Thinking About Tarot Court Cards As The Evolution of A Question
The Court Cards aren’t people. They’re questions-in-progress. Here’s how I think about their evolution.
The Court cards are a little opaque for most people (don't worry, they confound me too sometimes). What helps me is to think of them as people on a search of a particular piece of knowledge -- and their relationship to that topic is the attitude of the court card.
The Courts are roles in a symbolic cycle. They don't show status -- they show steps and signposts along the road to answering a question. Each one is a stage in how we engage with a question, an idea, a topic or a part of ourselves.
The Court Catchphrases: The Evolution of a Question
Page: "Oooh, what's that? What happens if I poke it?" They're the spark of curiosity, the beginning of attention.
Knight: "Let's find out the answer! At the exact speed I want, weee!" They are the pursuit, the action/reaction, the motion.
Queen: "Oh I get it now. The answer clicks -- that's really satisfying. Do you want to know the answer, too?" They're the understanding -- the moment of resonance and integration. The Queens are the feeling of knowing.
King: "I know the answer definitively. I'm going to wield it -- and my accumulated knowledge -- with confidence." They are the wielded synthesis, the directed action, the expression of "I've mastered this topic."
The Focus, Style, and Terrain of the Suits
The other aspect of each court card is the suit. It tells you what kind of question they're asking and how they'll inquire, chase, understand or wield the answer.
Wands (Fire): Story, creation, and desire. The court is curious about inspiration and driven by impact. They want to know what lights them up, what inspires them.
Cups (Water): Emotion, intuition, and connection. The court is curious about feeling and driven by intimacy. They want to know what moves them, what makes them feel, what heals them and others.
Swords (Air): Thought, speech and truth. The court is curious about logic and driven by clarity. They want to know what's right, what cuts through the fog.
Pentacles (Earth): Labor, time and value. The court is curious about process and driven by concrete results and longevity. They want to know what's real, what will last.
Layering them Together: The 16-Role Court System
Now we layer these perpendicular lines of the tarot on top of each other and we get the grid of the Court Cards.
Court of Wands
Page of Wands: "Oooh, what's that spark?" The Page of Wands wants to touch the fire -- it doesn't know yet if it's hot. It wants inspiration, novelty and a quest to start out on. It wants to see what something can become. They're the most impetuous of the Pages. They're a lit match.
Knight of Wands: "Let's chase this spark. Let's get some momentum going. Let's GO." They want to run while the story is still being written. It's curiosity that spurs them to get on their horse and fly like the wind -- fast. They're the fastest of the Knights (maybe tied with the Knight of Swords) but they're going off in every direction. They're a Roman Candle. They are yang fire -- but unbalanced.
Queen of Wands: "I understand this spark. I feel it inside. It makes me radiant. Do you want to feel it too?" The Queen understands and owns her fire. It makes her a beacon. She's a bonfire, warm and ready to share themselves. They radiate their knowledge like the sun. They are balanced yin fire.
King of Wands: "This flame is mine to lead with. I can shape the world in its image -- or inspire you to do the same." (Be careful you don't burn it down.) He leads via inspiration and turns passion into direction. He directs the myth of the flame and commands its narrative. He's a wielded torch. They are balanced yang fire.
Court of Cups
Page of Cups: "Oooh, what's this feeling? It it love? Is it magic? Is it sadness shaped like a fish?" They're the kid with their first crush, the first rush of emotion and tenderness. They are innocent, dreamy and porous -- very few emotional boundaries because they haven't learned their necessity yet. They sigh, look out the window, and draw hearts in their notebook. They're the first burble of a spring coming out of the ground, the first drops of a cup poured gently.
Knight of Cups: "Let's follow the longing and desire. Let's find the answer in beauty." They know the direction to go -- but it's up to them the loops they'll take to get there. They follow every beautiful interest and romanticize the entire process. They sigh and look over their shoulder at someone new. When they are centered, they are deeply set on their pilgrimage toward love and beauty. They are romantic, devotional and deeply escapist. They hold emotion up like a banner standard as they chase (tail). He's a dolphin, squirting water at you.
Queen of Cups: "I’ve held this feeling. I know how it moves. Would you like to feel safe with it?" She is the emotional vessel, and the wisdom of being with. She holds the feeling and understands it deeply, and she invites you into her calm, deep pool. She is a wading pond found in a moonlit clearing in the forest. Come join her.
King of Cups: "I know what this feeling requires. I know what love needs. I can lead with compassion." He's a lake with waves deep under the surface. He looks calm on the outside but "still waters run deep" -- he can turn into a tide pool, too. He's mastered himself in order to hold the needs and emotions of others.
Court of Swords
Page of Swords: "Oooh, what's that idea? I'm going to watch it, listen, and ask questions." They are smart and just a touch skeptical. They're "the smart kid" with boundless intellectual curiosity. They tend to watch from the sidelines -- they're used to living in the world of the mind. They are the first, rising breeze that begins to ruffle your papers.
Knight of Swords: "Let's go find the truth and wrestle it into submission. Let's fight to find the answer. Right now." They act fast, speak fast and sometimes think mid-motion. They are urgency personified -- just as fast as the Knight of Wands, but directed -- pointedly so. They are a jetstream, knocking you over. They speed-read everything and toss the book aside.
Queen of Swords: "I know what's true, even if it hurts. I'll speak it and clearly. I see the truth now, and I see its structure." Her voice is even-toned and rings out across a room, even if she speaks quietly. Her words don't necessarily hurt, even if the truth does. She is wisdom with precision, and her empathy is earned from her. She is a room with completely still air, where you could hear a pin drop. She is the angel of illumination in the devil's details.
King of Swords: "I will wield this truth and I will decide what matters. Truth is a tool and I know how to use it." He is logic as authority. His belief is hardened into a worldview -- for better or for worse. He is a gale-force wind, flattening everything in his path. You will submit. There will be no questions.
Court of Pentacles
Page of Pentacles: "Oooh, what's this seed doing here? I wonder what will happen if I plant it and tend it? Can I make it last?" They are curious about systems, cycles and craft. They want to make something real. They're the kid who plays in the dirt and turns it into joyful gardening. They want to create. They are the kid in the FFA (Future Farmers of America) with dirt always under their nails. They probably major in mycology later. They are a well-tended first sprout.
Knight of Pentacles: "Let's do the work. Let's walk the slow road. No shortcuts. We will get to the answer precisely when we are meant to." He's loyal, methodical, and sometimes stubborn. He’ll finish the hard work even if no one’s watching. He's the odd one out among his brother Knights, but he's the one you can trust to pack out in the morning, and set up the cookpot at night. He is the process of dotting your i's and crossing your t's in notes no one but you will ever see. If the Eight of Pentacles is the action, the Knight of Pentacles is the one who does it. He's a well-plowed field (as opposed to the Knight of Cups, who just leaves you well-plowed.)
Queen of Pentacles: "I understand this process and the rhythm of the soil. I know its worth. It has value. I will tend it with both hands." She is quiet power embodied as nourishment. She's the keeper of the garden -- be it edible or ornamental, though she prefers the former. She makes abundance sustainable. She is the Empress refracted into the courts. She's a soup-pot always simmering on the back of the stove. She feeds the entire village. She flourishes through hard work and careful loving tending. She's the hug that pulls you up by your bootstraps. She's not soft because she's weak -- she's soft because she's strong enough to care.
King of Pentacles: "I've built this from nothing into something, and I'll protect it. I will ensure it lasts." He is authority through provision -- he makes sure the village stays standing, sheltered, fed, and protected. He is the legacy-bearer -- he is the fortress. His walls aren't flashy like the King of Wands. They tell a story only through the fingerprints of those who built them. He guards what matters (and hopefully doesn't hoard it). He may, in his worst moments, veer into territory-guarding and over-protection, but he always means the very best. He is walls of mud and brick, and a figure standing sentinel in front of them. He is foundation.
Some Final Thoughts -- and a Question
The Court Cards don't have to be people -- they can be processes. They can show us how we move through questions on the way to the answer, and what we do with the answer once we have it.
You don't have to "identify" with one court card. You can become each of them in turn, changing from one moment to another, depending on the question you are pursuing. Today you are the King, tomorrow you are the Page. You can become any of them -- It all depends on where you are in a cycle.
What are you curious about right now? What do you already know? And who are you becoming as you follow that question?
Tarot Courts as Perfume - Embodying the Queens by Scent
I'm combining two things I love in this series: perfume and tarot. I want to explore the court archetypes through scent -- the idea of them, their real-world fragrance, and how you can embody them in your everyday life (and budget).
We'll start with the Queens. Each queen is more than a character. She is inner sovereignty. She is a quiet, yin throne -- a ruling force within her element.
Queen of Wands
Fantasy Scent: The smell of amber and warm skin in the summer sun. Sun-warmed amber, scorched cinnamon, fresh peach skins. Spilled perfume in an unstoppered bottle, knocked over by an expansive gesture. The scent of confidence and chutzpah.
Signature Scent: Killian -- Woman in Gold. Notes: bergamot, vanilla, patchouli, rose. A lush golden floral with long presence.
Etat Libre d’Orange -- Fils de Dieu. Notes: spiced lime, coconut rice, and gold sunlight. Confident and unexpected. Glam chaos.
Affordable Embodiment: Lattafa -- Ana Abiyedh Rouge. Notes: saffron, ambergris, white woods. A Baccarat Rouge 540 dupe with sweetness and heat.
Demeter Bonus: Cinnamon Bun. Warm, spicy and sticky-sweet. No shame.
Queen of Cups
Fantasy Scent: Gentle, happy tears and salt sea glass. Vanilla waves and sweet lullabies. Rose petals in warm bathwater. The smell of memory, longing and happiness. The powder of old, known love. Seafoam and faintly remembered dreams of the ocean.
Demeter Bonus: Kitten Fur. Sweet, light, cozy and affectionate.
Queen of Swords
Fantasy Scent: The air after a lightning strike. Fresh-pressed cotton. A gin martini with a twist, untouched. A letter in a linen envelope, crisply sliced open. The faintest hint of steel under perfumed silk. Blue-black fountain pen ink.
Signature Scent: Ormonde Jayne -- Tolu. Notes: orange blossom, juniper, clary sage, orchid, balsam, amber, olibanum. Dry, resinous floral over something glinting and smooth. It doesn’t try to charm you. It demands respect.
Escentric Molecules -- Molecule 01. Bare skin musk, a "not a perfume" perfume. The ultimate “don’t look at me, but you will” scent.
Affordable Embodiment: Demeter -- Thunderstorm. Notes: Ozone, petrichor, broken sky. Smells like you stood too close to the truth of the universe and came away slightly electric.
Demeter Bonus: Clean Skin. The ultimate in clarity.
Queen of Pentacles
Fantasy Scent: A garden in summer, lushly in bloom. A ripe tomato, weighed in one hand, still attached to the vine. The smell of fresh baked bread. A warm hug from your favorite aunt and the smell of her skin. Tanner leather and warm beeswax next to a familiar hearth. She is nurturing with backbone -- earthy, warm, and rooted in something old and generous. If there was an eldritch Great Old One of comfort and care, it would be the Queen of Pentacles.
Signature Scent: Hermès -- Un Jardin sur le Nil. Notes: green mango, tomato leaf, light incense. A bountiful garden plot in a bottle.
