Here’s looking at you, Court

Published by Alison Cross on

Honestly, I’m wearing a battered fedora and the smoke from a cigarette drifts nonchalantly from the corner of my mouth as I utter those words to you.  Look *points to Ingrid Bergman in the corner*.

This post has got nothing to do with fedoras, fags or Casablanca.  It’s about the courts.  Of course.

I find that working with the direction that a Court Card is facing can yield some interesting interpretative options to your Tarot readings.

Here are a couple of random samples from the DruidCraft’s court:

The Queen of Wands doesn’t seem in the least perturbed by the galloping of her Prince (the equivalent of the more usual Knight) towards her at a great rate of knots.  He is moving towards her – so for me he’s riding home.

Maybe he’s having difficulty breaking the familial bonds with his mother?

Swap ’em about and you still have the Queen not looking terribly bothered about her offspring, but now we have him riding off,  away from her.  The bonds are broken, he’s away to do his own thang – possibly helped by a swift point in his horse’s rump by his mother’s Wand?!

In the second example, we have the dreamy Prince of Cups holding his golden chalice aloft, towards the Princess of Pentacles.  It looks as if he is raising his glass in a toast to her.  But the little Princess is completely focussed on her Pentacle.  She’s got no time for dreamy boys.  Yet.

Switch them around, now they are standing back to back.  Is he her protector, her defender? Does his presence allow her the freedom to be a child a little longer?

Mix the pairings up.  Now we have the Prince of Wands riding slap bang into the back of the little Princess.  This guy could seriously do her a damage – she’s no idea that he is bearing down.  Her Princely protector is gone….. it feels like there is going to be the most awful crash, and the innocence of the little Princess may be lost!

In the other pairing, the Prince of Cups is now looking at our somewhat detached Queen of Wands.  He offers up his Chalice and she offers up her Wand.  Although she doesn’t look at him, I get the feeling that she won’t exactly send him off with his tail between his legs if he comes a knocking on her bedroom door at night!

The Courts don’t even have to be looking at another Court for this technique to add a little more colour to your readings.  What do you think? Give it a try and let me know how you get along!


Alison Cross

The Tarot's Court Cards are my specialist area.Β  They talk to me. Not LITERALLY though ....

1 Comment

Inner Whispers · 28th January 2013 at 4:38 pm

Hee hee, nope, she won't send that romantic young Cups Prince off with nothing to show for his wooing πŸ˜‰ Always love this exercise, such fun!

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