"Court Cards"

NYCTeen

What are they? Are they the Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses? I was reading something and came across the subject of "court cards" so I was curious to know.
 

Little Baron

Yes.

In the Thoth tradition, they are Knights, Queens, Princes' and Princesses.

In the RWS and Marseille tradition, they are Kings, Queens, Knights and Pages.

All tarot decks should have 16 of them. When reading playing cards, you get Kings, Queens and Jacks.

LB
 

Thirteen

NYCTeen said:
What are they? Are they the Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses?
Exactly right--and as said they can either be Knights, Queens, Princes & Princesses or Kings, Queens, Knights and Pages depending on the deck.

The court cards are often among the hardest tarot cards to read because they usually stand for people rather than things or events. The Queen of Pentacles, for example, might sound like some woman you know who likes doing a lot of shopping and spending money on beautiful things.

The courts don't have to stand for people, but because they most often do stand for people, it makes them harder to interpet when you get one in answer to a question about, say, health problems. You say, "Am I in good health?" and you get "The Queen of Cups"...very confusing to most readers, even those of us who are old-timers.
 

Flidais

I tend to view the Court Cards as representing personality traits, usually traits the Seeker needs to examine and consider emphasizing or de-emphasizing. They can also represent aspects of a situation. I rarely see them as representing an actual person.
 

mythos

Flidais said:
I tend to view the Court Cards as representing personality traits, usually traits the Seeker needs to examine and consider emphasizing or de-emphasizing. They can also represent aspects of a situation. I rarely see them as representing an actual person.

Same here. I come from a psychology background and thus find this approach most fruitful. But some people do relate them to astrological signs, but that means making a decision about which four of the 16 cards will not have a sign attached. Some suggest the knights, because they are in movement, but then, pages too, sometimes get a guernsey because they are carriers of messages, and thus in movement too.

There are many ways of seeing them, and many name groups which aren't necessarily interchangeable.

Mary Greer and Tom Little's book on Court Cards is a great way to work your way to understanding them.

mythos :)
 

Flidais

Another book I have found helpful is The Tarot Court Cards by Kate Warwick-Smith (Destiny Books).
 

NYCTeen

Thank you for clearing that up for me!