COURT CARDS

The most troublesome cards in the deck are the court cards. They are very hard to read in the context of a spread. For example, if you get the Queen of Cups in the "Health" position in a spread, what does that mean? (How would I read this? Alternative medicine, likely dispensed by a new, female healer that the Querent is going to or should go to). I'll be going through each court card in its own thread.

I hope we can all get talking about these cards and find a way to solidify them in our minds! So, first, what are court cards? There are four, and even these are confusing. Rider-Waite style, they are Pages, Knights, Queens, Kings. Crowley style, they are Princesses, Princes, Queens, Knights.

Does this make a difference? Some say yes, very much so. They argue that in Crowley, there are an equal number of male/females, and that the seated Queen indicates the "Goddess power" whereas the active Knight indicates the "God" power. Unlike the more hierarchical situation in the Rider-Waite deck where you have a seated King ruling at the top, unequal with the seated queen and unmoving compared to the knight he commands.

In either case, certain things we need to assume.

1) Court cards almost always indicate people. Someone in the Querent's life (past or present), about to come into the Querent's life or the Querent themselves.

2) Yes, Court cards can be symbolic. For example, Pages can indicate a "message," Knights a "movement" or a "trip." It depends on the reading and reader. But in most cases, the cards are likely to be people, not symbols.

3) Zodiac symbols (designations) are a good way to tell what kind of person each court card is. For example, that the Queen of Wands is a Leo. But which card is which Zodiac symbol can differ from deck to deck. So examine images carefully to see which card is which Zodiac sign in your particular deck. The pentacle court card which has a field of wheat in it (for example) is undoubtedly Virgo, whether it is King, Queen or Knight.

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