Court card trick

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 16 Nov 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

psychiclayla	16 Nov 2003
Here's a little trick I use to get accurate descriptions of people from Court cards. When a court card appears in a reading, look at the pic, think of the qualities of that card and let it remind you of someone that you know. This someone can be living, dead, someone you love or hate, even a fictional character or famous person. For example I pick the Knave of Pentacles & this reminds me of my friend Liz. What I do then is I describe my friend Liz in general terms to the client. This goes something like: "This person here is a very hardworking girl with a great sense of humour. She brightens up the room when she walks in, and her boyfriend is so not good enough for her," This description is usually dead-on the mark. The client will say "That's my sister," or whoever the card represents. I think what happens here is a combination of Tarot accuracy and pure intuition. If you want to take this a step further you can then describe to the client (again in very general terms) what is going on in the life of the person that you are thinking of, or any situations past or present that come to mind about this person. "This girl is just about to start something new career-wise and she is wondering if her relationship is going to fit in with her new commitments," Again, unless you are having an off-day this description will usually be dead-on, or as near as it can be to the actual situation. The more you do this the more accurate you will get with it. When the info starts to flow you can add more detail. You can get some shockingly accurate info this way - just trust your intuition! Don't be put off if the card reminds you of yourself, or perhaps a younger version of you. Just describe everything that comes to mind. I started doing this by accident when I was doing one reading after another for hours at a time. It just sort of happened by itself (you can get a bit spaced out if you overdo things!). But I started doing it conciously & I have had great success with it. Give it a try & tell me what you think :o)

Jewel-ry	16 Nov 2003
I certainly like the idea of identifying the court card with someone you know. I only do reading for myself at the moment so cant really try it out but I think it'll help me remember the meanings of the cards. Jewel-ry

ros	16 Nov 2003
I do this also. I also learned a lot of the zodiac signs this way. I think it's great!One court card per zodiac sign & one person I know for the sign. It's uncanny how this works when you put it all together.

Jen	16 Nov 2003
psychiclayla, Thanks for sharing. I'm definitely going to try this. Court cards are usually the bane of my readings. This makes them seem much more readable.

Sulis	16 Nov 2003
This is something that I also do. The Cosmic tarot by Norbert Losche helped me a lot with court cards as the courts in this deck actually look like real people eg Sean Connery is King Wands, Ingrid Bergman is Queen Swords. It really helped me to make the connection. Love and light Sulis xx

Star Spirit	16 Nov 2003
I'll try to do that! It's already starting to work that way with me as it is, every time I see the Page of Wands I think of my boyfriend. Or at least one side of him :D

Wildchild	17 Nov 2003
I'm game for anything that would help me with court cards. I cringe everytime one comes up.

Lady Mary	17 Nov 2003
Do you always use the same 16 characters for interpreting the court cards or do they change (from time to time; from client to client; etc.)? Court cards are always a bit tricky to interpret. They can stand for a person or a situation. When I did a reading about President Bush's chances in the elections 2004, I got the Queen of Wands in the outcome position. Now, for example, if I said, the Queen of Wands is like my friend Trixi, how would this help my interpretation? I can describe Trixi, but what does that tell me about Bush's chances to win? Is the Queen of Wands (Trixi) a winner? Obviously. But then, I got the Sun for General Clark …

gloria	17 Nov 2003
Hi Psychiclayla, it sounds a great idea, but can an individual be typecast in this way? Surely we are more complex in that we are able to take on a number of personalities and characteristics at any given time. I know of a Queen of Wands type who can quite easily turn into the Queen of Swords when challenged or upset. Still the bottom line is if it works....then great. I generally go by the two elements attached to the courts and have found that to be pretty successful. Gloria.

firestorm	17 Nov 2003
Sulis: I had to laugh. I identify with the Queen of Swords and recently a good friend told me that looks wise, I remind him of Ingrid Bergman. LOL

knowledge	17 Nov 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Wildchild I'm game for anything that would help me with court cards. I cringe everytime one comes up. I so know what you mean. I have alote of trable with them. can Iask for help to? becuse how can you know the zodiac signs of the cards?

psychiclayla	17 Nov 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Lady Mary Do you always use the same 16 characters for interpreting the court cards or do they change (from time to time; from client to client; etc.)? Court cards are always a bit tricky to interpret. They can stand for a person or a situation. When I did a reading about President Bush's chances in the elections 2004, I got the Queen of Wands in the outcome position. Now, for example, if I said, the Queen of Wands is like my friend Trixi, how would this help my interpretation? I can describe Trixi, but what does that tell me about Bush's chances to win? Is the Queen of Wands (Trixi) a winner? Obviously. But then, I got the Sun for General Clark … No, I let someone come to mind & it's rarely the same person twice. The point is that you let your intuition be your guide at that time. So if the Queen of Wands makes you think of your friend Trixi all the time, then she must embody a lot of the major qualities of this card. But of course she would have different sides to her personality same as everyone. It's these different aspects that come out with this method. If your friend Trixi was running for president would you vote for her? Would she make a good president? Is she someone you can believe in? Do people warm to her, or does she tread on people's toes? The answers to those questions should help you with your outcome. I would be really interested to know what you think about this.

psychiclayla	17 Nov 2003
Quote: Originally posted by gloria Hi Psychiclayla, it sounds a great idea, but can an individual be typecast in this way? Surely we are more complex in that we are able to take on a number of personalities and characteristics at any given time. Gloria. I agree with you 100% there about us being complex beings Gloria. With this method all you are doing is identifying some characteristics of a person that are relevant to the reading. So you're not labelling anyone. You're just getting a quick glance at their personality and what is going on with them. The Tarot provides the focus & your intuition should do the rest. My intuition works best when I point it in the right direction & the court cards spark off that all important train of thought.

TemperanceAngel	18 Nov 2003
Quote: Originally posted by knowledge I so know what you mean. I have alote of trable with them. can Iask for help to? becuse how can you know the zodiac signs of the cards? For me personally I relate the suit of the Court Card to the star sign, eg: Wands = Fire signs, Cups = Water signs etc. Does this make sense? When I begin a reading I first ask my client their starsign. If they are a Taurean male, then they would be the King of Pentacles, amd so on and so forth..... But, of course there are no hard and fast rules with these tricky things, but this does help when we are specifically asking about someone, eg: someone's partner. And yeah sometimes they aren't people as well....oh dear it is so confusing:confused: I say, "When in doubt, don't trouble yourself too much about whether it is a person/aspect/etc. Thanks Psychiclayla, it is always great to hear a new interpretation for the Courts...:D Hope this helps..... XTAX

Lady Mary	18 Nov 2003
Quote: If your friend Trixi was running for president would you vote for her? Would she make a good president? Is she someone you can believe in? Do people warm to her, or does she tread on people's toes? The answers to those questions should help you with your outcome. I would be really nterested to know what you think about this. I picture the Queen of Wands as a very outgoing, active, sweet, charming, sexy and attractive person. She has many friends and people love her company. She's a great planner and loves to organize. She's successful (not so much because of her skills but because others are attracted by her). She can convince people. She's a leader. She loves things to be done. Now I see what you mean, Psychiclayla!:) Queen of Wands in the outcome-position (will Bush win?) would tell me: His chances are intact. He can attract many people. But on the other hand: People might be bored or annoyed by his shiny and showy behavior (negative sides of the Queen of Wands). So who's stronger/more successful: The Queen of Wands or the Sun? :TQW :TSUN Well, and I also think that one person represents more than only one (court)-card. A person usually has many different aspects of personality. Trixi, for example, she has this sunny Queen-of-Wands-side, but she can also be rather conservative and in need of stability (Knight of Pentacles) and she can be very sweet and caring about children (Queen of Pentacles) and sometimes she can also be rude and blurt out what she's thinking without considering other peoples' feelings (her Knight of Swords-side).

DeLani	18 Nov 2003
This is a great method of "getting into" the court cards. Since this was the way I started, I never had the problems with them that seem to be pretty common amongst beginners. Just start really general, so you aren't "projecting" your friend or whoever, onto the reading. As you begin speeling off characteristics, your mind will open and more details will come out (seemingly of nowhere). For example, I became comfortable with the Q of Wands first, because it is SO my mom (double Leo). When court cards are situations - it could be the querent is attaining mastery (K) or fulfillment (Q) over an issue in their life (the suit), beginnining something new (P) in a certain field (suit), or moving forward and climbing the ladder (Knight) of a certain issue or field. I generally go with these correspondences: Swords: Communications (telemarketing, speech writing etc.), working with computers or electronics (geek professions). Any profession where you use your mind in an analytical fashion. And the only air profession I can think of - airplane pilots or air traffic controllers! Wands: "Manly" or aggressive professions, like construction, sports, the military, lawyers, etc. Anything where you have to have a lot of physical and/or willful energy. Sometimes cooks fall into this category because they work with fire. And demolition and pyrotechnics - but I haven't run into that yet! Cups: Artistic, creative fields, counseling, comforting, nurturing (emotionally). Sometimes working in a bar. Also water professions like marine biologist, hatchery, fishing, boating, diving, etc. Pentacles: Finance, real estate, banking, insurance, librarians, printers, editors, antiques dealers, furniture or remodeling or interior design (homey stuff), and any type of quality control or detail oriented stuff. Earth professions like forestry, ecology, minerals, metals, gems, plants and gardening. I'm sure this has all been posted before, but I ramble...

purple_scorp	22 Nov 2003
Hi All. The reason why it is difficult to continually interpret a court card as a specific star sign in a reading is because the zodiac is a little more complicated than just the placement of the sun in a sign. We all know that there are twelve zodiac signs. The sky is split into twelve houses (that govern different aspects of our life). There are Twelve planets (if you include Sun, Moon, Chiron and Ascending). It is the combination of the planet, in the star sign, in the house at the time of our birth that maps our life's plan. As you can imagine, there are countless combinations/permutations. So all Scorps, for example, are not the same yet they may display similar traits. DeLani, I was going to have a go at you about associating Swords with "geek" professions, as I work in the Computer field and I'm a Scorp. And I'm not a geek!!!! No really, even after all that boring astrology stuff ...I'm not a geek! But then I remembered my good old ascending (rising) sign kicking in......Libra....the sword! LOL Having said all of that.....I'm now going to contradict myself. I've only been doing Tarot since Christmas and I've only read for friends and family. Initially, to help me learn the Court Cards, I did relate the suits to their zodiacal element. Then I sat down and thought of a family or friend for each zodiac sign. In fact, I've just come across a Tarot software program that shows the Astrological equivalent for each of the cards. Eg...one card is Mars in Scorpio (I can't remember which one that was). Anyway, I'm now going to have a go at using more of my Astrology knowledge to apply to the minor arcana. Think I've digressed off the topic here. I heard that's a common thing for geeks!!!! Bye for now. purple_scorp

DeLani	23 Nov 2003
Hi Purpl Scorp, Hey, being a geek isn't a bad thing...I'm one, and I'm proud! The wealthiest and most powerful people in the world are geeks! (take that, jocks!) But remember too that you can be more than just your astrological sign. Let's take a mom going back to school to learn accounting. So, she's the Queen of Cups (or Pentacles) to her family, the Page of Swords in school, and maybe even the passionate Queen of Wands to her husband or lover! Her hubby may be the King of Pentacles for his family as the bread winner, the King of Cups to his wife and kids as a loving father, but only the Knight of Wands in his job as a construction worker, where he's under someone else. (these are just very general examples) So we wear many hats in our lives, and the court cards represent those many hats.

purple_scorp	23 Nov 2003
DeLani, That's an interesting take on the Court Cards. One person can be many of them. Hmm....I hadn't thought of it that way before. Thanks Purple_Scorp

psychiclayla	23 Nov 2003
Quote: Originally posted by DeLani [b so we wear many hats in our lives, and the court cards represent those many hats. [/b] Exactly. The Tarot tells you which hat someone is wearing. This intuitive method tells you how that particular hat is being worn by that person!

purple_scorp	23 Nov 2003
Hi Psychiclayla, the light just came on! I always just thought of the Court Cards as significators, or as representing physical people in your life. So I thought that that would remain fairly constant. Although, I had read in my books that a Court Card could appear in your reading as a signal that you needed to take on some of the characteristics of that card. Or as a warning to rein in the ugly parts of that character if they were out of hand. I read another post last night, that discussed changing/growing from one card to another, over a period of time. I only discovered this forum a fortnight ago....wish I'd found it back at Christmas when I started with the cards. Still, better late than never. Thanks purple_scorp

TemperanceAngel	26 Nov 2003
Quote: Originally posted by purple_scorp I always just thought of the Court Cards as significators, or as representing physical people in your life. So I thought that that would remain fairly constant. Although, I had read in my books that a Court Card could appear in your reading as a signal that you needed to take on some of the characteristics of that card. Or as a warning to rein in the ugly parts of that character if they were out of hand. That's what makes them so tricky and sometimes they aren't people at all. I think of the Knights a lot of the time as the 'energy' the person has/needs as opposed to it being a person. Most of the time I am the Queen of Cups (I am very watery) but now that I am doing a degree I have started to appear as the Queen of Pentacles and Swords. New aspects of myself. And as for Pages, well they are a whole new kettle o fish....:joke: XTAX

purple_scorp	26 Nov 2003
Hello TemperanceAngel. Thanks for explaining that. Then how do you tell if the Court card is a person or not? Is it to do with the card position itself? Let's say for example you are doing a 3-card PPF reading and Queen of Cups comes up as the Past. Does this then mean that you have moved away from her characteristics? Thanks purple_scorp.

TemperanceAngel	26 Nov 2003
Quote: Originally posted by purple_scorp Then how do you tell if the Court card is a person or not? Is it to do with the card position itself? Let's say for example you are doing a 3-card PPF reading and Queen of Cups comes up as the Past. Does this then mean that you have moved away from her characteristics? But there in itself lies the intricacy of the Tarot, there are no hard and fast rules. Yes it could mean you have moved away from those characteristics or that, that is how you felt at the time and maybe need to again. Do you need to bring some compassion and understanding into the present circumstances? Or even some intuition or creativity? I would generally always read the Queens and Kings as people or aspects of yourself/querent/querents' question. Sometimes Mother/Father figures or bosses. Depending on the question and how the spread sits. Generally I would be doing a Celtic Cross Spread, so if someone was asking about work and say the King of Wands came up in position 10 or even in 2, I might see a boss who is a bit of a dictator (esp. if the Emporer is crossing or underneath him). If the Knight of Swords fell below then I could think that they are not feeling grounded as the energy is associated with Air/mental and it could mean too much thinking. Does this help, purple_scorp, or have I just gone on a tangent? :laugh: Anyways it is good for me to try and explain in a logical sense, I enjoy it! XTAX

purple_scorp	26 Nov 2003
Dear XTAX. Yes, that helps. That's exactly what I wanted to know. What you're saying is that you have to intuit the card's meaning in each situation (and with surrounding card interpretations) and I guess that comes with experience. This is what I do when I'm reading with my Fortune cards (been using them for about three years). The Tarot pack is taking longer to kick in. Thanks for your thoughts. purple_scorp.

psychiclayla	26 Nov 2003
Quote: Originally posted by purple_scorp Hi Psychiclayla, the light just came on! I always just thought of the Court Cards as significators, or as representing physical people in your life. So I thought that that would remain fairly constant. Hi, good point Puple_scorp. Well, this method is really for when you know that the court card represents a person. It helps you to describe that person, often in very fine detail. So when you see say the King of Cups, that would make you think of someone. The person you thought of would display the characteristics of the King of Cups that were relevant to the reading. So in that way it does remain constant. What you're linking with is the part of that person that is shown by the court card. So just for an example if I were to see Miss X's boyfriend in the reading as the King of Cups. This made me think of my Father, who is by the way a heard-headed Physics teacher & total sceptic (so not the King of Cups!). But the part of him I'm thinking of is the part that's caring and good with people. I'm specifically thinking of a kid he had to deal with once who was a pain in the butt and had missed a lot of school. He was very good and patient with the situation. So I say to Miss X "Your boyfriend is a caring person, he is good with people and I get the impression he is very patient and knows exactly how to handle tricky situations. He's in the middle of a situation at work where he is helping someone," And hopefully Miss X will say "Yeah, that's him all over," This also works for describing the negative or 'ugly' parts of a person's nature. So if the Queen of Pents reversed reminds you of the office bully, it may be that the Querant is throwing her wieght around at work! Knowing if the card in question represents a person or a situation - that's a whole different kettle of fish! This method works for situations too. So if you get the Queen of Wands reversed for a situation and it makes you think of your Mum stressing out and shouting at everyone...It probably means that the lady in question is tired, frazzled and not in control of the situation. So you don't ignore the meanings of the cards or make up new ones for them. You are using the card as a stepping stone for your own intuition. The more you understand each card, the easier and more accurate this becomes. Trust your intuition, and if something crazy pops into your mind, say it out loud because you will probably surprise yourself. I looked at a card once that reminded me of a guy who read the sports news. It made me think of Rugby and New Zealand for some reasion. I told my client I was thinking of NZ & Rugby. Turned out he wanted to move to New Zealand and coach Rugby in his spare time. It scared the crap out of him! (and me, but don't tell anyone, as far as my clients are concerned this is a totally everyday occurance for me hehe) Well, this is a bit of a long ramble, but I hope this makes things clearer. Layla xxxx

purple_scorp	26 Nov 2003
Layla. I think the ramble was worth it. That was really well explained. Thanks. With yours and the other posts in this thread, I've got a better understanding of those court cards now. I just want to grab my deck and put it all to the test now. Cheers purple_scorp.

casia	26 Dec 2003
I´ve heard of people that can describe a person physically and even tell you the beggining letters of his name with a court card. Can this truly be done?, how can you calculate the letters? or the color of his skin and his hair?

psychiclayla	28 Dec 2003
"I see a maaaannnnnn, a daaarrrrk maaaaannnnn, the letter ssssssssssss.... (etc). I do readings for a living & I would seriously love to be able to tell my clients what colour hair their boyfriend has, or the first letter of their true love's name! I think this belongs firmly in fairground fortune-teller territory. However, if you use your cards often enough I'm sure your intuition would kick in at some point and you might be able to come up with some details.

The Court card trick thread was originally posted on 16 Nov 2003 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.