The Court Cards

Each suit of the Minor Arcana has four court cards – the King and Queen, familiar from the 52 card deck, and instead of the Jack, two unfamiliar cards – the Page (or Princess) and the Knight.

The court cards can either represent a living, breathing person who will have an influence upon the enquirer, or personal qualities that will be significant – the cards may be advising the enquirer to display certain qualities or cautioning against a particular behaviour.  When a disproportionately large number of court cards turn up in a reading, the enquirer is influenced by others and may be trying to please everyone at once.

Each of the court cards has something to say about changes to come.  I like to think of them as the Angels of the Tarot – Angel meaning “Messenger”.

The Kings represent the reactionary forces.  They are satisfied with the situation as it is and  are deeply suspicious of change.  After all, they are at the top of the tree and have nothing more to gain from any change.  The King votes for the status quo.

The Queens are the conservationary forces.  They question change and have to be convinced that the benefits of change outweigh the risks.   They recognise that change is sometimes beneficial but are against change for change’s sake.

The Knights are the revolutionary forces.  They are represented as riding horses as they are moving from one place to another.  The knight is the king’s heir so is impatient, wanting change to happen now, regardless of the risk.

The Pages or Princesses represent the evolutionary forces.  She knows she will grow into her power when she becomes a woman and is content to allow matters to unfold in their own sweet time.   The page is also a herald, and when she turns up in a spread she is bringing news.