The Court Cards on Tarot Cards

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 26 Feb 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Chibi pic pic	26 Feb 2005
I just thought of this during one of my early-morning, I can't get back to sleep musings. What would the court cards, character/personality wise, think of the Tarot itself? What would their opinion be about the usefullness or, more importantly, the validity of the Tarot and Tarot reading? Or maybe what they think of of the other court cards. Just wanted to see what you guys would think.

Arnnaria	26 Feb 2005
Awesome idea! I'm gonna work on this and post how I feel. That's a great way to think about it. I know some personality tests, they have a section where how "that personality" would feel about their results. It's way trippy.

Fulgour	26 Feb 2005
If we were to encounter them in their true astral forms we'd find the court cards to be as mysterious as starlight which has travelled to here and now over vast distances streaming on through space at 186,000 miles per second to greet us in a moment far removed from their origins They might pause to sparkle, casting their reflections at seeming random, but no power on earth could do it so perfectly and simply, and imagine our good fortune to be here when such wonders pass through this universe with such seeming transience, when in fact they are we

Mesara	26 Feb 2005
I think the court of Cups would love tarot cards, almost too much. They would be intrigued by the mystique of it all, and, in fact, may come to rely on the cards too much for advice and guidance. I see these courts as the type of people who keep coming back and pouring forth money until they get the reading they want to hear, which will, of course, lead to more questions and more readings and so on. Readers servicing the Court of Cups are exhausted and exasperated. They get wakened at all hours of the night by the Princess with her endless love inquiries, by the Knight who so desperately wants to strike out on his own and make a name for himself but struggles with insecurity and loyalty to his family/employer, by the Queen, who is at least gracious enough to bring a cup of tea when her problems bring her to her reader's door at the midnight hour, and by the King, whose constant worry and compassion for others makes for many a sleepless night, for him and his tarot reader. The only thing that keeps this reader at their beck and call is their generous payments, and their good hearts. The court of Swords, on the other hand, I think would scoff at the idea of ever consulting the tarot. They don't believe in such things. They trust little else but themselves when it comes to dealing their problems, and they actually manage quite well. The Court of Pentacles have never really heard of the tarot, but one day when the King noticed his money was disappearing at an alarming and inexplicable rate he was advised by a friend to visit the tarot reader down the street who was very good and might be able to help recover the lost funds. Desperate, the King agreed, and upon visiting the reader learned that much of his money was being swiped by the Queen herself, who liked to give it to the less fortunate families in the kingdom. The King, angered and distraught at his wife's swindling, *forgot* to pay the reader in his hurry to hide his money pile in a more secure place. And, he made his advisor friend swear to never tell that the King had sought advise from a tarot reader, because it would make him look foolish and weak in the eyes of his subjects. The Court of Wands love to have tarot readers at their fancy parties and galas, but only for entertainment. They don't really believe in the tarot, but they love to hear the tarot readers predictions and watch the reactions of their guests as deaths, affairs, and secrets are revealed and cheered by the drunken patrons. Of course, no one takes it seriously, and, having spent all their money but wanting the reader to continue, the guests start giving him drinks in payment, which only makes the readings more scandalous and dramatic. Good times all around. What a fun question! I could go on and on all night...

Chibi pic pic	27 Feb 2005
*laughs* That was GREAT, Mesara! Especially the Pentacles one! I figured that the Swords court would have nothing to do with it. Cups deals with spirituality and religion, so it would make sense that they would believe/rely on it. And Wands (gotta love Wands!) would find it entertaining. Who knows? Maybe I'll integrate all of this into my tarot story...hmm...doing tarot readings with you as a character in it! Imagine the reactions! Just as a quick question...if a specific card would be a "tarot reader", who would it be? The Priestess maybe?

MercyMe	27 Feb 2005
Mesara's characterizations were great! :D But I was pondering....the Queen of Swords would be intrigued by tarot, I think. She has a lot of perceptive and intuitive insight and she just might be curious enough to try and figure out the relationship between the randomness and synchronicity as well as being intrigued by Jungian archetypes and calculate what percentage of readings are accurate versus not, etc. Because she's a Queen she has that watery quality mixed with that mental Swords bent. She'd probably keep it under wraps from the sight of the King of Swords, though, as she knows he'd dismiss it out of hand as complete rubbish. And the Knight of Swords is not likely to give it any thought at all, he doesn't have time for it! The Page of Swords can't sit still long enough to learn how to read tarot, though she might think it's interesting. She's suspicious of it, though, while being a tad intrigued. ~Mercy

Mesara	27 Feb 2005
A good perspective Mercy- I can actually see the Queen sitting on her throne calculating all the data and printing out graphs and such! As for which cards would be tarot readers, I would have to go with the Priestess of course, and maybe the Princess of Cups.

The The Court Cards on Tarot Cards thread was originally posted on 26 Feb 2005 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.