Cards representing people

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 20 Jun 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Esther	20 Jun 2004
I've read court cards usually represent a person you know, or a facet of your own personality. But I was wondering if you guys think that it's possible for Major Arcana cards to do the same thing. I believe a couple cards, The Star and the High Priestess, can be directly related to myself when appearing in a reading. And when appearing in a certain position in a spread, they can relate to a person, or at least that's how I interpret it. I'd like your opinions on this.

Sulis	20 Jun 2004
Yes, I think that sometimes they can do, although I tend to think that as they represent archetypal forces they represent a part of that person rather than the whole. I've had the High Priestess turn up before when I've been asking advice about whether to use magic to help with a problem. When she turns up she sort of represents me in my witchy form. :) Love Sulis xxxx

Thirteen	20 Jun 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Esther I've read court cards usually represent a person you know, or a facet of your own personality. But I was wondering if you guys think that it's possible for Major Arcana cards to do the same thing. Absolutely the Majors can stand for you (the querent) or a person in your life. You've only to pull, say, The Magician or The Devil to start thinking, "Who could this be?" :D And depending on the situation, they could be you. Just as The Fool, The Hermit, or the Hanged Man could be you at any given time. But what you really seem to be asking about is "signifiers"--cards that almost always seem to stand for us. And, again, yes, the Majors can. One person I use to read for always got The Star and we came to recognize it as standing for her. It was her card and any reading I did for her it would come up. The only thing you might want to keep in mind: if you're planning on using a signifier--that is, a card you place down at the center of a spread to stand for the querent--it's usually better to use court cards. Why? Because that way you don't remove a Major from the reading. If you use The Star, then it's out of the reading and there really isn't another card that has equal power/meaning to give you The Star's message. On the other hand, you can probably remove, say, The Queen of Cups without losing much. This is why people discuss Court Cards as representing people--no only because they usually DO represent people, but also because they work well and are almost always used as signifiers.

Kahlie	20 Jun 2004
Yes, I know one person that always comes into my Readings as The Emperor... Part of him surely stands for the energies I associate with the Emperor, and his internet "nick"name is ThEmperor. He knew nothing of Tarot before meeting me, his nickname is derived from something else. Curiously, I get represented by the 3 of Pentacles a lot, and NOT a court card or a major arcana.

Deus Ex Machina	21 Jun 2004
If you know that someone is represented by a major arcana card, the star for instance, couldn't you just maybe use some kind of marker to represent them and keep the star in the deck? or better yet, take The Star from another deck and use it to represent the querent? Oh, and if you know which card represents a person, do you just put that card out, or do you leave it to fate to see if it comes up or not? I also know someone represented by a minor arcana that isn't a court - 3 of swords, although i suspect he may have just picked it for himself because it seems dramatic.

Thirteen	21 Jun 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Deus Ex Machina If you know that someone is represented by a major arcana card, the star for instance, couldn't you just maybe use some kind of marker to represent them and keep the star in the deck? The first thing you have to understand is that you don't need to use a signifier. Most of us readers don't. When we don't, then we have to decide in a reading if a card--and which card for that matter--stands for the querent. If the Magician comes up...does this stand for them? Sometimes you get a querent and their card just stands out every reading. Like my querent and The Star. It came up so much, and often in a personal position in the spread that it just became her card. Ditto with us readers, who study Tarot; there's often a card we identify with or that shows up a lot for us, and that's our card. But most times the card changes as the person changes. One day they're on top of the world, chatty and persuasive, and they're the Magician. Other days, they're feeling isolated and stuck, and they're the Hanged Man. That's most people and most readings. Returning to signifiers: sometimes you may want to really ground or center the spread around a person. In this instance, it's not a bad idea to pick out a card to represent them as a signifier. And then it's probably best to pick a court card. You pull out the King of Wands, for example and you say, "This stands for you, this strong, dynamic man." And everytime you read for them, it's the King of Wands. Makes it easy. Nevertheless, this signifier can be anything. Major, Minor, Court. You could, for example, pick out the Tower for a person going through a real shake-up in their life, or 3/pentacles for someone really hoping to get the chance to create some important work of art. But once you decide to do this, you do it. You can't sneak around. Either the card is IN or the card is OUT and being used for a different purpose, in this case, as a signifier. You can't be timid or go half-way with the Tarot. The cards have to trust you and you have to trust them.

gareth.	21 Jun 2004
The more you spend time on a pack the more you will start making very personal interpretations.For example I use morgan greer.I met the9 of coins on a blind date.Iknew it was her as tarot told me before hand.She appears on the 10 of coins with me. When I read for myself she turns up. Once I dealt 4 times and the tarot turned her up each time! Sometimes it has fun with you. We are together after a year!

dolphingirl	21 Jun 2004
I often play a game when I am watching people is that ... I will watch people in the mall or anywhere I am and think if I had to pick a card that reminded me of them what would it be? I usually use court cards for this exercize. I will also do this with friends and family. Like my mother in law is the Knight Of swords most often lol

mariskiss	21 Jun 2004
You can also tell who is who by their zodiac sign, because some cards in the Major Arcana also represent the signs. Emperor= Aries The Hierophant= Taurus The Lovers= Gemini The Chariot= Cancer Death= Scorpio The Devil= Capricorn The Hermit= Virgo The Moon= Piscies The Star= Acquarius Temperance= Sagittarius Strength= Leo Justice=Libra So if the querent is a Taurus and asks about a person who's a virgo, most likely( or sometimes neither of them of just one will appear) the Hierophant and the Hermit will show up in the reading, and depending on the position they're in in the Spread, and the cards surrounding them in the spread is where the representation, influences and story are derived. You can actually see how the people in the situation react and feel. It's pretty sweet! I hope this helps.

cartarum	24 Jun 2004
most certainly, can some majors be used as courts. most often, when a major is a court, it is usually identifying parts of a person that describe that person. so, majors can help identify a particular person, as to seperate that person from a croud. tarot using the hermit can identify someone alone, or elderly. the emperor can be someone older than you, the high preistess is someone beatifull or aesthetically pleasing. any major that is a person, can be a person. the moon can literally represent animals, and the sun, can actually literally represent a baby. the magician can represent a con artist, whether upright or reversed, depending on the motives of the person per se, and the ultimate result of the con. ~A~

The Cards representing people thread was originally posted on 20 Jun 2004 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.