A Modest Proposal For Renaming the Court Cards

[Shaira]

Last night just as I was drifting off to sleep, my brain decided to gift me with the new names for the court cards that I've been groping towards over the past two weeks. 

 

My impetus has been the correspondences between the court cards on the one hand and the Tetragrammaton and the Four Realms on the other. I've been working from the Golden Dawn / Thoth reorganisation of the court card hierarchy, to whit: 

 

1. The KNIGHT is the fiery Yod in Atziluth, the Realm of Emanation.

2. The QUEEN is the watery Heh in Briah, the Realm of Creation.

3. The KING is the airy Vau in Yetzirah, the Realm of Formation. 

4. The PAGE is the earthy Heh in Assiah, the Realm of Manifestation.

 

I'm working from the assumption that this was the esoteric configuration behind Waite's work on the RWS deck, despite the fact that he decided to depict the exoteric config of King > Queen > Knight > Page. 

 

As I've done a deeper study of the court cards this month, I've realised I've been trying to find better names or titles for these roles. Once you fold in the GD / Thoth titles like Prince and Princess, plus the plethora of alternatives in other RWS and other decks, and of course the Liber T / GD titles for the courts, it all gets a bit crowded and even confusing. 

 

Last week I provisionally came up with the following titles, in addition to the existing ones:

 

1. Yod in Atziluth: The Questing Conqueror in His Riotous Youth. This is the Knight on Horseback. Examples: Alexander the Great, Sir Lancelot. 
2. Heh in Briah: The Mother of the Realm, For Whom We Seek Glory. This is the Queen. Examples: Guinevere the Queen, Catherine the Great, Queen Victoria. 
3. Vau in Yetzirah: The Ruler Who Rules From His Palace. This is the King on his Throne or Chariot. Examples: The Mature King Arthur, the Older Charlemagne. 
4. Heh in Assiah: The Innocent Young Princess, Beloved of the People. This is the Page. Examples: Guinevere the Princess or Young Queen, Lady Diana.

 

But they were still all a bit wordy, one-sided, and not where I wanted to be. 

 

So, last night. 🙂 

 

Here's what my brain suggested. 

 

1. THE CHAMPION. Yod in Atziluth. The fiery, energetic rider in the Realm of Emanation, the questing conqueror in his riotous youth. Alexander the Great, the younger Napoleon, Sir Lancelot, the young Peter the Great, Lawrence of Arabia, the young Tokugawa. He's out there in the world, fighting and questing for the glory of his element, representing it and spreading it in the world. The Champion of Wands, the Champion of Cups, etc.
2. THE QUEEN. Heh in Briah. The watery, emotional mother in the Realm of Creation, who fills our hearts with pride and passion and drives us to seek glory ourselves. Guinevere the Queen, Catherine the Great, Queen Victoria, Elizabeth the First. The Queen of Pentacles, the Queen of Swords, etc. 
3. THE STEWARD. Vau in Yetzirah. The airy, strategising guardian in the Realm of Formation, who commands the world of his element from his throne in his palace. He leads, he plans, he gathers armies and agents and sends them out into the world. The Mature King Arthur, the Older Charlemagne, the Tokugawa Shoguns. The Steward of Pentacles, the Steward of Wands, etc. 
4. THE HERALD. Heh in Assiah. The earthy element-bearer, who announces the power of the element (the Ace) to the material world with confident authority. She is the spark of Atziluth in Assiah. Guinevere the Princess, the Young Boudicca, Lady Diana. The Herald of Cups, the Herald of Swords, etc. 

 

I'm feeling quite positive about these names. If I was putting together my own tarot, I think I'd use these instead of the traditional names for the court cards, all the while keeping the trad symbolism and significance. I'm going to explore the ramifications a little more. What I particularly like here is that there isn't a hierarchy of precedence, but instead a clear area of control, interest, and power. The new names are evocative, but also, IMHO, really start to triangulate in on the roles the courts are playing. 

 

Please let me know your thoughts!

 

Blessed be,

 

Sarah 

 

 

[Shaira]

Here's a quick proof-of-concept of the HERALD OF WANDS. I've gone for a more red colouration than the Radiant Wise Spirit original, and need to add a few more salamanders. It also needs a lot more polish, but I think the concept is clear. I'm wondering whether to keep the card this clean - I kind of love that about the RWS in general - or whether to increase the symbolic content. Also a question is whether I try and keep the courts as basically alt-cards for my own Radiant Wise Spirit deck, or whether I just go crazy and try and do a new alt-deck completely. That may be wayyyy too much work!