18. Which member of the Court can meditate for the longest?

[Ix Chel]

18. Which member of the Court can meditate for the longest?

 

This must be someone from the Cups Court, I go for the Page of Cups.

 

[Starlight]

I'd say the Queen of Cups

[Jewel]

Queen of Cups

[Guest Empathic_Cap]

Possibly the QC as she is seen as someone who uses any sort of psychic ability such as intuition.

[skywatching]

King of Cups because he would have mastered the art of meditation

[EmpyreanKnight]

Well, that court would have to be in the Cups suit. The Queen of Cups is Water of Water, the sovereign of the suit of emotions and spirituality, so for me this is her ticket. I lean towards the King of Cups too tho

[Avalon]

King of Pentacles: he does not meditate unless he wants to, but will not move once he starts.

[Thoughtful]

Queen of Cups

[Oumee]

I think each of court card can meditate for a very long time, it depends, which kind of meditation is needed.

 

O. <3 <3 <3

[Gailmonty]

Which court card can meditate for the longest?

 

I would definitely say the queen of cups. To me, she is the most intuitive and most in touch with her spiritual side. I don’t know if any of you use this method, but I learned assigning an element to each court member (page, knight, queen, king) and obviously each suit so you get a combo. The queen of cups is double water, so she could definitely vibe out in a meditation for a while 💦 

[Natural Mystic Guide]

I agree.

 

[violett-h]

First choice=QoCups

 

But, I  think that an argument could be made for the QoSwords. She is receptive and has a keen awareness (air) that is necessary for meditations where insight is important. But, could the QoSwords still her mind enough to remain in meditation? I think if she was upright- she could. The Queen of Cups would definitely be better at receiving messages through meditation but for insight, I think the Queen of Swords would be stronger if she were master of her airy side.

 

Disclaimer: Court Cards are my weakest link. Totally willing to be proved wrong!

[violett-h]

On 6/30/2023 at 10:13 AM, violett-h said:

But, I  think that an argument could be made for the QoSwords. She is receptive and has a keen awareness (air) that is necessary for meditations where insight is important.

 

Tarot synchronicity of the week...

 

So my latest book arrived. It is called Studies on the Mystical Tarot: The Court Cards by Yolanda M Robinson.

 

I was reading about the Queen of Swords and read this little gem on page 54:

 

Quote

...[this] Queen also reflects the ability to connect to the astral plane and stabilize the deep waters of the subconscious through the power of meditation.

 

Violet

[Natural Mystic Guide]

9 hours ago, violett-h said:

.[this] Queen also reflects the ability to connect to the astral plane and stabilize the deep waters of the subconscious through the power of meditation.

I love this!  Thanks for sharing.  I move back and forth between identifying with the Queen of Cups and the Queen of Swords.  I am a very balanced left brain-right brainer.  I had not thought before, though, about the Queen of Swords in terms of meditation.  Maybe that's why it is so easy for me.  My morning spiritual practice -- probably about an hour of meditating is like food for me.  I crave it.  I love it!

[violett-h]

 

Hello All!

 

3 hours ago, Natural Mystic Guide said:

I had not thought before, though, about the Queen of Swords in terms of meditation. 

 

In Eastern traditions, awareness and attention are stressed as the key to meditation practices. So, I have always linked air to meditation. That is why I often see meditation in the 4 of Swords, although many people see it in the 4 of Cups. (Do others see it in the 4 of Cups instead of or in addition to the 4 of Swords?)

 

But, to get back to the topic. Queen of Swords and Queen of Cups get my vote, although the quality and possibly the result of meditation are different. Too bad we don't have many words in English to describe "meditation." In the various Eastern schools, there are many names for various practices that in the West we give to one word- meditation.

 

3 hours ago, Natural Mystic Guide said:

Maybe that's why it is so easy for me.  My morning spiritual practice -- probably about an hour of meditating is like food for me. 

 

That is wonderful to have a practice that feeds you and is easy for you to slip into. What a blessing!

 

Violet

Edited July 11, 2023 by violett-h

[Guest]

As Water of Water, who doubly reigns over intuition and the mystical, it would have to be the Queen of Cups for me. 

[DanielJUK]

I've merged two threads together here on the same quirky court question 🙂 

[Misterei]

I say King Swords can meditate the longest. At least if he's a RWS King Swords.

As a King he has mastered his mind and has complete control of this thoughts. Including the ability to stop thinking.

His throne reaches to the heavens beyond the card which shows the unlimited and infinite nature of the higher mind.

[Aeon418]

On 7/11/2023 at 3:27 PM, violett-h said:

Too bad we don't have many words in English to describe "meditation." In the various Eastern schools, there are many names for various practices that in the West we give to one word- meditation.

 

Exactly! 

 

Some forms of meditation are object oriented with the aim of reaching a state of one-pointed awareness in which thoughts are inhibited. Maybe one of the Kings would match this kind of focused practice. But other forms of meditation involve nothing more than observing the mind in the present moment while letting thoughts go. Perhaps the Queen of Cups is a reasonable match.

 

But in the West meditation has become a catch-all term for anything and everything. This can include daydreaming and free association at one end, to merely thinking and thought chasing at the other.   

[Aeon418]

I've been giving this a little more thought. Taking my cues from the Thoth Tarot deck, I can see aspects of different kinds of meditation practice in the Cups and Swords court cards.

 

The Princess of Swords - (Page of Swords in other decks) - Earth of Air. This card could represent the initial struggles of meditation, where the mind and body seem to be at war with each other. And neither of them like the new dicipline of stillness. Regardless of how flexible you are, the body eventually becomes painful no matter what pose you assume. (Personally I use a meditation bench these days, with a cushion. What a wimp! 😄) The senses, particularly hearing, become hypersensitive and fixate on anything that disturbs the silence. The elemental correspondence of Earth of Air could point to the relationship between physical posture and states of mind, with special emphasis on the erect spine. A slouch seems to create a tendency to wander or daydream.

 

The Prince of Swords - (Knight of Swords in other decks) - Air of Air. The meditator becomes increasingly aware of how uncontrollable the mind really is. We like to believe we are in control of our minds. But none of us can predict the next thought we are going to have or say where it came from. Air of Air points to the importance of the breath on the mind. Regulating the breath calms the mind. And in deep meditative absorption on the breath, the ceaseless chariot of the mind may appear to stop altogether.

 

The Queen of Swords - Water of Air. The poise and stability attained through regular practice, along with increased ability to bring the mind back to the object of meditation by cutting off the heads of intruding thoughts as they rise into consciousness.

 

The Knight of Swords - (King of Swords in other decks) - Fire of Air. The subject and object of meditation becoming increasingly identified with each other, until dualistic perception is consumed by the Fires of unity. Attainment of Dhyana or even Samadhi.

 

Quote

Book 4 - Aleister Crowley: "In the course of our concentration we noticed that the contents of the mind at any moment consisted of two things, and no more: the Object, variable, and the Subject, invariable, or apparently so. By success in Dharana the object has been made as invariable as the subject.

Now the result of this is that the two become one. This phenomenon usually comes as a tremendous shock. It is indescribable even by the masters of language; and it is therefore not surprising that semi-educated stutterers wallow in oceans of gush.

All the poetic faculties and all the emotional faculties are thrown into a sort of ecstasy by an occurrence which overthrows the mind, and makes the rest of life seem absolutely worthless in comparison."

 

The suit of Cups seems to represent a more quietist meditation practice. Maybe something similar to Zazen as practiced by the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism, where they just sit in a meditation posture (usually the full Lotus) and simply observe the mind, thoughts, and shifting mental states, without attachment. This may sound easy, but it's not. There's no breath work or meditative object to focus the mind. The simplicity of the practice makes it very difficult. A lake of still water in which nothing reflects is the exact opposite of our busy and complicated minds. Paradoxically, this practice leads to the same place reached by the Swords Courts above, it is just a different approach to the same problem. But being Water, this way can be a very, very slow path. (Particularly outside the artificial "hot housing" of monastic practice.)

 

Princess of Cups - (Page of Cups in other decks) - Earth of Water. Daydreaming and mind wandering. The constant formation of mental imagery, usually rooted in disturbed bodily states. Intense boredom and a longing to escape from the practice. A desire for distraction.

 

Prince of Cups - (Knight of Cups in other decks) - Air of Water. The appearance of buried, repressed, or dark psychological material rising into conscious awareness. This needs to be observed and accepted for what it is. Any desire to become involved with or push away this material has to be recognised as a form of attachment. Simply let it be what it is without wishing to change it, and let it go.

 

Queen of Cups - Water of Water. Increasing stillness and non-attachment to the contents of the mind. Thoughts, because they are not held onto, no longer disturb the still waters of consciousness. Self becomes increasingly identified with the still water in the realization of non-self.

 

Knight of Cups - (King of Cups in other decks) - Fire of Water. The very embodiment of Water in action. He bears the Grail. Like water it has purpose and direction in the way it always finds its own level. But also water accepts all and works around any obstacle. Being liberated from self, he has become the Way of the Tao.

 

Quote

Aleister Crowley - Tao Te Ching: CHAPTER VIII - THE NATURE OF PEACE.

 

1. Admire thou the High Way of Water! Is not Water the soul of the life of things, whereby they change? Yet it seeketh its level, and abideth content in obscurity. So also it resembleth the Tao, in this Way thereof!

2. The virtue of a house is to be well-placed; of the mind, to be at ease in silence as of Space; of societies, to be well-disposed; of governments, to maintain quietude; of work, to be skillfully performed; and of all motion, to be made at the right time.

3. Also it is the virtue of a man to abide in his place without discontent; thus offendeth he no man.

 

There is a third way. - the way of Magick. Which could be described as active meditation that harnesses the physical body and the senses (Courts of Disks/Pentacles) to focus and enflame (Courts of Wands) the consciousness into a state of self-transcendence. Although it's probably closer in its methodology to Shamanism and is not quite what most people think of as meditation. But the end goal is still the same.     

Edited March 21, 2024 by Aeon418
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