Tarot court cards without confusion

Court cards confuse almost every beginner. There are sixteen of them, they look a lot alike, and they can mean a person, a part of you or a way of acting. The good news is that a simple model makes them much easier. This guide gives you that model, shows how to decide what a court card is doing in your spread, and lists all sixteen with their keywords.

What the court cards are

Each of the four suits of the Minor Arcana ends with four court cards: the Page, the Knight, the Queen and the King. That makes sixteen in total.

Historical The courts come from playing cards. Tarot packs in 15th century Italy had four court figures in each suit: a King, a Queen, a Knight and a foot servant. Ordinary packs kept only three. French cards dropped the Knight, which is why a standard deck today has a Jack, a Queen and a King, while Italian and Spanish cards dropped the Queen instead. Tarot kept all four. In the Tarot de Marseille they are the Valet, Cavalier, Reine and Roi.

Later tradition Some modern decks rename the courts. The Thoth deck, for example, uses Princess, Prince, Queen and Knight, following the Golden Dawn. If your deck uses other names, match the cards by their place in the suit.

The four ranks: a simple working model

Think of the four ranks as four stages of knowing the suit.

• Page: the student. Beginnings, messages, curiosity and apprentice energy. A Page is new to the suit and eager to learn it.
• Knight: the suit in motion. Pursuit, movement, commitment on the road. Knights travel and bring change, and they can overdo their suit’s style.
• Queen: mastery from the inside. Embodied fluency, care and discernment. A Queen knows the suit so well that she can work with it calmly.
• King: mastery in public. Responsibility, direction, skill used for others. A King has mastered the suit and now has to use it well.

Now add the suit. A Page of Cups is a beginner in feelings, open and dreamy. A Page of Swords is a beginner in ideas, full of sharp questions. A Queen of Pentacles is calm mastery of the material world: home, body and money. A King of Wands is mastery of drive and vision, used to lead others.

People, parts of you or approaches

The hardest question about a court card is what it is doing in your spread. There are three main answers.

A person in your life

A court card can describe someone around you. It is describing how they act, not what they look like. The Knight of Swords might be a colleague who rushes in with strong opinions. The Queen of Cups might be the friend who always notices how you feel.

A part of you

A court can describe you, or a side of you. If you draw the Page of Pentacles while learning a new skill, the card may simply be you, the student. If you draw the King of Swords before a hard conversation, it may be the clear, fair part of you that you need to bring.

An approach to the situation

A court can also be advice: act like this. The Knight of Wands says move now, with passion. The Queen of Swords says speak plainly and kindly. The Knight of Pentacles says slow and steady wins this one.

How to tell which

Read the court first as an attitude, then ask three questions. Does this attitude belong to me? Does it belong to someone else in the story? Or is it the approach the situation needs? Your question helps. In a spread position such as “advice”, the court is almost always an approach. In a position such as “the other person”, it is a person. When it is still unclear, write all three readings down and see which one fits by the end of the week.

Gender and age do not limit the courts

A Queen can describe a man. A King can describe a woman. A Page can describe a beginner of 60. Court cards are not limited by the gender or age of the figure on the card. They describe a way of being with the suit, and anyone can have it.

This is not a new rule. Many readers have always read the courts flexibly. It just helps to say it out loud, because the pictures can make it easy to forget.

The courts and the elements

Later tradition Many systems give each court rank an element as well as its suit, so that each court becomes a blend, such as water of water for the Queen of Cups. The systems do not agree. The Golden Dawn used its own court names, and modern books map them onto the Rider-Waite-Smith ranks in different ways. A common modern scheme gives Pages earth and Queens water, and splits fire and air between Knights and Kings.

If this layer helps you, use the system in your deck’s guidebook and stay with it. If it confuses you, skip it. Rank and suit are enough to read courts well.

Reversed court cards

If you read reversals, a reversed court is usually the same attitude out of balance. There are two easy ways to think about it.

• Too little. The quality is blocked or missing. A reversed Queen of Cups can be care that has run dry, or someone who cannot look after themselves right now.
• Too much. The quality is overdone. A reversed Knight of Wands can be impatience turned into recklessness. A reversed King of Swords can be fairness turned cold and harsh.

Ask which fits: is the card’s gift missing here, or is it pushed so far that it causes harm? Either way, the upright card shows what balance would look like. If you do not read reversals, simply read every court upright and let the other cards show the shadow side. There is more on this in reversed tarot cards.

All 16 court cards

Here are the upright keywords from my book for each court card. Follow the links for the full meanings.

Wands

• Page of Wands: curiosity, enthusiasm, new opportunities
• Knight of Wands: energy, passion, impulsiveness
• Queen of Wands: confidence, independence, warmth
• King of Wands: leadership, vision, determination

Cups

• Page of Cups: intuition, creativity, emotional openness
• Knight of Cups: romance, charm, idealism
• Queen of Cups: compassion, intuition, emotional security
• King of Cups: emotional balance, diplomacy, wisdom

Swords

• Page of Swords: curiosity, mental agility, sharp questions
• Knight of Swords: action, ambition, drive
• Queen of Swords: independence, clarity, intellect
• King of Swords: authority, truth, intellectual power

Pentacles

• Page of Pentacles: ambition, new ventures, learning
• Knight of Pentacles: hard work, responsibility, routine
• Queen of Pentacles: practicality, nurturing, financial security
• King of Pentacles: wealth, abundance, leadership

Two exercises that make the courts stick

1. Line them up by rank. Lay out all four Pages side by side, then all four Knights, Queens and Kings. Compare the four Knights especially: the Knight of Pentacles is the only one whose horse stands still, and the Knight of Swords charges at full speed.
2. Cast your people. Think of five people you know well and choose a court card for each. You do not need to tell them. Then choose one for yourself on a good day and one on a stressed day. This teaches the courts as attitudes faster than any list.

Common questions

Do court cards always represent people?

No. A court card can show a person in your life, a part of yourself or an approach to the situation. Your question and the other cards help you decide which.

Do court cards have numbers?

Not in the same way as the Ace to Ten. Read a court’s character and approach first, not number symbolism.

Can court cards show timing?

Some readers link courts to seasons or ages, but systems vary a lot. On this site courts are not used for timing, and I suggest beginners read them as people, parts of you or approaches.

Keep learning

The courts are covered in the lessons Meet the court and People, roles or energies? of my free Tarot for Beginners course. Next, read The Minor Arcana: suits and numbers made simple or browse all the card meanings. My book The Novice’s Guide to Tarot has the full entry for every court card.

Sources

• A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1910).
• Michael Dummett, The Game of Tarot (London: Duckworth, 1980).
• Robert M. Place, The Tarot: History, Symbolism and Divination (New York: Tarcher, 2005).
• Lauri Mukkala, The Novice’s Guide to Tarot.