Court cards as outcome in relationship spreads

I wanted to pick people's brains and experience here. How do you read a court card in the outcome position of a relationship spread (any kind of relationship, but between 2 people). As a general energy? As a person? As the querent or the other? In what way do you see a court card describing a dynamic between two people?

Let's say, for illustration's sake (this is not a real reading) that you've had a quarrel with someone, and you do a short three card reading on the relationship:

Card 1 - present situation between the two - 4 of Swords
Card 2 - how things are changing - 2 of Cups
Card 3 - outcome - Queen of Pentacles


I find it easy to flow from the 4 of swords to the 2 of cups; but how then to interpret the courd card? As yourself, finding your comfort zone again? As the general energy of nurturing and comfort in the relationship? (in my above example. Change the court to whichever you like).

I'd like people's views on that.

Courts are hard for me to begin with because of the fact that they can represent so many different things. Sometimes, I just want to chuck them out the window, but they do add depth so I can't do that. A way to try and figure it out is by looking at the card before or after. You can also go with your first gut instinct. I tend to read them as someone other than myself. Unless it comes up as my sig card. I know that we all can experience and be other courts. But I would only read other courts as a personal experience if I were to be doing a reading solely on an issue with myself and not involving other people. So with this certain example, I am going to assume that two are involved in this reading and that this can be an aspect of whoever is in need of nurturing be it one of them or the relationship in general. Someone is going to come around and make things right. With this I get the feel that they have been at a standstill so to speak analyzing where to go in the relationship. I see the 4 swords as being a tiny minor to the major of the hermit unlike the fact that they both derive from two different numbers they are alike in several ways. How things are changing - being brought back together, after troubles... outcome... two people... had a hardship... came back together... the Queen of pentacles would be the nurturing that the relationship will now go through in reconciling opponents. So I feel you are right with this one. I need more coffee. haha

xx
Vad

In your example, I might look at it this way:

You had a quarrel from which you are now recuperating (Four of Swords). The result of the quarrel may be in the two of you becoming closer and working better together (Two of Cups). The outcome may be that you will become more secure within and learn more about yourself because of what you just went through (Queen of Pentacles).

It usually seems to me that a court as an outcome is usually more aspect-oriented than that an actual person will suddenly appear due to the conflict of the reading (although, that could happen, too, in some cases.)

Thanks for the responses!

I don't find court cards that complicated as a rule - just in that situation.

Once again, I had a court card as an outcome in a relationship spread, and it just had me scratching my head. I think I need to perform some kind of paradigm shift (clutching at big words here, to mask the void!), before understanding it.

This is a difficult one because I think it depends on what the Queen means to you.

The Queen may be saying to me - nurture yourself, look after yourself. I imagine I am the gold coin on the Queen's knee that she is looking at with tenderness and love. That she would defend with her life, feed nutritious food, keep warm and tuck in at night. Sometimes I have to do that to myself, especially if I have been ill (which I am now) or going through a rough time.

If it's for a relationship, maybe the relationship is that gold coin and you both have to nurture it, look after it, give it the right amount of freedom to grow etc

But first what does that Queen mean to you - you are female and so is she so I would look at what that message was to me personally first.

Okay, bear with me please as I am just recently making peace with the Courts, and am just learning to be more intuitive and build my own definitions in terms of Tarot!

I see the courts as sometimes representing my own (or the Querent's) behavior and outward/shown personae in a said context (question/subject: romance, friendship, work, etc.) most times. To me it becomes other people when a spread has many courts. I'm saying this because I think how we (individually) chose to read and interpret the cards influences the advice/outlook etc we share, and it may not be yours, eh? He he. With the same idea in mind I am currently trying to make myself use tarot readings in a more empowering way, so it probably influences my answer to this question as well!

In an outcome position I would say that it would hint at an important behavior, one that affects the relationship greatly. From the example, I'd see that (my own interpretation/feelings from the Queen of Pentacles there will be nurturing, sensuality and such that will gain in importance. I do tend to see Kings as Actors (acting outwards and sharing), Queens as Experiencers (they share their own experiences), knights as learning actors (they're acting but not necessarely to share), pages as students (they've discovered/are discovering) etc. So with that in mind it would be a shared experience of the physical, etc. I know this was an example, but I'm using it to show my ways... lol

This is interesting as a few (5 or 6 months ago) I got the King of Wands as the outcome of a relationship reading. Since, I've had it "attack me" by popping out of decks, etc regularly, so I'm understanding from that that I need to be appreciated/will only be appreciated by acting and sharing who I am (I tend to find Wands apply to my ego, etc)... You know?

I hope this helps and that once again I am not ending up writing a 10 pages long post! ROTFL!

King Appears

iseekserendipity said:

This is interesting as a few (5 or 6 months ago) I got the King of Wands as the outcome of a relationship reading. Since, I've had it "attack me" by popping out of decks, etc regularly, ...

Click to expand...

On this point about the King hovering and popping in now and then, could it be someone who wants to contact you? Someone in your energy field, say. It has happened to me this way. Once I meet up with the person the King represents and resolve whatever issue with him/it, it disappears.

balenciaga said:

On this point about the King hovering and popping in now and then, could it be someone who wants to contact you? Someone in your energy field, say. It has happened to me this way. Once I meet up with the person the King represents and resolve whatever issue with him/it, it disappears.

Click to expand...

balenciaga: I'm trying not to think of things due to the length of it's influence in my readings (over 6 to 12 months now) and strangely cards I use to think meant "quick"/"action action!" (such as the Tower and the 8 of Wands, and the Wheel of Fortune) have dragged on their influences as well, so I'm starting to think I must be on sort of my own "planet Tarot" *imagine twirling effect* because... it's just odd. So I figure that... hey! I might as well bug the indulgent Tarot community of Aeclectic with my banter, it'll keep me from doing strange readings! But I will certainly keep that in mind...! :lol: Since I associate it with Saggitarius (my rising sign) I tend to keep an eye out for men that either make me think of the trait or that are of the sign!

I could go on and on! I'll stop!

Fudugazi: I hope my comment was okay. I type as much (and strangely) as I talk when I'm with people I like, so I get a bit... talktalktalk! Sorry! Plus I think this subscription change has made me particularly talkative!

Here's my take:

Perhaps a court card as an outcome is a way the cards have of telling you what personality changes (be they large & noticeable, or small & subtle...if any at all) the reader or the sitter will experience over the course of the event? If you go through something that brings about a personal change, this is usually reflected by how others see you. Id est: Your friend(s) will point out to you that you've taken a positive turn, when you have not noticed - it causes you to look back on the situation that has just passed, and evaluate, or re-evaluate how the change came about. 9 times out of 10, you're going to see something there upon looking at how you dealt with the situation. If upon evaluation of the situation, you find it has been a learning experience, this court card may very well reflect the new way you have of looking at the world around you, or some other such thing.

I hope this helps. Food for thought...

Blessings,

StellarMyst

Thanks for your answers, Caridwen and Iseekserendipity

caridwen said:

This is a difficult one because I think it depends on what the Queen means to you.[...]

If it's for a relationship, maybe the relationship is that gold coin and you both have to nurture it, look after it, give it the right amount of freedom to grow etc

But first what does that Queen mean to you - you are female and so is she so I would look at what that message was to me personally first.

Click to expand...

That's an interesting way of looking at it. After all, we are reading for ourselves/querent first. But what if you are doing a predictive reading - advice doesn't really apply there - how would you read a court card as outcome in one of those? That you will be taking such an approach? You would still personalise it, or would you then apply it to the relationship as a whole?

iseekserendipity said:

I see the courts as sometimes representing my own (or the Querent's) behavior and outward/shown personae in a said context (question/subject: romance, friendship, work, etc.) most times. To me it becomes other people when a spread has many courts. I'm saying this because I think how we (individually) chose to read and interpret the cards influences the advice/outlook etc we share, and it may not be yours, eh? He he. With the same idea in mind I am currently trying to make myself use tarot readings in a more empowering way, so it probably influences my answer to this question as well!

Click to expand...

Well, although I don't use the same attributions and correspondences as you do for the courts, that doesn't mean the method of reading a court as outcome need differ.

iseekserendipity said:

In an outcome position I would say that it would hint at an important behavior, one that affects the relationship greatly. From the example, I'd see that (my own interpretation/feelings from the Queen of Pentacles there will be nurturing, sensuality and such that will gain in importance. I do tend to see Kings as Actors (acting outwards and sharing), Queens as Experiencers (they share their own experiences), knights as learning actors (they're acting but not necessarely to share), pages as students (they've discovered/are discovering) etc. So with that in mind it would be a shared experience of the physical, etc. I know this was an example, but I'm using it to show my ways...

Click to expand...

OK, that makes sense. To me, following Crowley and the GD, the Queens are cardinal - the actors - and the Kings are the stabilisers - but that's by the by - the method, of seeing an action/experience/quest/learning time in one of these cards as outcome is interesting.

So in my given example, the Queen of Pentacles - in the system I use she is Cardinal Earth (Capricorn) - that means the outcome is an action that will lead to more manifestation, to more nurturing, to a more practical approach in the relationship.

I hope this helps and that once again I am not ending up writing a 10 pages long post! ROTFL!

Click to expand...

It helps a lot, thanks

Interesting experience with the King of Wands, by the way (whom I see as a Leo, personally - the Knight being the Sag in the system I use - my moon sign).