Interpreting "people" cards as emotions

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Dec 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

philsgrl	05 Dec 2003
Hello everyone! I am just beginning to learn the tarot and was wondering how I could interpret court "people" cards as emotions. Maybe the spread I was using just complicates the issue, but I've been doing a daily three card spread to see what the energy for the day might be, and I get tripped up when the court cards come up. How can I interpret a court card as an emotion or reaction I'll have to the energy of the day card? Once the Queen of swords came up, another time it was the King. Are these people, or my feelings? Thanks! ~R

skytwig	05 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by philsgrl Hello everyone! Are these people, or my feelings? ~R Welcome philsgrl!!! Glad to see you here! :) It all depends..... what you might want to do is keep a journal of each day and see if a person or a feeling relating to that card is prominent during that day. I tend to use court cards as aspects of myself or the querent. If i got the Qn of Swords, for instance, then I am probably all up in my head and a bit judegemental or even harsh..... maybe need to soften up a bit...... or it could be that i am being decisive and maybe need to be..... it all depends on what is going on in my life at the time...... hope i'm not being confusing here..... :)

Thirteen	05 Dec 2003
Good point, Skytwig! I think that makes perfect sense. In answer to your question, Philsgrl, generally (that's VERY generally) speaking, court cards indicate people, either you/the querent or others. If you/querent then just as Skytwig points out, the emotions are whatever are in that court card. A Queen of Cups would indicate that, for that day, you feel sensitivity, maybe sadness or dreaminess of moodiness, while the King of Wands would indicate high energy, impatience or anger.... You get the idea.

Moongold	05 Dec 2003
Greetings Philsgirl and welcome ~ Maybe these ideas might help a little: If you see each of the suits representing an element and function of the personality (the latter as in Jung’s typology). Like so: Swords: Element - Air; Function – Thinking Cups: Element - Water; Function – Feeling Wands: Element – Fire; Function – intuition Disks (or Pentacles): Element – Earth; Function – Sensation Now you can also see the Courts with particular roles: Kings represent FIRE: initiative, purpose and generative power Queens represent WATER: structure, management an executive power Princes or Knights represent AIR: goals, mediation and proactive power Princesses represent EARTH: energy, intentions, concepts and ideals materializing in the physical world And each Court would represent aspects of his/her suit e.g. Prince of Disks would be Air of Earth meaning this might be part of you which really needs to bring this project back to reality. Or you might to ground yourself more in the physical plane to make sense to others. You might need to be less abstract, less ethereal Queen of Wands would be Water of Firer perhaps meaning that she really has to make things happen but with sensitivity and intuition. So this might be just one system to consider that incorporates elements, functions and roles. And it is just a guide, but worth thinking about. Hope it helps. :) Moongold

Star Spirit	06 Dec 2003
Depending on what position the card lands in and what sort of feelings you get from the card, it could represent a person, a message, emotions, etc. If you feel that it represents someone you know in a particular spread, it may be. If you get the feeling that it represents your emotions, you would normally interpret those emotions as the court card personality or as you draw them from the card. For example, the Queen of Cups is a deeply emotional woman, helpful, loving, caring, but sometimes depressed and moody. You can often see these things by looking at the artwork. If you felt that these portrayed your emotions, then you're probably right. Or, like I said, it could represent someone you know, if you feel that it does. It really all depends on your intuition. As long as you trust that, you will find the meaning. If you have trouble interpreting court cards though, I'd suggest browsing some other threads on them or reading up on them a bit more. That really helped me get to know the cards.

XLCR	16 Dec 2003
I keep getting the Queen of Wands and for some reason jealousy comes to mind (Male jealousy at that...)

Thirteen	16 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by XLCR I keep getting the Queen of Wands and for some reason jealousy comes to mind (Male jealousy at that...) Do you mean that SHE (Q/wands) is 1) a jealous male or 2) that a man might be jealous of HER or 3) that a man might be jealous of the men surrounding her? Makes a difference. The Queen of Wands is the sort of woman to capture attention as she enters a room. Not in a "trophy wife" sort of way--this is a dynamic, powerful, center-stage woman. Her presence radiates, echoes and fills the room. Men will be drawn to her charisma, no matter what her age, and circle her like proverable moths about a flame. Think Queen Elizabeth I, and all the men who surrounded her, fawned over her, adored her. Or Scarlette O'Hara. It would be very easy for a man to be either jealous of her power, or just filled with green-eyed jealousy because she was ignoring him. Also, and more immediately to the card, SHE would certainly be jealous--and not ready to endure anyone who tried to steal the spotlight from her. Astrologically, I've always seen Q/wands as Leo--so she could be the card for any Leo you know, including males. In her/his own court, she/he is the belle of the ball and woe to anyone who tries to take it from her/him. Woe also to anyone who refuses to circle round her/him along with all the other moths. Remember how jealous and angry Scarlett gets when Ashley won't pay attention to her at the party?

MeeWah	16 Dec 2003
Philsgrl: Court cards can simultaneously represent aspects of the self & others ye know. That is, in recognizing a trait in someone else, it can make one more aware of its presence or lack in self. It can lead to understanding of both another & of self. Court cards can also represent situations or a stage in a situation or a relationship. Generally, Pages can represent the beginning stages; Knights the intermediate development; Queens the maturing understanding; Kings the completion. Moongold: Thanks for correlating the court cards with the personality/psychology aspects. Very handy reference!

XLCR	17 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Thirteen Woe also to anyone who refuses to circle round her/him along with all the other moths. Remember how jealous and angry Scarlett gets when Ashley won't pay attention to her at the party? Thanks thirteen...I've always imagined the Qof W to be a Leo women as well. But because the readings are about my current situation I couldn't place the card as a person. So dragging out my trusty little white book I read the passage and Jealousy stood out...not my own but a guy who I've recently broke off with - He's not a Leo but has a Leo ascendant. He most definatly has a number of "moths" circleing and I get the sense that if they are not adoring and consenting then there's Hell to pay. Just so happens I'm not the adoring and consenting type of women (my Leo moon prefers a role with more equal footing : )

Dark_angel	17 Dec 2003
Hi Philsgrl! Just noticed your post - my guy's called Phil, too! I love your idea about interpreting the court cards as emotions; it's a path I often take in interpreting spreads. It makes them more 'applicable' in my eyes; thinking of them as specific ideas about people can seem quite limiting, so I often use a court card as "How is this emotion/approach present in this situation?"

WalesWoman	18 Dec 2003
Moongold, I really liked the definition help you provided for the court cards, I know I've read the Queen of Wands is Fire, but using sensitivity and never associated it with water,(DUH) and seeing the element associations with each of the court cards made it make sense. Finally at long last! I think I resemble XLCR's remark also"Just so happens I'm not the adoring and consenting type of women (my Leo moon prefers a role with more equal footing : )" I am a Leo Woman and like to identify with the Queen of Wands, but given the day of the week or situation I can be every Queen and court card in the deck. I think it would be a mistake to stereotype anyone by a court card, they may exhibit some strong traits of a court card happening at one time or another, but that is just one facet of who they are.

gloria	18 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Thirteen Astrologically, I've always seen Q/wands as Leo--so she could be the card for any Leo you know, including males. In her/his own court, she/he is the belle of the ball and woe to anyone who tries to take it from her/him. Woe also to anyone who refuses to circle round her/him along with all the other moths. Remember how jealous and angry Scarlett gets when Ashley won't pay attention to her at the party? [/b] You know Thirteen I’d never seen the Queen of Wands in this light before. I don’t know why, as her being associated with Leo corresponds so much with your words here. I am so glad you included the male species, but male or female, don’t we all know someone like this? Thank you Thirteen, whenever the Queen/Wands 'arrives' in a reading in future....I shall know just how to 'handle' it. :)

The Interpreting "people" cards as emotions thread was originally posted on 05 Dec 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.