Tarot Thrones | The Court Card Blog

Category: Uncategorised

  • Significators | Astrology | The need for a lie down….

    So now we roll on to the Golden Dawn’s allocation of Court Cards to the zodiac.

    Reader, I wrote this post about half a dozen times, every time it ended up utterly turgid and soooo boring I thought I might have to post you out a couple of match-sticks to prop your eyelids open and assault you with this *brandishes hat pin* just to make sure you are awake.

    First of all, it’s bad news again for the Pages; there’s still no room at the Astrological Inn for them with this system either.

    BUT – you will be pleased to know that I’ve abandoned all that earnest writing in favour of a drawing!  OK, it’s not the BEST drawing, but it does show the Golden Dawn’s zodiac choices.  I even added some seasonal trees to tart it up a bit for you.  You’re welcome.

    TADAAAAH!!!!
    (*sssh* ignore the fact that I almost spelled my blog’s name wrong)

    First of all, let’s look at the outer wheel which is marked by lots of tiny strokes. like the teeth on a wheel There’s 360 of them to be exact.  Degrees.  They’re called degrees. This works out quite nicely to 30 degrees per astrological sign.  I marked the outer ring accordingly.

    The next ring shows the 12 zodiac signs – well, my hand-drawn glyphs.  Apologies – they are tricker to doodle than you might think.

    The inner ring has the Kings, Queens and Knights of the Tarot Court.  The Wands are written in a nice fiery orange, the Swords in truthful black, the Cups in watery blue and the Pentacles in green.  I *know* – SO organised.

    You will see that each card does not line up exactly with each zodiac sign.  Irritating.  AND what is stranger is that they aren’t matched up like the previous system AT ALL (ie Wands = Fire Signs).

    Why is this?

    Well, the long and the short of it is that the Golden Dawners recognised that people are not quite the exact fit for each traditional astrological definition. So in a huge elemental mash-up, they offset each court card, preventing it from ‘owning’ a zodiac sign by 10 degrees.  This is called a decan. I think this overlap gives the whole thing a sort of strength of structure, like the bricks in a wall.  Just me?

    Those Golden Dawn smarty-pants DID allocate Major Arcana cards to each zodiac sign; I guess it prevents any direct equation between a Court and a Major.  I left them off this diagram – just to keep the confusion down to a dull roar 😉

    How did they arrive at these card/sign allocations?

    The easy answer would be to say that I have no idea, shrug my shoulders and just move swiftly onwards, but the truth is, they did it using the concept of Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable signs.  *flourishes the hat pin* Do I need to use this yet?

    Astrological signs with Cardinal attributes were allocated largely to the Queens.  The word itself derives from the Latin word for hinge, and, as you can see by the red dotted axis (axes, axii?!)  the Queen straddles the months that mark the changing of the seasons (The Solstices and the Equinox)

    Mutable signs were allocated to the Kings.  They fall at the end of the season, diminishing in strength.  Very Golden Dawn.  Honestly 😉

    In the middle are the Fixed signs, the attributes were allocated to the Knights.  They are reckoned to be the strongest, purest forms because the Knight is the child of the King and Queen. 

    Around the edge of the inner circle, I have marked the Cardinals in red, the Mutables in yellow and the Fixed in day-glo orange ( a mixture of red and yellow, just like the Knight is a mixture of his Mother and Father!)  It’s almost like I planned it 🙂

    And THAT is how the Golden Dawn allocate their Court Cards astrologically.

    And now I am off for a lie down in a darkened room.

  • Significators | How to choose ’em | Part 1

    I don’t care how nice your hat is, there’s
    nothing for you here, Sonny.
    Keep walking….

    One of the most popular ways to establish a Significator for your sitter is to ask them what their Birth Sign is (or Sun Sign) because, heck, even the Blackest Doubter knows their Sun Sign.

    Back in the day, the 12 astrological signs were allocated by the Great and The Good (or at least the Heavily Robed) to the Court Cards.

    What’s that I hear you say? There are 16 Court Cards and only 12 Astrological signs (13 if you count the ‘new’ sign of Ophiuchus).  Well, it was decided (probably by Committee – and you know how THAT tends to turn out) that you could get around this anomally by leaving the Pages out of the equation all together.


    The reasons for this are complicated and, dare I say, contrived? Basically, the Pages don’t get any astrological real-estate because they are too young and immature. Now, I don’t know about you, but that all sounds to me like trying to ram a square peg into a round hole by being clever enough to cut the corners off using lots of Esoteric fancy footwork.

    Or maybe I’m just not smart enough to ‘get’ it yet.  Tarot is, after all, a never-ending learning process and I know I’ve still got a very long way to go. *hopes that the Golden Dawners don’t take out a Fatwah against me face*

    Aaaaanyway, just take my word for it – the Pages aren’t included in the Astrology/Tarot system.

    So what does that leave us with? Four types of sign – Earth, Air, Fire and Water… and four Tarot suits. And three astrological signs in each category to accord with the three *cough* Court Cards in each suit!

    Just a quick reminder:

    Wands = Fire
    Swords = Air
    Cups = Water
    Pentacles = Earth

    Some people switch Swords and Wands associations around though. And just to confuse matters, the Astrological signs are allocated in different ways according to different decks.  Here is a handy set for you to refer to:

    King of Wands – Aries
    Queen of Wands – Leo
    Knight of Wands – Sagittarius

    King of Swords – Gemini
    Queen of Swords – Libra
    Knight of Swords – Aquarius

    King of Cups – Cancer
    Queen of Cups – Scorpio
    Knight of Cups – Pisces

    King of Pentacles – Taurus
    Queen of Pentacles – Virgo
    Knight of Pentacles – Capricorn

    You might not agree with these associations –  Maybe you think that The King of Wands is Sagittarius and the Knight is Aries? I’d love to hear how you allocate them.

    The key thing is – find something that works FOR YOU and stick with it!

    I’d love to know what advantages or disadvantages you can see with this particular method of selecting a Significator.

    And just WAIT till you see how the Golden Dawn allocates them…. 🙂

  • Significators: Why bother?

    Queen of Cups
    Morgan Greer Tarot
    published by US GAmes Systems Inc

    Court Cards can perform a specific function within a Tarot reading; the role of Significator.

    A Significator is a card that is deliberately chosen to represent the sitter.  There many different ways to select a Significator, so I’ve decided to break down the various methods of selection into next week’s blog postings.

    Note that I say ‘CAN’ have a specific function: Not everyone bothers with a Significator card these days.  Regardless of your method of choice, if you deliberately select a card to act as the sitter, then you immediately preclude that card from turning up within the reading itself.  That grates on the sensibilities of many Tarotists who would prefer to have ALL the cards at their disposal.


    It’s a perfectly valid reason not to bother with a Significator, but it’s simple to get round that particular bugbear – just use a different set of Court Cards to those in the deck you are working with.  This will ensure you have ALL court cards at your disposal for the reading itself – as well as allowing you to work with your favourite courts.

    It could even give new purpose to a damaged deck that is currently lying unused and unloved in a drawer – use the courts solely for significator selection?  It’s an idea, what do you think?

    There are some fantastic spreads that depend upon the use of a Significator, namely the Golden Dawn’s Opening Of The Key spread, which we will look at in a subsequent blog posting too.  Jeez, we’re going to be busy!

    Other people simply don’t bother with a significator because they regard it as just a pile of old-fashioned toot.  Well, that’s fine too.  It’s what I used to think 🙂

    But now I have seen the light, dear reader *pauses for a couple of ‘Hallelujahs’ and ‘Amens’*

    I’ve found that using a Court Card as a significator really helps me get in The Zone for the reading.  With a court chosen to represent my sitter, we jump through the looking glass from this world and enter the world of the Tarot cards: The sitter, as Significator, becomes part of the reading.

    I know.  VERRRRRRRY hippy-trippy 🙂

    So, tell me – do YOU use a Significator or not?  I’ve put up a little poll over there on the right hand side of m’blog.  Vote if you’ve got the inclination and time!

  • Toodle pip to the Page of Cups

    I spent most of last week in Edinburgh, being dragged like a sulky teenager from exhibition to exhibition as my partner and son dabbled excitedly in the Black Arts of science: It was all dancing robots, LEGO mindstorms computer-assisted robots and, frankly, a lot of red wine and convenience foods.

    Science exhibitions are FINE, but add horizontal sleet that numbed your cheekbones and made your eyeballs stop turning in their sockets and gale-force winds that actually blows your bedroom window open, I have to confess, I’ve been happier visiting the dentist.

    This character was greatly in evidence as I used every bit of my imaginative willpower to pep-talk myself in the bathroom mirror in the morning so that I appeared jolly and up-for-it for ANOTHER science themed day.  By the time Friday’s full moon came around, I was finding it all a bit wearing and was desperate to get home to my normal routine.

    It is with relief that I note the influence of the Page of Cups is now ebbing until the dark moon.  This particular porcelain-faced and rather androgenous Page is set against a featureless white background and comes from the Aquarian Tarot, published by US Games Systems and created by David Palladini.

    This deck positively oozes the Biba-esque Art Deco design  that was so popular in the early 70s (first published in 1970 and subsequently reprinted).  The image consists of a Page in an over-the-top hat that would be well-suited to Ladies Day at Ascot, a fish in a Cup and a couple of red tulips.

    Red tulips are associated with declarations of love, like roses are.  Only less expensive. And less thorny.

    The Page of Cups is Earth (because he’s a Page) and Water (Cups) and indicates a fertile mix of creative juices.  A fish in a cup?! That’s entirely normal to the imaginative Page of Cups.

    Sadly, he’s on the way out now – butI really did make use of him in Edinburgh!

    I am quite sorry to see him go – even though it was quite exhausting dreaming up new things to do as a family every day, putting a smiley face on when the ceilings in the flat we had rented started leaking in every room,  gamely recreating the Edinburgh street map in my head because hubby had left it lying on the table at home….

    His creative powers will be missed; his ability to find something marvellous in just about everything is enviable.  BUT, by Jingo, it is TIRING being the Page of Cups when all you want to do is lie on the sofa snacking on a Crunchie whilst leafing through a magazine….listening to the bad weather howling at the windows….

    What do YOU think the Page of Cups might mean for YOU over the next week or so?

    Hey – don’t forget about The Giveaway!!!

  • Competition Time!!!

    Well, not really a competition, more of a give-away to be honest!

    I’ve got a copy of the perennially popular Robin Wood Tarot to give away!

    Although the box has been opened, the deck inside is still shrink-wrapped.  It is a duplicate of a deck that I already own (the curse of browsing Amazon’s Tarot stock with a glass of red wine in one hand and the mouse in the other lol!).

    I’m happy to post it to a new home, anywhere in the world!

    To stand a chance of winning, all you have to do is click to become a follower (yes, existing followers will be included in the draw!) and also to comment on one of the blog posts that I’ve made here.

    Any comment made on any blog post from Wednesday 4 April will count towards winning.

    Give away closes on 30 April.

    So – if you like the blog, comment on a blog post – The Robin Wood Tarot could be yours!

  • Game of Thrones. The OTHER one.

    Tyrion Lannister.  Yes, I would.

    Tonight wild horses will not be able to tear me away from the telly (nor will a naked Hugh Jackman reclining on a king-sized bed and brandishing a large jar of warmed honey).  No, nothing will be able to tempt me away from Sky Atlantic because TONIGHT, in the UK, A Game of Thrones returns to our screens!!!!

    I luffed the first series 11/10 and still mourn Ned Stark *waggles black armband*

    So, here’s my question for today…..Which family in A Game of Thrones equates to which Tarot family?


    I asked this on Facebook waaaaaaay back in Season 1 and I didn’t get a single reply  *dashes tears away on sleeve*…. so I’m hoping that throwing down the gautlet (leather, trimmed with gold, lined in some rare animal skin – very Lannister :-)) will yield some kind of result *hopeful face*

    Do the Starks in the North equate to Pentacles (north, winter, midnight, earth)? Do the golden-haired Lannisters equate to the worst excesses Cups (incest, power struggles, nice clothes), and the Dragon-charming Targaryan queen who survives fire unharmed does she represent the Wands?

    What about the Watch who live in the frozen north, guarding the whole realm with their austere fur-clad existence? Are they the Swords? Or are they all Knights?

    One thing is for sure.  I am delighted that it has returned.

    Now excuse me, I must go and check to see whether Hugh is prepared to warm up the honey again in the microwave after the show has finished…..

    ***UPDATE – We are in Edinburgh for a few days and the flat turned out NOT to have Sky Atlantic. I am currently sitting in a corner, weeping and gently banging my head off the wall. No Sky Atlantic = No Game of Thrones.  Will have to watch on Catch Up service. I am grumpier than Tyrion Lannister denied access to a brothel ***

  • One Singer | One Song | Which Court?

    Something to ease you into the weekend….
    At last!  I have moved forward in time MUSICALLY – at least to the late 70s when the only good thing to come out of Northern Ireland (or Norn Irn as we like to call it) was the glory that was The Undertones.  Ah, takes me back to the days when crimpolene WAS fashion 😀 
    My Perfect Cousin perfectly encapsulates that indignant feeling of being Not Good Enough in comparison to someone else.  Someone whom YOU consider to be a real dipstick.
    With his fur-lined sheepskin jacket, his penchant for University Challenge – just which court card might this icon of perfection be? According to his disaffected cousin, at any rate!

    And who is the cousin who balks at the unfair comparisons?

    Hope you have a lovely weekend – see you Monday!

  • Scoooby-dooooobie-doooooo!

    Say hello to the intrepid team who busted ghosts (and it was NEVER a ghost, usually some care-taker who would have gotten away with it too if it hand’t been for those pesky kids)

    But who are they? Velma with her insightful logic, the laid-back hippy Shaggy, Scooby-doo who is scared of everything but who still manages to catch the villains, Daphne with her….well, whatever it was that Daphne contributed to the gig, and Fred who single-handedly turned the butch neckerchief of the cowboy into the gayest bit of clothing that the 70s ever witnessed.

    …and what about the interminably irritating Scrappy Doo?  The Jar Jar Binks of the Scooby gang…..

    Which court cards would you associate with each character and why?

  • Meet the Swords!

    So far we’ve met the Wands family and today it’s the turn of the Swords – which is entirely appropriate given the recent Spring Equinox.  As with the Wands, I find that taking a look at the rest of the Swords realm gives me good clues as to what I can expect from the ruling family.

    Decision, Frustration, self-limiting beliefs, grief, thought, mental agility, drama queen behaviour, honesty

    In my system, Swords are associated with:

    Air
    Spring Equinox
    Dawn
    Mental faculties/communication
    East

    Other systems are available, so just find one that works for you and stick with it!

                   

    The first thing that I notice about these two cards is the wind lifting their clothing and hair.  Their thrones are quite plain – which suits them, they’re plain-speaking sort of people. Behind them both we have a sky unfolding into a bright, but cloudy dawn.  The landscape that they sit in is harsh, with little in the way of greenery to take the hard edge off.  The Queen at least sits by a distant tree – but it looks gnarled by the wind at best or bonsai-ed to tiny, clipped perfection by the Queen’s blade.

    Neither of the two of them looks much like fun.

    The King engages with us, looking out directly, but the Queen faces off to the right, her eyes downcast, focusing on the blade in her hand.  She is barefoot – on stone – her feet will be cold; she feels austere, distant.  She looks self-contained.  What do you think her positioning with her back to her Consort means.  Even if you place them the other way around, she is still not engaged with him, her gaze is elsewhere.

    The King of Swords is Fire of Air – a productive mingling of elements that means he is well-suited to his Kingly role – able to take action, but more importantly, able to think through the ramifications of his actions before he steps away from his throne. But left unattended – air and fire can rage out of hand! He’s not got great emotional input into what he does – he’s hard on others, and hard on himself too.

    The Queen is Water of Air – another blending of elements that show that her emotional base and her thoughts are quite congruent (think of air and water coming together to make bubbles!) Although she doesn’t look it, there IS an effervescence about the Queen of Swords.  Witty and clued-up, she’s ideal company at a party.  Just watch out that she doesn’t get too handy with that little blade though – her honesty can be cutting.

    Traditionally, she is associated with a woman on her own.  Not necessarily a widow or divorcee.  One can be married and feel quite alone too.

    They both seem older than the Wands – the King with his high forehead (receding hair?!) and the Queen with her beautiful grey locks.

    What about the Juniors?

    The Prince of Swords is not on a hilltop like his parents – therefore he’s not got the same breadth of vision as they do.  Look at the Wind in this card!  The grass is blown flat, his cloak flies out behind him.  This character is Air of Air – with no other elements to moderate him.  He’s someone whose thoughts are still being formed and as a result, he flies about – latching on to one thing only to discard it when he learns something else.  Consistency is not his strong point!

    Although his parents have their swords drawn, neither of the two of them look much like they are going to give you a jab.  Not so the Prince of Swords – shield up, sword out, riding to the attack.  He has much in common with the Prince of Wands – both rattle into action at the drop of a hat – but whereas the Prince of Wands is motivated by the thrill of the chase, the Prince of Swords is motivated by what he believes is right or wrong.  Trouble is, he’s not always right about what he thinks is wrong!

    The most junior member of the clan is the Princess of Swords.  Again, a lot of wind in this card! The Princess’s robes are whipped almost to shreds by the wind blowing around her.  Like her mother, she stands barefoot, but unlike her mother, her stony surroundings are tempered into softness by the beauty of spring blossom.

    As far as elemental associations go, the Princess of Swords has the most trouble – she’s Earth of Air.  Look how she winds a green ribbon (earth) around her blade (air).  That’s just going to get ripped to bits!  Still, she’s got to learn…..also, she might want to think about how she’s holding her sword – that’s going to be a lot worse than a paper cut!

    Blessed with a quick mind, The Princess is also shackled to a slow experiential curve.  She’s keen to learn a lot of things, but it will take time to put them into practise – this can manifest as frustration, bad temper, and a tendancy to gossip…and shredded ribbons 🙂

    What do you think about the Swords?

    The Sword family are provided courtesy of the DruidCraft Tarot.  Published by Eddison Sadd (Connections). Artwork Will Worthington and words by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm.

  • Hello Kitty! Welcome to the Pointy Page

    Yesterday afternoon, the moon entered its New phase, so I drew a card to see whose qualities I should be embracing from now to the Full Moon on the 6th of April. I drew the Page of Swords from the Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot by Karen Mahoney and Alex Ukolov at Magic Realist Press.  I seem to be interacting a LOT with the Page of Swords on this blog lol!

    The Page stands alert on the pathway in what looks to be a grand garden.  Poised for a duel, he holds his sword aloft. 

    But he’s not duelling with us, the viewer – there’s a Red Admiral butterfly that looks like it will be on the receiving end of the Page’s blade – so this Page is quick witted if he can fence a butterfly!

    Maybe he doesn’t intend to hurt the butterfly at all – you can’t see the tip of his blade in the image – for me that signifies that he’s not going to hurt anyone – but he can go through the motions and probably be quite a pain in the neck (or wings!) for the poor creature.  The Page of Swords can be an irritant – bit whiny, a bit of a clype as we say in Scotland!  OK – I’ll be trying to avoid THOSE particular traits lol!

    Cats like to tease and toy with their ‘catch’ and that’s perfectly suited to the Page of Swords!

    Pages often stand for messages – possibly from your inner child or a part of you that feels stultified in some way.  For me the Page of Swords is appearing here as a timely reminder to let my head have a bit of fun.

    Swords like fair play and justice – and so do I – and this sometimes means that I wade in and try to help other people with their issues.  Maybe it’s time to step back, not take things too seriously, have a bit of fun – like my clever and quick-witted little companion here!

    Have an excellent weekend – and if you have a couple of minutes, why not tell me what the Page of Swords mean to you?