1. I Can - Nas 2. If I Had A Million Dollars - Barenaked Ladies 3. You’re Manifesting (The Manifesting Song) - Inspire3 4. Everything’s Coming Up Roses - Gypsy 5. I Wanna Benz - YG, Nipsey Hussle and 50 Cent 6. Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money) - Pet Shop Boys 7. Money (That’s What I Want) - The Flying Lizards 8. Learning Something New - Bai Kamara Jr. 9. Opportunity - Annie Soundtrack 2014 10. Planting Seeds - Mike Knight 11. The College Song - Christina Martino 12. Free Money - Patti Smith 13. Chase That (Ambition) - Lecrae 14. Thrift Shop - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Ft. Wanz 15. Study Hard Anthem - V2.0 Hsc Edition 16. Working For It - Zhu X Skrillex X They. 17. Wonderful World - Sam Cooke 18. Success Story - Nesbeth 19. The Internship Song - Adam Newbern 20. Ready, Set, Goals! - singtolearn
1. Girl On Fire - Alicia Keys 2. Get The Party Started - Pink 3. Popular Song - Mika and Ariana Grande 4. Firework - Katy Perry 5. Touch The Sky - Brave Soundtrack 6. Happy - J.Fla (Pharrell Williams Cover) 7. Burn - Ellie Goulding 8. Popular - Wicked Musical 9. Brave - Sara Bareilles 10. Great Balls Of Fire - The Heartbreak Hotel 11. Well Behaved Women - Madeline McDonald 12. Dance Sister Dance - Santana 13. Buenos Aires - Madonna 14. I Am The Fire - Halestorm 15. Party Girl - Lana Del Rey 16. Just Like Fire - Pink 17. Fever - Peggy Lee 18. Bold - Ledger 19. That’s What You Get - Paramore 20. Shake It Off - Taylor Swift
1. Young Volcanoes - Fall Out Boy 2. Renegades - X Ambassadors 3. Irresponsible - Voltaire 4. Let’s Spend The Night Together - The Rolling Stones 5. I’m On Fire - Bruce Springsteen 6. Reckless - Alabama 7. Thrill Seeker - Warrior Soul 8. Run This Town - Jay Z & Rihanna 9. Fly Away From Here - Aerosmith 10. Thrill Seeker - Aurea 11. Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash 12. Uprising - Muse 13. Play With Fire - The Rolling Stones 14. The Pursuit Of Happiness - Kid Cudi 15. Reckless - Papa Roach 16. Playing The Field - Billie Holiday 17. Movers And Shakers - The Clash 18. Cocky - Tilian 19. Ladies Man - Hank Snow 20. My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark - Fall Out Boy
1. A World Without Fences - Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure Soundtrack 2. Rebel Child - Gretchen Wilson 3. Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf 4. Wild Child - Kenny Chesney 5. Playful 4 Life - Wiz Khalifa 6. Rebel Child - Tenille Arts 7. Free Spirit - Khalid 8. Childlike Wonder - Carl Culley 9. Wild Child - Elen Levon 10. Jump Right In - Zac Brown Band 11. Rebel Child - K Otic 12. Impulsive - Wilson Phillips 13. Jump - Van Halen 14. Real Wild Child - Everlife 15. Naughty - Matilda The Musical 16. Carefree Highway - Gordon Lightfoot 17. Wild Child - Juliet Simms 18. Passion - AWOLnation 19. Curiouser And Curiouser - Meagan Moore 20. Head First - The Royal
1. Fortune Favors The Brave - Aida Soundtrack 2. Buenos Aires - Madonna 3. Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) - Enya 4. Spread My Wings - Kathryn Ostenberg 5. It’s My Turn To Fly - The Urge 6. Set Sail - The Movement 7. The Distance - Cake 8. My Shot (Rise Up Remix) - Busta Rhymes, Joell Ortiz & Nate Ruess 9. Run The World (Girls) - Beyoncé 10. Moving On - James 11. Travellin’ Man - Ricky Nelson 12. Future Plan - Manu Worldstar 13. Touch The Sky - Brave Soundtrack 14. Go The Distance - Hercules Soundtrack 15. I’ve Been Everywhere - Johnny Cash 16. I Can See For Miles - The Who 17. Let Me Show You The Way To Go - The Jacksons 18. All Star - Smash Mouth 19. Show You - Shawn Mendes 20. Move In The Right Direction - Gossip
1. All My Loving - Vektormusic (The Beatles Cover) 2. All My Love - Lorena Bendz (Led Zeppelin Cover) 3. A Thousand Years - Christina Perri 4. Grow Old With You - Geena Fontanella (Adam Sandler Cover) 5. Unconditionally - Katy Perry 6. I’ll Stand By You - The Pretenders 7. Thinking Out Loud - Jasmine Thompson (Ed Sheeran Cover) 8. Just The Way You Are - Alexa Ray Joel (Billy Joel Cover) 9. Forever Like That - Stephanie Madsen (Ben Rector Cover) 10. I’ll Be Samantha Taylor - (Edwin McCain Cover) 11. Growing Old With You - Jessica Allossery 12. Count On Me - Isabela Moner (Bruno Mars Cover) 13. Lean On Me - Kylee Shaffer (Bill Withers Cover) 14. I’ll Be There - Jessica Sanchez 15. Someday My Prince Will Come - Tiffany Thornton 16. How Long Will I Love You - Ellie Goulding 17. At Your Side - The Corrs 18. We Need Love - Mari Jones (John Legend Cover) 19. Come Rain Or Come Shine - Margaret Whiting 20. Queen Of Hearts - We The Kings
At his worst, he will tell you he loves you, knowing that he does not. At his best, he will love you for a moment and the next, forget you ever existed. He cannot be trusted. His heart and soul are twisted.
Knight of Wands
If he says he loves you, he truly does. But know that when he wakes up in the morning, he may no longer feel the same. And while you may be disappointed, he will be just as confused and frustrated.
Knight of Cups
He will fight for your love… as well as for any other woman’s. He is in love with love itself, not with you. If he cannot win you, he will just move on to the next. In his heart there is no difference.
Knight of Pentacles
He will not say he loves you until he knows you feel the same. No expensive gifts or grand gestures until he believes you deserve them. Once he is certain, he will offer you everything. All or nothing.
AS THEIR MOTHER
Page of Swords
He will attack anyone who speaks or acts disrespectfully towards you. There will be no sweet moments. No kisses and embraces. He shows his love through protection. That to him is affection.
Page of Wands
He will keep asking you how you are. He is naturally caring and affectionate. He will tell you about his day, his feelings, his wishes. You will never feel his absence, no matter how busy he may be.
Page of Cups
He will always act like a child. An achievement means nothing until you praise him for it. Any woman he meets will need to earn your approval. He likes being your baby. It makes him happy.
Page of Pentacles
You will receive many gifts. As a child, he will craft little tokens. As a man, he will buy big presents. He will work very hard, not just to make something of himself, but to make you a proud parent.
AS THEIR WIFE
King of Swords
He will be slightly distant. He needs space, and so will sometimes keep away. Your wellbeing matters more to him than your happiness. You could be bored. But you will be well provided for.
King of Wands
You will wake up every morning feeling loved. You will go to sleep every night knowing you are desired. Loyal and true, he will have countless women’s admiration, but will ignore their invitation.
King of Cups
He is a decent cook and a doting father. But financially, you may have to do all the work. Though he likes to lounge around, just drinking wine, you will always see the love in his eyes and hear it in his voice.
King of Pentacles
You will be spoiled. He will strive to give you all: luxurious food… exquisite jewelry… comforts that make life worth living. You will not hear “I love you” often. But you will feel it over and over again.
Today I am using a spread I discovered years ago on the now read-only Aecletic Tarot forum. No link because I stopped participating there long before it closed due to uh, reasons, but Google is always there for you. This spread is courtesy of the lovely Thorhammer, who I do jot know apart from the forum so I can’t give her better credit.
The Naked Heart Tarot- Seven of Pentacles, Four of Swords,…
Today begins a week of work with a self published deck by Jillian C. Wilde, The Naked Tarot. This deck was originally funded via Kickstarter, and according to man emails I have received from the creator, their seems to have been some quality control issues with the first run of the deck. The plan seems to be to release a new deck in July 2018, so this seems a good time to devote a week to…
Hello Tarot Friends! So I’ve had some lovely opportunities to teach tarot over on discord, and one of the questions I notice most often is how to read court cards. While I do agree that they can be a bit trickier than the rest of the deck, they aren’t too bad if you think of them as one of three possibilities. This is how I understand and read with court cards. I hope this little info graph can help someone out at least a little! Maybe a little later on I will create something that goes into each court card more in depth.
Also, please keep in mind that this is only my own personal reading preference for court cards. Their are so many different possibilities. If you read them a different way and that’s working for you, then that’s perfectly ok.
Benefica’s series on the Court Cards is now complete. There are five posts total, intended to familiarize you with her approach to interpreting these cards. Feel free to ask us if you have any questions. Below is a list of posts in the series.
Thank you all for reading. We hope this series can help you gain new insights into the interpretation of the Court Cards. If you enjoyed this series, you might like to check out some of our other series. We plan to start our series on talismans and other magical objects soon. Until then, you can also keep an eye on our standalone posts if you’re interested.
Hello, all! I’ve been extremely ill this last week, and I apologize for the delay in the last installment in our series on the court cards.
The final iteration of learning and experience is the King. I like to interpret King cards as representing outwardly-expressed mastery of a skill or topic. As we discussed earlier, I dislike privileging the Kings over the Queens; first, it assumes a gendered hierarchy, and second, it places learning and growth on a linear path.
Although there are distinct phases of learning, the process of mastering a skill or assimilating information is rarely a direct, step-by-step procedure that goes from point A to B to C. Rather, it is cyclical, sometimes scattered, and switches gears frequently.
This is an important point to understand when interpreting the Kings as “mastery” level; recall that a true master will likely spend every day practicing or rehearsing skills in the manner I like to associate with the Knights. The level of automaticity (the ability to do things without having to think about them) is vastly different, but the form of the daily work is the same. The King is a Knight who has practiced an activity for the much-lauded ten thousand hours. Contrast this with the Queen, whose counterpart might be the Page. The Page’s first glimpse into a topic has matured into insight and understanding. It is possible to have one type of mastery and not the other. For example, a professional dancer with outstanding technique has King mastery, even if they lack musicality, expressiveness, or a knowledge of the history of their style; an astute, brilliant dance scholar or critic who nonetheless can’t dance a step has a Queen style mastery. For this reason, Kings style skills are project are more often outwardly presented (published, performed) than the Queens’ esoteric understanding, which lends itself to being learned, taught, and often written about (descriptively, or critically). You can, of course, have a Queen style understanding of a topic (as an academic, for example) and produce work (such as presentations, papers, books, or research projects) that could be associated with a King-style outcome. As always, use your intuition and take this as food for thought.
The following, as per usual, is a breakdown of the Kings in their suits, with example scenarios of the kinds of situations to which I like to apply my theory.
King of Wands
The King of Wands has achieved mastery over the forms of a creative endeavour. In A King of Wands situation, all your neurons are firing in such a way that the learned forms of the exercise at hand is potentially loaded with expressive potential. The coloratura singing passages skip effortlessly after thousands upon thousands of hours of scales and hundreds of hours of rehearsal; the gymnast nails the routine without a flaw. I often get a sense of athletic prowess from this card, more about power and energy than agility (which might be swords) stamina (coins, perhaps) or flexibility (cups). Although I distinguish content and form and designate them as Queens and Kings, I find that the forms of the Kings are usually the channels of tremendous emotion, passion, and energy. Some kinds of situations in which the King of Wands could present itself are: the querent’s novel is ready for publication; an actor gives a brilliant, passionate performance; the athlete is in “the zone.”
The King of Wands Reversed
This position can indicate a creative block, a loss of energy, or problems with motivation. It can also call attention to these topics and encourage more introspection on the querent’s part in cultivating their “fire.” When this card comes up in a reading reversed, I always ask my querent “What is your passion in life? What lights you up?”. Often, they have difficulty identifying or remembering this feeling, and the rest of the reading helps develop strategies for cultivating it. I also associate the reversed King of Wands with professional artists and creative types who have hit a career slump or setback (such as a poor market for their work, an injury, etc.), frequently when they are considering a return to a more normative job market after having worked as a professional artist full-time for some while. The concerns surrounding the reversed King of Wands usually has to do with trying to light your fire again. Some situations in which the King of Wands may pop up reversed could be: The querent’s novel is finished, but they are having difficulty shopping it around, finding an editor, or a publisher; the querent is required to rebuild or revise a skill or skill set from the ground up after an injury, or in response to having to perform a skill in an unfamiliar style or context; the querent is stalled after a successful project, but out of ideas for the next.
The King of Swords
The King of Swords shows mental mastery, the kind of understanding of forms such as paradigms, theories, and especially anything that involves communication. I associate the King of Swords rather strongly with language ability, whether this represents an advanced state of grammatical competence in a foreign language (as opposed to cultural and communicative competence, which I would designate as a Queens theme) or a mastery of literary or poetic forms, for example. This can also show someone who has a mastery over their thought patterns and mental and verbal habits; the King of Swords has a full understanding of the interrelated patterns formed by our words. Some situations in which the King of Swords might apply are: the querent has achieved a level of mastery in their interpersonal communications, possibly as a result of work or therapy after experiencing difficulties in this area; the querent has achieved a similar state in regards to their mental health, that is, they have gained mastery over their negative thought patterns; the querent’s novel is undergoing revisions and copy editing from an external source.
The King of Swords Reversed
The reversed King of Swords has a Mercury retrograde feel to it sometimes; prior patterns and situations involving words and mental constructs must be reevaluated and revised. This can literally involve major revisions (of any kind of text in the broadest possible meaning); I tend to associate upright King of Swords as involving copy editing and putting the final polish on something that is complete but not yet perfect; reversed, I tend to see the kind of major structural revisions that involve extensive tearing out and rearranging a lot of material. Situations in which the King of Swords reversed can apply are: the querent’s script has to be rewritten to exclude a major character or event from the story; the querent has had a traumatic or stressful event that has shaken their ability to communicate or process information; the querent is in a period of deep reflection about their patterns of communication.
The King of Cups
The King of Cups has achieved mastery over the heart and all things involving emotions and the psyche. This is often the card of a mature person who is in touch with their feelings and able to master their expression; this is not the mental acumen or verbal precision of the King of Swords’ ability to communicate. Rather, it is a state of emotional openness and willingness to share that represents a healthy and happy mental state. People who have arrived at a King of Cups phase in life are often those who are finally learning what they need to be happy, particularly in their spiritual life and their interpersonal relationships. The King of Cups shows us someone who has experience in being a good partner and friend, or someone who is deeply in touch with their spirituality. Situations in which the King of Cups could apply might be: the querent has reached a higher level on their spiritual path; the querent is in a good place in their relationships, or a particular relationship, and is ready for a serious commitment if desired; the querent has become more adept at cultivating their own happiness and mental health.
King of Cups Reversed
Although the reversed King of Cups can certainly reveal blockages in the kinds of emotional currents described by the upright King, my intuition normally guides me to interpret it more as a period of introspection and reflection that resolves those kinds of issues; rarely do I encounter a querent who is in complete denial of their emotional state and needs by the time the King is in the picture, reversed or no. A reversed Knight or Page can indicate such denial, and a reversed Queen of swords can certainly indicate being out of touch with one’s inner life. But the King in reversed shows us a need to retreat and withdraw, and I usually find that querents are aware of this on some level, and only need to be encouraged to prioritize the process. I often find that a reversed King of Cups appears in a reading right before someone is about to embark on a deep, personal spiritual journey. This is especially true if it comes up near the Hermit, the Hanged Man, or the High Priestess (especially if she is reversed, a position I usually interpret to be relating to working with the unconscious). Situations in which the reversed King of Cups may apply are: the querent has recently ended a major relationship and is in a period of grieving and reflection on the matter; the querent has become dissatisfied with their career path or other elements of their life they find unfulfilling or emotionally and spiritually empty; the querent is about to take a sabbatical or other period of time to work on personal issues and to get in touch with their inner voice.
The King of Coins
The King of Coins is in his element as mastery over external forms, for he has achieved expertise in physical endeavours. This is the card of the master craftsman, the artist with impeccable technique, and particularly those who have some level of commercial success at what they do. (Though not necessarily, of course!) The King of Coins understands the material world and uses of material things on an expert level. This is often a very simple and straightforward card to interpret, but be mindful that the King of Coins’ themes are not without abstract concepts, and also encompass things like our values or priorities. Situations in which the King of Coins may be applicable could be: the querent has achieved expertise in a craft such as wood carving, sewing, or glass blowing; the querent is considering going professional with their skills; the querent is currently evaluating how much material security and wealth they need to feel comfortable and happy in their life; the querent is wondering whether to quit their job and go freelance.
King of Coins Reversed
The reversed King of Coins frequently refers to a situation in which the querent is undergoing a major reevaluation of their values and understanding of their material needs. I sometimes see this card with retirees or others whose source of income or status in the world has shifted. The King of Coins reversed calls on us to question the primacy that financial success has as a measure of our self-worth and identity. He can also serve as a reminder of the importance of doing things that we love without thought of what material benefit we will gain from it. People undergoing reversed King of Coins situations seem to be ripe for finding a kind of joy independent from the “rat race,” and uncovering what truly makes them feel wealthy and comfortable in life. Example situations of reversed King of Coins energy could include: the querent has recently lost their job and is feeling driftless without a specific task to accomplish; the querent despises their job but is hesitant to quit and go freelance because of (understandable!) material concerns; the querent is enjoying a physical activity for its own sake and is learning to let go of perfectionist habits.
Well, there you have it, the last installment of our series on the court cards. Again, I apologize that illness has prevented me from finishing this series earlier! I hope that this series has given you some food for thought and that it has been helpful in your practice.
The Queens of the tarot take us back from the practical to the esoteric. Pages and knights encounter subjects in theory and in practice, but the Queens deal with meaning. They represent a stage of deeper understanding in which we begin to synthesize what we are learning into something with internal consistency. I tend to interpret the Queens as a phase of learning that begins when a subject first starts to gel, and, like the practices represented by the Knight cards, might not necessarily ever end.
I don’t draw a hierarchical distinction between Queens and Kings.The Pages definitely precede the Knights as beginner and intermediate. But after that, phases of learning tend not to be linear. I find it more useful to treat Queens and Kings as different ways of engaging with a subject. Whether one represents a higher stage of mastery than the other depends on the subject and the perspective of the querent. Instead of the beginner/intermediate progression, the Queens and Kings represent mastery of meaning versus mastery over form. In this way, I often associate Queens with teaching, with theory, and with a deep amateur love of a subject. Unfortunately, these ways of approaching knowledge are often devalued, especially as they are not usually geared towards professional development in a given area. For this reason, it is quite common for querents to have a significant amount of anxiety surrounding Queen material. But the Queens teach us the emotionally satisfying dimensions of their subject areas; they teach us the love of learning for its own sake
It is important, then, to emphasize that the Queen-King relationship is not a progression from intermediate to advanced, but a polarity. In subjects or disciplines which emphasize form, one might achieve a “King” stage of mastery well before gaining the deep understanding of the Queens. A musician with bravura technique (King) may have underdeveloped musicality (Queen). Someone who reads voraciously about the history of fencing but rarely gets a chance to (or doesn’t care to) pick up a foil and practice has developed a Queen-type understanding of a subject in favor of a King-type mastery. Theoretically, if one has achieved absolute mastery over a subject, one would have equally strong skill sets in both. Practically speaking, true expertise requires mastery over both modes; for most subjects, this will mean that everyone spends significant time going back and forth between the two.
Queen of Wands
The Queen of Wands is the card of the skilled amateur, the person for whom love of a subject outweighs any practical benefits they may gain from it. Although people can and do engage professionally in areas where this card applies, it is far more likely to be a “labor of love” or a sideline done mostly for the fun of it. I find that this card comes up especially often with amateur artists. Emotionally speaking, the Queen of Wands represents a healthy engagement with our passions; in readings that center on emotional growth, the upright Queen of Wands rarely carries with her the connotations of recklessness or immoderation that can sometimes come with the Knight of Wands. Rather, she represents an avenue of expression that channels the fire of the Wands in a way that is tempered by the Queen’s maturity and wisdom. Hypothetical Queen of Wands situations might be: The querent’s novel is starting to gel; the querent is (or needs to go back to) engaging with an area of creative fulfillment; the querent has made great strides in controlling their naturally fiery temper.
Reversed Queen of Wands
In my experience, the reversed Queen of Wands almost always indicates that the querent (or other person represented) has difficulty expressing anger. It can also sometimes refer to a period of depression (as if the fires are banked) or lack of creative fulfillment. However, even when reversed, she still represents a kind of growth. People often find themselves here when they are still learning to express their feelings openly and constructively. Situations to which the reversed Queen of Wands might apply could be: The querent’s novel is stalled with no end in sight; the querent harbors a great deal of resentment and anger, but does not express it for the sake of appearing “nice”; the querent needs to take an emotional break from a stressful situation in order to cultivate their emotional energy.
Queen of Swords
The Queen of Swords is a card of great strength and decisive energy. The Queen of Swords knows who she is and what she wants, and gets it with minimal beating around the bush. The unfocused energy of the Pages and Knights has been transformed into an efficient, direct line of thought. The Queen of Swords embraces order and precision. Although people (particularly women) with a great deal of Queen of Swords energy can appear brusque to others, at its core this energy is merely assertive and direct. It is especially favorable in situations involving negotiations of any kind. The Queen of Swords is also a heavily academic card, representing complete understanding of theory and criticism. Hypothetical Queen of Swords scenarios could be: The querent is editing their novel; the querent has reached a level of maturity marked by straightforward, assertive communication; the querent can understand almost anything in their target language, but still makes mistakes in speaking and writing; the querent is acting as a whistleblower or otherwise using their words in service of a cause.
Queen of Cups
The Queen of Cups is a card of great emotional and spiritual wisdom. She often pops up when the querent is about to start a relationship that is deeply fulfilling; although this is not strictly about learning, I often read these relationships as learning experiences of a sort. The Queen of Cups appears when the querent has or is about to achieve a new level of satisfaction in their lives; the thing they are gaining mastery over is their own happiness and how to cultivate it. I get this card especially often in the readings of those who are quite adept at caring for others, but who habitually neglect their own emotional needs. However, the dimensions of the Queen of Cups extend to spirituality, and to any kind of activity that brings a deep sense of joy and contentment. Situations for which this card might apply are: The querent is about to gain new spiritual understanding; the querent has internally resolved their emotional baggage, but has not yet necessarily effected this in their relationships with others; the querent is about to begin an important relationship, often a love affair; the querent’s depression is reversing.
Reversed Queen of Cups
The Queen of Cups is so naturally giving and nurturing, that even more than the upright card, the reversed Queen often represents a need to focus on self-care. Reversed Queen of Cups can indicate a tendency to overdo self-sacrifice, and to have a difficult time filling one’s own emotional “cup”. The reversed Queen can be a red flag for codependent or otherwise unhealthy emotional patterns. It may also be a card of loneliness and isolation. However, it is not fundamentally a negative iteration of the card. Depending on the context, the Queen of Cups reversed can indicate a need for retreat and solitude in order to cultivate peace and relaxation. Because the emotional content of the cups is already a very interior matter, I have found that the reversed Queen of Cups turns up most often when querents are having a difficult time expressing, or even identifying their feelings. Situations in which the Queen of Cups may show up reversed might be: The querent is depressed or isolated; the querent is considering a spiritual path or other life decision that will lessen their contact with the outside world; the querent is in a relationship that is restrictive or oppressive; the querent needs more time to examine their feelings about a particular matter.
Queen of Coins
The Queen of Coins knows her own worth and revels in it. She represents a kind of mastery over practicalities that frequently manifests itself as a simple feeling of confidence and competence in daily life on the part of the querent. She also comes up often when the querent has a level of practical mastery over a subject (which I would designate as a King-type mastery), but has no desire to develop it evenly across all areas. The paradox of the Queen’s esoteric knowledge combined with the practical Earth nature of the coins means that the Queen’s area of expertise is in the value of things. Look for the Queen of Coins to appear when the querent needs to question or return to their values. She can also come up when a querent is too caught up in the financial risks or rewards associated with a given venture, and needs to return to the subject for the simple love of the thing. I also designate those activities which bring to us a sense of luxury or nobility (for example, tending one’s own garden and deriving a sense of satisfaction and ownership of it) as falling under her jurisdiction. Example situations dealing with the Queen of Coin’s territory might be: the querent has recently retired and is looking for a new activity to pass the time, especially things like gardening or the arts; the querent is beginning to enjoy some material success in life and is navigating new feelings of maturity, responsibility, and self-worth; the querent has an idea to monetize a skill they have mastery over, but is uncertain about whether they want to deal with the professional demands of doing it for money.
Reversed Queen of Coins
If the upright Queen represents value from its most tangible to most abstract, the reversal of this card often shows us when we are cut off or diverging from those values in some way. The reversed Queen can frequently call on the querent to take a step back from the rat race and to cultivate a slower, more relaxed pace in life. This card can come up for querents who, after attempting to make a living at the pursuit of a passion or skill, found that the professional demands associated with monetizing the activity killed their enjoyment of it. This card also comes up often when people feel undervalued or worthless, and can also indicate anxiety about financial matters. However, depending on the context, it can carry with it the positive connotations of having rejected materialistic ways of ascribing value to things. Situations in which the Queen of Coins might appear reversed could be: the querent is feeling disillusioned about a career path; the querent has anxiety surrounding their body image; the querent feels that they have had to sacrifice their values for the sake of making a living; the querent is feeling dysphoria and is not deriving the same kind of pleasure from activities they enjoy as usual.
As you see, the Queens are more complex than the preceding KnightsandPages. However, stages of learning and personal growth are rarely simple or linear, and the many nuanced interpretations of the Queens reflect the cyclic and interior nature of learning. Remember that the Queens teach us about how to approach the understanding of a subject and how to orient ourselves in relation to it.
At the end of my last post, I mentioned that the knights represent my favorite stage of mastery. This is because knights energy represents the very stuff of mastery: practice! The pages have had only theoretical contact with the subject they are embarking on learning or manifesting. The knights are the doing of it. The first time you put down a book and picked up a pair of knitting needles, a fencing foil, or a guitar, you left the page phase and became a knight. In most skills, the knights phase is the longest phase, because in acquiring any sort of mastery, most of the time is spent simply practicing. And truly, mastery never leaves the knights phase behind; the prima ballerina does the same sequence of practice as the corps de ballet, and will continue to do so until she retires. We are knights when we are mastering the nuts and bolts of our crafts. The knights are the most active of the court cards; in most decks, they are depicted on horseback. They represent the longest arc of the learning curve, the period in which we (and our skills) change and grow the most. Knight energy is what we get when our ideas finally start to gain some traction.
Although there is typically a lot of gung-ho, charging energy, I have observed that the knights often pop up when the querent is uncertain about direction. When this is the case, I often find it helpful to pay attention to any cards the horse appears to be moving towards (or away from!) and where the knight’s gaze is directed. Different decks depict the quality of the motion of the knights differently. Is the horse standing? Walking calmly? Running at breakneck speed? Is the knight looking where they are going? Or is their attention wandering elsewhere? This can tell you a lot about the querent’s focus and direction.
The following are some hypothetical examples of the kinds of scenarios I encounter in working with the knights, and how I categorize them. As always, take what is useful, experiment, and trust your intuition. Happy holidays and happy reading!
Knight of Wands
The Knight of Wands is usually a very energetic card, and often turns up in the readings of highly creative people. It is a card of great passion and forward momentum, but more than the other knights, I have found that it can sometimes indicate a lack of focus, although this is more common when the card is reversed than upright. The upright Knight of Wands is a wonderful card for exploration and discovery, and it can often be helpful to remind querents who find themselves in this stage that experimentation can be extremely important, and not at all a waste of time. Scenarios in which the Knight of Wands may appear are: The querent has outlined a novel and started work on a rough draft; the querent has begun to take painting classes and is getting a feel for it; after trying a variety of creative activities, the querent has settled on one or two they want to pursue more seriously.
Reversed Knight of Wands
When the Knight of Wands comes up reversed, it can quite often— but not always!— indicate a lack of direction or focus. This is not necessarily a bad thing, although it is often accompanied by frustration or impatience in people with fiery temperaments. However, as I noted above, progress is not necessarily linear, and the Knight of Wands reversed can represent a very fertile scenario in which the client’s mind is overflowing with creativity, even if it can feel like spinning one’s wheels. Scenarios in which the reversed Knight of Wands can apply could be: The querent is becoming more aware of what makes them happy, and is in a period of emotional growth centered on rediscovering joy in their life; the querent has hit a wall in their novel and is feeling stuck; the querent has begun to do preliminary research into their new idea but is still not sure if it’s strong enough to pursue formally, or is having to consider closely what direction it will take.
Knight of Swords
The Knight of Swords is an excellent card for personal growth, and I quite often find that this card comes up as often in emotional situations as intellectual ones. Recall that the swords, which represent the element of air, are concerned with communication and mental patterns. Although this card can and certainly does apply to academic learning and similar areas of life, it is also frequently a reference to one’s ability to speak with integrity and clarity, to defend one’s boundaries, and to calibrate and restructure thought patterns. The kinds of situations in which the Knight of Swords comes up can include: the querent has begun to stand up for themselves more in their interpersonal communications; the querent is working steadily at an academic subject; the querent’s study of language has reached an intermediate stage.
Reversed Knight of Swords
The reversed Knight of Swords, in my practice, has overwhelmingly referred to the mental and emotional situations I refer to above. Again, although this is a common interpretation I use, you may find that it occurs less often— use your intuition! When the Knight of Sword is reversed, I find it very helpful to remind the querent that the element of air represents distance in a very literal sense; it can be very helpful to get some distance from the situation at hand, some new perspective. It can refer to the need for the client to put distance between themselves and people or situations that cause stress. It also carries with it the need to regard the topic as analytically as possible, even though emotions can be running high. Situations in which the reversed Knight of Swords can come up might be: The querent has begun to tackle their problematic thought problems and is feeling overwhelmed by how deeply they run; the querent has taken times to reverse their negative self-talk but still has a ways to go.
Knight of Cups
Cups, of course, have to do with spirituality, intuition, and our emotional lives. I often find Knight of Cups people to be highly romantic and ever on the quest for their one and only. Knights of Cups can often pop up at the beginning stages of a relationship, although the unsettled nature of the knights can also keep this squarely in crush territory. I often find that a major theme of this card is in reconciling our romantic fantasies with reality. It can also dredge up a lot of approach-avoidance behavior. However, recall that cups aren’t always about love! Scenarios in which the Knight of Cups might occur are: The querent has started to interact with their crush and get to know them, or may have even just started a relationship; the querent is learning new spiritual path; the querent has made recent strides in their emotional growth.
Reversed Knight of Cups
Reversed, the Knight of Cups can often (but again, not always!) refer to frustration in emotional, spiritual, or romantic situations. I often find that, like the swords, reversed cups situations benefit from some time and distance. The querent generally needs to sort out their feelings and lessen their anxieties. It often points to a disconnect between what the querent expects from romance or a romantic partner, and the human reality of another person with quirks and needs. The reversed Knight of Cups calls on us to examine our emotional assumptions, avoid making hasty emotional decisions, and to try to be calm. It can refer to situations such as: the querent fees discomfort with a spiritual path or discipline that they have begun; the querent is having difficulty moving forward emotionally, or a specific relationship feels “stuck”.
Knight of Coins/Pentacles
This card has a lot to do with skill-building, but it can also refer to business endeavours beginning to take shape and become profitable. I find that the nature of the Knight of Coins is fairly straightforward and easily interpreted. It can also be a reminder that “slow and steady wins the race”. The patient, methodical nature of this card shows us that mastery comes with time and discipline, and that even the most glamorous and exciting skill set can be made up of long stretches of repetitive, decidedly unglamorous practice. This reminder can come up in scenarios that are seemingly unrelated to the coins’ realm of material value. Situations that might be governed by the Knight of Coins could include: the querent is getting a handle on managing finances and is beginning to look at investing or saving; the querent has found a new job; the querent is in the process of learning a new craft or skill with a physical component and/or a tangible, material result.
Reversed Knight of Coins/Pentacles
This card quite often pops up when people are feeling frustrated with their jobs. Depending on the situation and surrounding cards, it can sometimes turn up for querents who are considering going freelance or starting their own business; typically, the main concern involves the stability or sustainability of doing so. It can also be a call for the querent to question the ways in which their manner of making a living does or does not line up with their values. Situations in which the Knight of Coins comes up reversed could be: the querent is redefining their self-worth and values; the querent is considering a new career or business venture and is anxious about its possibility for success.
And there you have it! Remember that learning anything is not necessarily a linear process, and that you may cycle through things in a lot of different ways before things start to gel. Honor the process of mastery represented in the knights by honing your skills, devoting yourself to the daily practice, concentrating on form, and trying not to rush results.
Hello and welcome to part two of my series on the tarot court cards. In the introductory post, I discussed the traditional meanings of the cards and suggested an alternate way of viewing them. In this post, I will discuss the Pages in more depth within that alternate view.
The pages are the novices, the rank beginners in the journey from inexperience to mastery. The page-phase of the learning process begins when the individual encounters the subject or area in which they are to learn and grow. It implies a new awareness or attention brought to this subject; generally, it does not indicate ignorance or denial, merely lack of practical experience and knowledge.
This may be the spark of interest that inspires someone to learn a new skill, or the moment at which the subject encounters an area of potential growth that has been unexplored or dormant. It comprises the period of time in which the individual ponders this new topic, as well as the process of doing research on it, if applicable. It ends in the moment the subject begins to put the ideas they are encountering into practice. For example, if one were taking up tennis, the Page phase would comprise of the first moment of interest or inclination towards the subject, reading about the best equipment and the best way to learn, watching tutorials, etc. But it would end and become the Knight phase at the moment one bought a racket and went to the tennis court to begin acquiring the physical skills.
Remember that these may be academic or practical skills, but may also refer to spiritual enlightenment or emotional growth. The following breakdown by suit is my take on the kinds of domains represented by them and their associated elements; but depending on the nature of the question and the querent, I may interpret them differently from time to time. For example, I may associate a client’s writing project with a wands card, because wands have to do with creativity. But if the project were a very private spiritual one, it may be more of a cups project. If the client is a professional writer and the rent is due, it might well be a coins project! And anything under revision can fall into the domain of swords.
As always, use your experience and intuition and see if alternate interpretations work for you. The roles of the court cards are not static, because neither are the roles we play in life. The following are just hypothetical scenarios and how I would associate them:
Page of Wands
Wands, which represent the element of fire, are tied up with our passions and our creativity. Although this is traditionally associated with the arts and humanities, anything which excites our interest or requires us to think creatively can fall under the rubric of Wands. Scenarios in which the Page of Wands may appear might be: the querent is flirting with a new idea for a novel, but hasn’t yet put pen to paper; the querent is considering taking up painting and has been reading books but hasn’t yet figured out whether they want to work in oils or watercolorst; the querent is seeking a creative or passionate outlet, but has not yet decided on one.
Reversed Page of Wands
I usually interpret reversed cards as representing an aspect of the querent’s inner life, and so a Page of Wands rx points to the interior, emotional process of cultivating one’s fire or passion. Scenarios in which the Page of Wands rx may appear might be: The querent is recovering from depression and taking their first steps towards cultivating their zest for life again; the querent is questioning what makes them happy or engaged with life and evaluating what truly “lights them up”; the querent is incubating a wonderful new idea that is not yet ready to be discussed or enacted.
Page of Swords
Swords, which represent the element of air, refer mostly to our cognition and our verbal abilities. They represent our thought patterns, our speech patterns, our ability to delineate and discriminate, and our ability to create our own personal boundaries. Swords activities involve learning a new academic skill or something similarly abstract, but in the broader sense refer to reorganizing outdated thought patterns. Scenarios in which the Page of Swords may represent this process might be: the querent is aware that they need to stand up for themselves more, but has not yet put this into practice; the querent is doing preliminary research of an academic subject; the querent is beginning the study of a new language but is not yet generating spontaneous sentences.
Reversed Page of Swords
When swords represent our inner lives, they very frequently refer to thought patterns; I frequently see reversed swords come up in a reading that deals with the querent’s self-image, destructive thoughts, and negative self-talk. They also appear reversed when interpersonal patterns demand that the querent defend themselves emotionally. Scenarios in which the Page of Swords appears reversed might be: The querent is caught in repetitive negative thoughts but does not know how to get past them; the querent has internalized a great deal of criticism or even verbal abuse and has not yet healed from this.
Page of Cups
Cups represent our emotions, our spirituality, and our relationships in a broad sense. They are the heart or unconscious. The Page of Cups is one’s first steps of a spiritual or strictly emotional journey, and therefore comes up at times when the querent is about to experience a huge spurt of emotional growth. Scenarios in which the Page of Cups may appear could be: The querent has a crush on someone but hasn’t spent much time with them yet; the querent is interested in spirituality but has not yet chosen a path; the querent is on the brink of a powerful emotional discovery.
Reversed Page of Cups
The cups are already centered on our inner lives, and so when the cups appear reversed in a reading, this often clues me in to examine areas of emotional experience which are unconscious, blocked, or dormant. It can also indicate that the situation needs to be “turned on its head,” that is, a change of perspective is needed. Therefore, scenarios in which the Page of Cups may appear reversed can represent: the querent feels the lack of spirituality in life, but has not yet acknowledged that it should be a priority for them; the querent has a lot of unconscious baggage that must be explored.
Page of Coins/Pentacles
The coins or pentacles traditionally represent our material resources, finances, and tangible things. Situations in which the Page of Coins appears may indicate: the querent is beginning to learn how to manage finances; the querent is looking for a new job; the querent is interested in learning a new craft or skill with a physical component and/or a tangible, material result.
Reversed Page of Coins
The inner component of the material world, represented by the coins, is our values system. When coins are reversed in a reading, we turn our attention not to the literal, material world of finances and matter; rather, it is a call for us to examine our sense of self-worth and our priorities. Situations in which the reversed Page of Coins comes up may indicate: the querent is questioning their self-worth; the querent is considering the ways in which their profession does or does not line up with their values; the querent is becoming aware of how their priorities match, or do not match, those prescribed by society.
Remember that these are just hypothetical examples of the kinds of ways we find ourselves in Page situations in life! Next time, I will explore my favorite stage: the Knights!
Hello, and welcome to the first in my series on tarot cards. I began reading cards seventeen years ago, and started reading professionally in 2008. I also study astrology and folk magic, and have an academic background in anthropology.
The court cards, which are the Page,Knight,Queen, and King of each of the four suits of the tarot, usually get interpreted as people in our lives. Some readers choose a significator from among the court cards to represent the querent, or allow the querent to choose one to represent themselves. Traditionally, a person’s physical attributes, their gender, and their age determined which court card represented them. For example, the King of Coins or Pentacles would represent a mature man with dark hair, the Queen of Wands a mature woman with red hair or warm coloring, etc.
Some, myself included, feel that tying the representation of the court cards to such fixed and relatively meaningless attributes is limiting. It is less useful to the reader and querent than exploring the spiritual or interpersonal qualities of the cards based on the element of the suit.
According to this school of thought, for example, the Knight of Cups still represents a young person (traditionally a man, but modern readers tend to be more egalitarian in this respect). But rather than tying the suit to their physical attributes, the cups here carry the symbolism of water: the Knight of Cups is empathetic, spiritual, emotional. This can be far more useful, and yet designating the court cards solely as individuals can still be somewhat limiting.
I certainly interpret court cards as representing the querent or people in the querent’s life when the subject of the reading, the structure of the reading, and my intuition lead me to do so. But I also believe that the court cards can represent stages of learning or growth in the individual.
Interpreting the court cards as facets of ourselves, snapshots of our progress in a particular area of our development lends a richness and a nuance to them that is lacking when we simplify the interpretation to symbolizing a particular individual with a limited set of attributes, physical or otherwise. Additionally, this set of meanings we can ascribe to the cards is much more fluid; regardless of our gender expression or physical attributes, we all find ourselves embodying aspects of various court cards throughout any process of growth, discovery, or learning.
Furthermore, the cycle of growth represented this way is not strictly linear; throughout any learning process we return again and again to the beginning, hit plateaus, jump forward, step back, etc. Also, remember that we will find ourselves in different stages in different areas of life. The novelist who finds themselves in a Page-phase on a new book might be in a King-phase when it comes to money management or spirituality, or even on another book.
Thank you so much for reading! Next time, I will post some of my guidelines for interpreting the Pages in the suits.
