My trouble cards

[Onibaba]

I’m finding that I’m having difficulty connecting meaning to the following cards:

 

3 of Coins

7 of Coins

and the Pages and Knight court cards

 

Anyone else have issues with these? I feel like when I see them that it just has a neutral feel, or a very limited understanding. 
 

For example, all I can think of with 3 of Coins is teamwork. Reversed, I think only of projects not working out. 
 

7 of Coins I see waiting. Reversed I see spoilage. 
 

And the pages and knights all might as well be the same cards because they’re like a blur to me. 

Edited September 18, 2021 by Onibaba
Spelling is hard

[DanielJUK]

hi @Onibaba

I've moved your thread from individual card meanings to the general tarot discussion area Tarot Talk & Technique because you are discussing several cards you find tricky in readings and that area is really just discussing each card. It will fit in better here and hopefully get more responses 🙂 

[Onibaba]

Awesome, thanks!

[DanielJUK]

going to give this a go 🙂

I think it's useful often to look at the other cards in a set and compare. For example all the 3 cards and 7 cards.

 

The 3's in the minors come after the 1's and the 2's, you have started out with a plan or seed and then taken some form of action and here is the initial fulfilment. Also there is a glimpse of success but a long way to go. It's like the shoot from the planet which was an original planted seed, you have achieved something. It's goals, creativity and things in groups (and of course beware of 3 people in relationships with it! Although I find this much rarer in my readings then learning about it as a beginner).

 

The 3 of Pentacles / Coins (earth) is about working together and learning. I always think of this as an apprentice starting out with not much experience, asking the advice of others with more experience. It's about gaining skills from your inspiration. The Monks in RWS and other people in other card pictures are encouragement to the apprentice. They will have a lot more confidence and learned skills for their next project. However this card presents itself, the importance is about teamwork and collaborating on others, it's also about feedback and learning to improve. Reversed it's ignoring others advice and help. But it could end up a disaster without good planning and advice. I think also it can be about a lack of confidence, too scared to go on and also not feeling appreciated in a workplace or team. There is an issue with the teamwork or working with others and progressing.

 

The 7's are about reflecting in numerology. The 7 of Pentacles / Coins is about looking how far you have come. In the RWS, you now have a bush of blossoming pentacles you can harvest, that seed and plant has progressed. It's time to take a moment to rest and look at how it's gone, look at those rewards! It's about working out the next step? Do you plant a lot more bushes? do you harvest them? invest? etc. There is some success after a long time and hard work but a long way to go. Sometimes this card is someone who is really worried about failure. But the 6 of Pentacles before is about balance and getting or giving help, this is more about seeing some reward for efforts. The reversed card would mean the coins fall off the bush, there is no reward for efforts or perhaps they don't believe in a long term investment. They want an outcome now in days! They may also have invested in the wrong thing and it's not paying off and it's time to just give up on it or the energies are not prioritising the right direction.

 

The Court families are all different, you just have to work out what they mean to you! It's about mastering the suit in the family courts for me. The Queen (feminine energy) and King (masculine energy) have mastered the suit. The Page though is the most juvenile, they are a child of like 7 to 10 years old. They can be messengers and news but they are very immature in the suit. For example keeping in the same suit, the Page of Coins is manifestation, it's a new job or a student going off to university! It's the beginning of getting a degree or getting a better position in a career but currently they are a little scared going into this. They are so enthusiastic and want to learn everything and grow. But they are new to this, they might be a little scared and won't take any risks for now. Also do they have the planning and determination to be in this long term, will they finish their degree they are studying, will they progress in their new job to a higher position or want to quit after 6 months? It's a little unstable as an energy. Are they even studying the right thing or in the right work place? It's about finding it all out as you go.

 

The Knights have mastered more of the suit than the Pages, they are like late teenagers. When I think back to my late teens / early 20's, I thought I was an adult! You can do most things here at 18 years old and I was no longer a child! But when I look back at this time compared to when I was in my 30's, I find it hilarious! I had maturity but I didn't have have the learnt experience or wisdom, I was still quite naive! The Knight of Pentacles takes that enthusiasm of the Page before. This Knight is routine, mundane and a bit boring. They are working towards getting a good position or wage (where as the King of P is the boss!). This Knight turns up everyday for work and likes the responsibility and manages well. They are also a perfectionist and does all their work to complete perfectly. It might be the same thing every day but they are okay with it to progress later on, they want the regular work. They think they have mastered Pentacles but there is still that little immaturity. They might be too perfect and rigid in their work, they might be in a workplace which is not a good environment for them but they put up with it. The reversed Knight here is bored and very stuck! I said the Pages were a little unstable as suit energy before, the Knights are like mood swings of the suit. Often with love they are not going to stick around for the long term, they can be impatient and rushing through. The Kn of P though is the only one on a horse not moving at all!

 

The Courts are not easy, you have to spend time working out their position and what they mean to you.

 

Each tarot card has a purpose for being there different to the others, so you have to work out what it's place is in the deck 🙂

 

[Onibaba]

Wow! That was excellent. Thanks so much for the write up. You should write a book on understanding the tarot!

[gregory]

He's good, isn't he !

[Onibaba]

Super good! It was very helpful information. 

[DanielJUK]

20 hours ago, Onibaba said:

Wow! That was excellent. Thanks so much for the write up. You should write a book on understanding the tarot!

 

thank you 🙏 you're very kind 🙂

When I was learning tarot I made a big journal and scribbled notes for each card, upright and reversed. They were my own ideas, things I saw in books that I liked and views across the internet about each card. I have a good reference book now for times like replying to you. But I am a bit like a Knight with the cards, I haven't exactly worked out my own view on each card fully and that comes with experience 🙂 So maybe a book in about 30 years or something! 🤣 I am always learning and I change my views quite a lot as I go! I think using them and experience really helps your understanding, it comes with time.

 

12 hours ago, gregory said:

He's good, isn't he !

 

thank you ❤️

 

[Jewel]

@DanielJUK that was spot on.

 

@Onibaba I am going to expand on what @DanielJUK shared regarding court cards, and I just shared this in the court card thread:

 

Here are a few tips in regards to the court cards and putting them into the context, look first at the suit then the rank of the court cart then piece it together:

 

Qualities or characteristics of the Suit (From Mary Greer’s book Understanding the Tarot Court, pages 7 - 9):

  o WANDS/FIRE:  Projects, Energy, Spirit, Creativity, Desire, Action, Innovation, Taking action, Inspiration, Initiation, Passion, Movement, Risk, Self-growth, Thesis, Enthusiasm, Perception, Optimism.

  o CUPS/WATER:  Feelings, Emotions, Imagination, Romance, Receptivity, Mirroring, Heart, Moods, Intuition, Dreams, Reflection, Containment, Relationships, Unconscious, Psychic powers, Visualization, Inner processes, Sink-or-swim feelings.

  o SWORDS/AIR: Conflict, Criticism, Strategy, Thinking, Analyzing, Planning, Law and order, Wit and cunning, Communication, Struggle, Decisions, Reason, Discriminating, Understanding, Problem solving, Discussion, Mental processes, Fight-or-flight mechanism.

  o PENTACLES/EARTH:  Skills, Worth, Tradition, Sensation, Actualization, Manifestation, Value, Material, Security, Results, Fruits of labor, Craftmanship, Grounding, Health and fitness, Physical – the body, Money and economics, Rewards for accomplishment.

 

Characteristics of the Rank of the Court Card (From Mary Greer’s book Understanding the Tarot Court, pages 10-11):

  o KINGS:  Prowess, Authority, Competence, Respect, Mastery and leadership, Decision making.

  o QUEENS: Understanding, Teaching, Creativity, Persuasion, Nurturance, Intuition, Communication, Emotional awareness, Leadership through concensus.

  o KNIGHTS:  Energy, Passion, Motion towards a goal, Intention, Focus, Single-mindedness, Idealism, Vitality, Lust for Life.

  o PAGES:  Curiosity, Opening, Novelty, Hope, Trust, Growth, Innocence, Beginnings, Study, apprenticeship.

 

and my personal favorite

-  The elemental aspects of the Court Card.  The elemental aspects of the Court Cards is what finally gave me my “AHA!” moment with them:

 

  o Kings = Air

  o Queens = Water

  o Knights = Fire

  o Pages = Earth

 

So you combine the rank element with the suit element and it can give you a nice picture of the energies of the card.  It can also help you understand how they might interact or affect each other.  This is what really helps me distinguish the court card personalities.

Edited October 7, 2021 by Jewel

[Onibaba]

20 hours ago, Jewel said:

@DanielJUK that was spot on.

 

@Onibaba I am going to expand on what @DanielJUK shared regarding court cards, and I just shared this in the court card thread:

 

Here are a few tips in regards to the court cards and putting them into the context, look first at the suit then the rank of the court cart then piece it together:

 

Qualities or characteristics of the Suit (From Mary Greer’s book Understanding the Tarot Court, pages 7 - 9):

  o WANDS/FIRE:  Projects, Energy, Spirit, Creativity, Desire, Action, Innovation, Taking action, Inspiration, Initiation, Passion, Movement, Risk, Self-growth, Thesis, Enthusiasm, Perception, Optimism.

  o CUPS/WATER:  Feelings, Emotions, Imagination, Romance, Receptivity, Mirroring, Heart, Moods, Intuition, Dreams, Reflection, Containment, Relationships, Unconscious, Psychic powers, Visualization, Inner processes, Sink-or-swim feelings.

  o SWORDS/AIR: Conflict, Criticism, Strategy, Thinking, Analyzing, Planning, Law and order, Wit and cunning, Communication, Struggle, Decisions, Reason, Discriminating, Understanding, Problem solving, Discussion, Mental processes, Fight-or-flight mechanism.

  o PENTACLES/EARTH:  Skills, Worth, Tradition, Sensation, Actualization, Manifestation, Value, Material, Security, Results, Fruits of labor, Craftmanship, Grounding, Health and fitness, Physical – the body, Money and economics, Rewards for accomplishment.

 

Characteristics of the Rank of the Court Card (From Mary Greer’s book Understanding the Tarot Court, pages 10-11):

  o KINGS:  Prowess, Authority, Competence, Respect, Mastery and leadership, Decision making.

  o QUEENS: Understanding, Teaching, Creativity, Persuasion, Nurturance, Intuition, Communication, Emotional awareness, Leadership through concensus.

  o KNIGHTS:  Energy, Passion, Motion towards a goal, Intention, Focus, Single-mindedness, Idealism, Vitality, Lust for Life.

  o PAGES:  Curiosity, Opening, Novelty, Hope, Trust, Growth, Innocence, Beginnings, Study, apprenticeship.

 

and my personal favorite

-  The elemental aspects of the Court Card.  The elemental aspects of the Court Cards is what finally gave me my “AHA!” moment with them:

 

  o Kings = Air

  o Queens = Water

  o Knights = Fire

  o Pages = Earth

 

So you combine the rank element with the suit element and it can give you a nice picture of the energies of the card.  It can also help you understand how they might interact or affect each other.  This is what really helps me distinguish the court card personalities.

thank you so much, @Jewel  this is also incredibly helpful. I will be referring to this for the October exchange I have with @DanielJUK

[Jewel]

1 hour ago, Onibaba said:

thank you so much, @Jewel  this is also incredibly helpful. I will be referring to this for the October exchange I have with @DanielJUK

@Onibaba glad you found this helpful.  This is how I found to make the best sense out of court cards and it has served me well.  When you look at the suit you get the general characteristics of the suit which you can apply to the position of the card and question.  Then you look at the rank and put it into context with the suit it belongs to.  Finally you look at the elemental correspondence to the rank and apply that.  Combined, it will give each court a distinct personality and feel that corresponds to the suit it is from, with other characteristics based on rank and rank element that will differentiate them from another.

Edited October 8, 2021 by Jewel

[Onibaba]

Just now, Jewel said:

@Onibaba glad you found this helpful.  This is how I found to make the best sense out of court cards and it has served me well.  When you look at the suit you get the general characteristics of the suit which you can apply to the position of the card and question.  Then you look at the rank and put it into context with the suit it belongs to.  Finally you look at the elemental correspondence to the rank and apply that.  Combined, it will give each court a personality that corresponds to the suit it is from, with other characteristics based on rank and rank element that will differentiate them from another.

it’s such an extremely well thought out and helpful method. Did you create this or was this in some book you have? Thank you again for sharing it. 

[Jewel]

35 minutes ago, Onibaba said:

it’s such an extremely well thought out and helpful method. Did you create this or was this in some book you have? Thank you again for sharing it. 

I would not say it is originally mine, it is things I have picked up in my 20+ years of working with Tarot and reading various books and posts.  The book is really good though and if you are struggling with courts I would recommend it.  I basically took pieces from different places and put them together to wrap my head around the courts and how they are similar yet very different 😜  I personally found it to be a lot better for me than to try and memorize court card interpretations.  I needed to understand how they are alike and different.  Just like numerology, combined with the suit element can help with understanding different aspects of minor cards with same numbers.  It allows me to get a grasp on the concept to understand what key words apply to a given card (court or otherwise).

Edited October 8, 2021 by Jewel

[Krislynner]

Thank you everyone for both the question and the answers you gave. I’ve been struggling with the knights and pages in particular so this was very helpful to me. 😊

[Eric13]

If anyone is still finding they are struggling with understanding individual cards, (Aren't we all!), what's bee said above is as always excellent advice. An other method could also be to invent your own spread, designating parts of your spread to specific areas of advice. This may help you to learn what the cards represent/show in your own devised spread.