *shrug* An interesting idea, but it just doesn't seem right for me.

zander770	22 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Silverlotus . . . if you drew a court card, draw another card and lay them in the same position. Read the two cards together with the court card modifying the meaning of the other card. *shrug* An interesting idea, but it just doesn't seem right for me. i think that that's something to consider! yes, certainly, especially in a long, many card spread... ~Z~770 :smoker:

tarotbear	23 Dec 2002
O.K. _ I will hit the newbies with my quickie Knights interpretations: Take out the 4 knights and lay them out left to right - Pentacles, Cups, Wands, Swords and take a look at their horses. I usually consider Knights as changes in long-standing life conditions although they have other meanings, too. Knight Pentacles - horse is standing still - this change is barely beginning or has not even begun. It will happen but is a long time in coming, so have patience. Knight Cups - horse is walking This change has already begun but will not happen quickly or very soon. Knight Wands - horse is trotting - this change is begun and should conclude presently as quick movement is indicated. Knight Swords - horse is at full gallop - this change is about to happen so quickly that it may overtake you by surprise; you may be unaware a change has begun, but you will feels it's effects soon. That is my thumbnail interpretation for the Knights.

Diana	23 Dec 2002
tarotbear: Which deck are you referring to? (Wonderful thumbnail method of interpretation, by the way.) (What does a "thumbnail" interpretation mean? :) )

tarotbear	23 Dec 2002
Hello, Diana! The horse/speed of change interpretation should work with any Rider or Rider clone deck. In the Robin Wood the Knight Swords is flying across a thunder-riddled sky on a Pegasus, but it would still work. By 'thumbnail interpretation' I meant it is a general one, but should still work in most cases ... for upright cards. I teach tarot by showing the class what the similarities between the same cards of different suits are, then go in to what makes them unique. Some beginners find this easier to understand as an 'overview' of what the Knights mean. That way they have a general idea to work from when a Knight appears in a reading and keeps them from scrambling to a book to look up an interpretation they are unfamiliar with.

Wicca812	27 Dec 2002
if i am using a court card for a person. I relate the characteristics of the card onto the person that may be affectin the situation. For instance if you get the card in the seventh spot. You Can take some of the charactistics of the card meaning and maybe place it onto a person that is affecting your life.

wakeboarder	28 Dec 2002
Usually, I try to use my intuition as much as possible, but when it just doesn't click I clarify with two cards on every court. That usually gives you enough information to decide how to read it. If that doesn't work, then the nonmaterialistic approach would probably work better than assuming it to be a person. I usually see the king and queen as people more often than the knight and page though. Just trying to throw an opinion out there. ~Wakeboarder

The The Court Cards thread was originally posted on 20 Dec 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.