Understanding the Tarot Court [Paperback]

Two esteemed Tarot scholars unmask the court cards with details not found in any other book. Discover your significator and your nemesis. Compare the differences among the cards in well-known decks. Match the court cards with the zodiac signs, the Myers-Briggs personality types, and the Jungian archetypes. Learn a variety of spreads that reveal childhood issues, career destiny, and a storytelling spread to spark the creative writing process.

Suit and Rank It is important to get to know the basic court figures and the terms we will be using for them in this book. The minor arcana cards are divided into four suits that usually correspond to the four elements. The court cards are divided into four ranks, originally indicating a relative position in society. The result is a 4 x 4 matrix of sixteen cards. However, the names, correspondences, and characteristics of suit and rank vary greatly from deck to deck. In some decks, especially pagan-oriented ones, wands (or batons) are associated with the element of air, while swords are fire. In the Brotherhood of Light Egyptian Tarot, coins (pentacles) are air, wands are earth, and swords are fire. There are even a few rare decks where cups are air, and swords are water. This book will use the most common system, in which wands are fire and swords air, as its default, without intending for it to be seen as the only or best system. Feel free to use whatever elemental system you prefer.

Suits / Elements

wands / fire The suit of wands is also known as batons, staves, rods, scepters, or clubs. Its element is fire, and it represents the desire for growth, and subsequently signifies: the inspiration that moves things, the desire that leads the way, the future- oriented aspiration that initiates action.Wands have a purpose behind every action, and find value primarily in the meaning of an experience while lacking appreciation for the form.Wands indicate the desire for self-growth and creativity. They want to expand awareness, as well as set everything on fire with their enthusiasm. When you get a wands card, you might want to ask yourself:What has fired your interest? Do you have a burning desire to do something? Are you feeling burned out? Are you seeing red? What is erupting within you? Wands generally signify: Projects Innovation Risk Energy Taking action Self-growth Spirit Inspiration Thesis Creativity Initiation Enthusiasm Desire Passion Perception Action Movement Optimismcups / water

The suit of cups is also known as chalices, vessels, bowls, containers, or hearts. Its element is water, and water takes the form of whatever it flows into. Therefore cups are amiable but, at the same time, diffused. Cups represent going with the flow and seeking to merge. They receive the impulse from the fiery wands and respond to it. They represent love, relationship, and imagination, and provide nurturance and a sense of connectedness. Cups can open you to your inner feelings and the connections you have with others. Choices at this level seem instinctual. When you...(Continues)