Court cards... how do you read them?

[chongjasmine]

One difficulty for me in reading the tarot is the court cards.

Any insights about how you go on reading them?

[EmpyreanKnight]

I just use the most apt situational meaning like when I use any other card, except if the arrangement of the cards or my own guts tell me it stands for a person.

[Esk]

I need to learn court card more, I agree they can be difficult. But for now i usually use them as an energy i have, or should have, or shouldn't have, it depends on the reading and the position of the card. Sometimes they represent people but not often i think. But I admit sometimes I don't really know what they are or who they are.

Someone recommended to me Understanding the tarot court from Mary K Greer and Tarot court cards for beginners. Bring clarity to your readings from Leeza Robertson. I haven't found the time to look at them so i can't tell you anything about these books. But I think the Mary K Greer one is advised by many readers.

[gregory]

I've read the books and the rest. But - I use the images. Which way are they looking; what's their facial expression; where are they; what else is around them. I don't see them necessarily as representing people.

[Bodhiseed]

You might check out Ginny Hunt's blog "78 Notes to Self:"

https://78notes.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Tarot%20Court

 

Learning from her blog posts is when the courts began making sense to me. After that foundation, I could read them more intuitively.

[chowdmouse]

I am working on this topic myself- such a challenge!

 

I found this video last night. Very helpful:

(don't be put off by the voice- I think it may be someone that is just embarrassed by speaking maybe??? It is some kind of automatic voice program reading text that was written. But the information is very good. I am planning on exploring more of their videos).

 

I also have long been a fan of Daily Tarot Girl, & like her instructional videos:

 

There is of course this as well:

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/court_cards.shtml

 

 

Having these short overviews has helped me. But as always, it is so hard to remain patient when working on learning Tarot and letting the process move forward organically.  :-\ :P

[Ace]

Page seek or send messages, knight return with them and do actions.

 

Queens are friends or peers

Kings are persons in a position of authority.

 

This is not ALWAYS true, but it is a good rule of thumb to begin with.

 

barb

[Trogon]

A friend of mine had given me a link to her blog page where she talked about the Courts and how to read them. Unfortunately, I can't find the darned link now. :( However, what I do remember is the idea of it.

 

Basically, the idea was to look at each of the cards and think how they would react to seeing a dragon at the border of the Kingdom. The Page of Cups, for example might be so overcome by the beauty and majesty of the creature that, when he began spreading the message he would be moved to tears. The Knight of Wands would immediately charge off to do battle with the creature and so on. The actual gist though, was to kind of create your own short narrative for each card.

 

One of the main things I've learned about the Tarot Court Cards is that they most often appear as energies or issues or blockages or whatever. They have rarely come up representing an actual person. Though, you have to keep in mind that, even if it is "rare", the Court cards do sometimes represent an actual person. In the instances where they do signify a particular person, that person can usually be described, to one extent or another, with the attributes assigned to the card.

 

So, when studying the Courts, it is very useful to look at the characteristics of the card (stern, loving, naïve, etc.). Much of the time in readings, these things are going to be what pertains. But, when a card does seem to represent a specific person, they usually will have those characteristics.

 

Of course, that's all in very general terms and one must see how it pertains in each reading.