Tarot Thrones | The Court Card Blog

Tag: Alexander Daniloff

  • Princess Charlotte | Court Card

    Princess Charlotte | King of Pentacles
    Also, looks like her brother, George!

    I was so caught up in Naked Gardening Day on 2 May that I almost completely over-looked a new arrival in the Windsor stable.

    Yes! A Spare has been born to keep young George (the heir) on his toes.

    Both parents looked relaxed as they emerged from hospital clutching a tiny well-wrapped bundle.  Who knitted that wee hat? that’s what we all want to know….

    So what lies ahead Court Card wise for Princess Charlotte (as she has just been named)?

    Being born on 2 May puts her firmly in the camp of Taurus – none of this ‘cusp’ stuff that Boy George has to cope with.

    No, for Princess Charlotte, the King of Pentacles is going to be her guiding light.

    As Fire of Earth, the King of Pentacles tells us that little Charlotte is going to be a hugely practical little gal – think of the practically creative power of Fire and Earth together.  She will be very hands-on in her approach.

    Does this mean that she’s not going to be terribly well-developed in the Smarts department? Well, it could mean that she’s not particularly attracted to book-learning, but there are many different kinds of Smarts and to be a King of Pentacles, you’ve got to be good with money and a practical problem-solver to become a success.  Will she be generous? Let’s hope so.

    I think that she might take after Princess Anne and her daughter, Zara Philips – fantastic horse-women and down to earth characters.

    I’m hoping that she doesn’t have Princess Anne hair though.  *high fives fellow fluffy hair-sufferers* May she have her mother’s tumbling dark mane!

    The King of Pentacles walks confidently through the world, attracting wealth and material success as he goes.  Will the little Princess exhibit the stubborn wilfulness inherent in Taurus? I hope not or tantrums could make her parents’ life difficult.  Or the nanny’s life difficult.  Take your pick.

    Although she’ll be dressed in all manner of pretty things, I’m confident that Princess Charlotte will lose no time in making it crystal clear that if she WANTS to attend a parade dressed in a Celtic away strip and a Barbie cape, she jolly well WILL ….

    Stand by for rows about tattoos, piercings and yoga!  The last word on anything will have to be hers!

  • Full Moon | May | Scorpio | The King of Cups

    Today the full moon lights up the astrological sign of Scorpio.  This means that the Court Card energy we are looking at belongs to the King of Cups.

    This chap is regarded as the most diplomatic of the Kings.  In touch with his emotional centre, but not governed by it, the King of Cups understands other people’s points of view but (if he’s at the top of his game!) is not caught up in the drama of it all.

    He is compassionate and empathetic and so his challenge is to hold those feelings and still be able to take action.

    For example:  The King of Cups loathes cruelty.  His challenge is to see it and not be rendered immobile by it.  He must still take action.  This is what makes him such an excellent social worker or counsellor.

    The King of Cups calls you to:

    Listen to the other person’s point of view, with the intention of truly understanding them.

    If there is any sort of crisis or upset today, you are called to respond with empathy and consideration… and ACTION.

    How is he showing up in your life today?

  • Full Moon | March | Virgo

    It’s that time of the month again, when the moon becomes full and we turn our attentions to the Court Card that bathes in its glorious light!  Yes, on 5 March, our Full Moon rides again!
    This month, the sun sign is Pisces and so our full moon lands in the opposite sign, Virgo.

    In Tarot, Virgo is represented by the Knight of Pentacles.


    I’ve saddled up a small collection of Knights for you to peruse.  Feel free to run your hands lovingly over their fetlocks…

    Consider first the Knight of Pentacles from the Alexander Daniloff Tarot.

    In warm shades of russet and gold, he proudly sports an enormous hat and announces that he is an Earth sign by gently holding his coin like a trophy against his torso.

    He carries no weapon, just a money bag at his belt.  His only concession to his military rank is his shield and his helmet.  Items purely for defence.

    Let’s take another look at that hat.  It would not look out of place on the redoubtable Dowager Countess of Grantham:

    It features some outstanding feathers – reminding us that Knights have an airy and unpredictable component.  However, when married to the solidness of Earth, they don’t sit comfortably together.

    He can find his Knightly duties a little tough: He is called to be adventurous and an explorer, but he’d really rather do his exploring a little closer to home.  ‘Why try to conquer outer space when we have not yet understood our oceans?’ thinks this Knight.

    In the Druidcraft we see him, almost shy, peeping over his shield as he rests his sword arm on his horse’s flank.  He’s in no rush to go anywhere.

    He is slow to anger or rouse to passion, but once his heart is engaged, he will not be swayed from his course.  He represents dogged determination and slow but steady progress.

    Of all the Knights that might set off looking for you, the Knight of Pentacles is the guy that WILL find you.  Yes, long after the Knights of Wands and Swords have galloped off on a new quest, long after the Knight of Cups rededicates his ballad to another fair maiden, no matter how long it takes, he’ll be there.

    In Lo Scarabeo’s The Tarot of The Masters, his keyword is ‘Responsibility’.

    The Knight of Pentacles can be a frustrated character – someone who longs to travel, but who is somehow prevented from doing so, either by home commitments, lack of finances or even health issues.

    Or he might be someone far from home who longs for the delights of her own fireside.

    This character is stubborn, the least flexible of the Knights, practical and single-minded in a way that the other, more exciting Knights are not.

    He directs us to:

    • Take on an adventure – even a tiny one!
    • Follow one project through to the end!
    • Explore new ways to make your money work harder (but not high risk!)
    • Try a new type of exercise – nothing too fast-moving!

    Sorry that it’s been a whole MONTH since I last posted.  I am still here reading and writing like mad.  I’m hoping that you’ll still drop by Thrones for a comfy chair and a coffee.  Maybe even Eccles cakes …

  • Your Tarot Court Card Theme for 2015

    Just a bit of Tarot Court Card fun to kick us off into the New Year!

    Lots of tarot buzz on Social Media about THEMES for the year, as inspired by the Major Arcana card that your personal year correlates to.

    To find our what your personal year card is, take your day and month of birth and add to 35 (ie 20+15, the current year).

    Here’s an example: mine!

       13
    +  8
      35
      56


    Since there is no Major Arcana card numbered 56 (hey, we’re not using Minchiates here, people!), these digits need to be further reduced by adding them together, giving us a total of 11.

    My theme for the year will be inspired by Justice (or Strength, depending what sort of deck you are using).  I’m going for Justice 🙂

    But since my blog focuses on the Court Cards, I thought we’d have a little fun and extend the exercise further:

    Instead of adding up your digits, above, until they total 22 or under (ie the number of Major Arcana cards we have), total them up until they are 17 or less.

    I numbered the Page of Pentacles, the lowliest of the lowly, as 1.  But your numbers will not reduce to one, so I’ve also accorded him 17 (because he’s also VERY special, as well as being the lowliest of the lowly).

    So, if you add up to 17, then you are having a Page of Pents year 🙂

    Taking my example again, this means that my 11 – Justice year – becomes further compounded by Court Card 11…. wouldn’t you believe it?! The Queen of Swords!

    Have a try yourself and tell me who you end up with as your Court Card theme for the year!

    Page of Pents (1) or 17
    Page of Cups 2
    Page of Swords 3
    Page of Wands 4

    Knight of Pents 5
    Knight of Cups 6
    Knight of Swords 7
    Knight of Wands 8

    Queen of Pents 9
    Queen of Cups 10
    Queen of Swords 11
    Queen of Wands 12

    King of Pentacles 13
    King of Cups 14
    King of Swords 15
    King on Wands 16

  • Yule Blog Hop | The Joy of Gifting

    Welcome to the Yule Tarot Blog hop!  Before we go any further, this is your navigation link to the blogs that flank me for this hop *waves to Mary and Stella*



    Our blog wrangler is the lovely Arwen Lynch and she set us the following questions which we are to answer through a Tarot spread:

    • Card 1:  What gift would you give the world if you could?
    • Card 2: What gift would you want from the world?
    • Card 3: What gift have you gotten that has brought you joy?
    • Card 4: What gift have you given that has brought you joy?
    • Card 5: What is one last thing you would like to share about this season?

    Because Tarot-thones.com is all about the court cards, I decided that my answers would have to come from the Court Cards.
    Since I have not managed to sneak in another blog post using Alexander Daniloff’s amazing Tarot for aaaaaages, let me take this last blog hop of 2014 to use them one final time!
    I have removed the 16 Court Cards from the deck and will now shuffle the Courts only, asking each question and drawing a card as an answer to that question.
    No fancy layout required for this one!
    Card 1:  What gift would you give the world if you could?

    The King of Swords

    As a blend of Fire and Air, this guy’s actions and thoughts must be consistent in order for him to be healthy.  He likes to know everything about what he’s involved in so that there are no nasty surprises.  Clarity and honesty are watchwords with him.

    This King will organise everything, from the multi-million pound company take-over strategy right down to the family picnic, to the finest detail. All this thinking (he’s a person of lists – pros and cons) can slowly paralyse him and that’s when the King of Swords starts to become unhealthy.

    He also has high personal standards and expects other people to live up to them. When people fall short, he can be scathing in his criticism. However he is equally tough on himself when he too fails to live up to his own standards.  And since none of us are perfect, he often makes himself unnecessarily miserable.

    But in a week where we have experienced the horror of the school massacre in Pakistan and the Sydney Lindt Cafe seige, the gift that I would give the world, if I possibly could, is the discernment and wisdom of the King of Swords.


    Card 2: What gift would you want from the world?


    The Page of Pentacles

    This is the first of THREE of the four Pages in my spread! The Page of Pentacles is Earth of Earth.  This Page begins new experiences.  This could be in health, in wealth or in the home.


    What would I like him to bring me healthwise? I’m too heavy for my height and a nice gift would be to start taking better care of my health.


    Wealthwise? I could do with bringing in more money in 2015 and am hoping that my Year in The Wildwood Tarot e-book will still be able to go ahead, despite the changes to tax on digital products in Europe.


    Homewise? Perhaps I could do with being more present at home, rather than living most of my life virtually?  I could start focussing more on the modelling that I’m doing for my son (stuck in front of a computer, messy desk, lack of interest in keeping home nice.  I am not overly keen on house-work, what can I say?)

    Card 3:  What gift have you gotten that has brought you joy?


    Page of Wands

    Ah this can only be my own little Page of Wands!  Fourteen years old and obsessed with Minecraft and Kerbal Space Program (don’t ask) he is a ray of sunshine in my life.  He is sunny-natured, always walks with a bounce in his step (as a child he skipped everywhere!), developing a nicely warped sense of humour, creative (you should see the space ships in Kerbal and the palaces in Minecraft!) and keen as mustard to grow up!

    Please don’t be sick, but the gift that the world has given me that has brought me the greatest joy is my son 🙂

    Card 4:  What gift have you given that has brought you joy?


    The King of Pentacles

    I try to give people practical gifts and (typical Leo) I am prone to spending too much money!  Money and generosity – King of Pentacles!

    For example, this year, my mum is getting a water floss (like a toothbrush, but for flossing).  Hubby is getting a cover for his Kindle…. and, no doubt, brake pads or a suspension-enhancing kit for the car.  Not mentioning anything about my son.  Just in case he reads this…

    The gift that I have given that has brought me greatest joy, ever?  The actual wrapped-up-you-shouldn’t-have pressie? I honestly can’t think of anything specific.

    But, want the schmaltzy answer? Giving my old racing greyhound a home and the gift of life to Sonshine were pretty unbeatable as far as bringing myself joy!

    Card 5:  What is one last thing you would share about this season?

    Page of Cups

    Gentle and affectionate, the Page of Cups comes up to show us the last thing that I would share about the season.  He is as open-hearted as his Cup.

    This Page, whose tender feelings and flights of imagination are so easily bruised and battered by cynicism, ridicule and downright cruelty deserves to be the standard bearer for the season, just as much as his suit.

    Ignore the Scrooges, says the Page of Cups!  Wear your Christmas sweater with pride!  Kiss beneath the mistletoe! Call out ‘Merry Christmas’ to strangers in the rain!

    His message is the title of the biography of one of my favourite comics, Bill Hicks:  Love all the people.

    Have a lovely time!

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  • Blog Hop | Midsummer | 16 Things that bring me joy

    Welcome to the Summer Solstice Blog Hop!  If you have arrived here by happy accident and are intrigued by this Blog Hop thing, you can find out more about it here.  If you’ve hopped here from Olivia’s blog (our wrangler for this blog hop – thank you, Olivia!) or from Chloe’s blog, I hope that you enjoy the 16 things that bring me joy!






     Our theme for this blog hop is: joy!  We are asked to write about what brings us joy, what brings light to our heart and how we spread that joy to others.  And all with a Tarot or divination slant to it!

     In the non-Tarot world, looking after animals gives me great joy.  I have a rescued greyhound called Nero who is the light of my life (not counting my son, of course!) and the other day I looked after a little blackbird who had been struggling in this really hot spell we’re having. He’s now returned to the garden and I spotted him about an hour before I wrote this, up a tree.  So that’s looking good!

     But this post is about TAROT and I appreciate that you’ve got a lot of posts to get through today, so I’ll keep it brief – and true to the court card theme of my blog!


    This deck has brought me huge joy since I bought it – here are 16 reasons why:





    If you struggle with your court cards, please bookmark me or sign up for my newsletter!




  • Lammas Blog Hop | From my table to the community

    Welcome to the Lammas blog, where the theme set by our Wrangler, Arwen, is: “What can I share from my table to enrich my community?”  If you’re hopping forward, you’ve come from the lovely Ania Marczyk’s blog and if you are hopping backwards (you TOTAL rebel, you!) you’ve come from the equally lovely Joanne Sprott’s blog. And if your cat has randomly strolled across your computer keyboard and the Tarot Thrones blog has popped up on your screen…. well, just be grateful that I’m not a porn site 😀

    So what can I share from my table to enrich the Tarot community?
    Since Tarot Thrones is a blog all about the Court Cards of the Tarot, I got into a huddle with my 16 courtly colleagues to thrash out a few ideas.  Reader, it got very heated.  The Queens wanted me to teach something, the Kings wanted me to DO something, the Knights wanted me to be daring and bold and the Pages? Well, the Pages just went outside to play.
    Then I had an idea.  I made my suggestion and the Kings and Queens murmured their agreement and happily headed off down the pub to give me peace and quiet to write.  So here’s my Lammas Blog Hop gift to you:
    When you are buying a new Tarot deck, how do you choose it?  Do you have a few favourite cards that you inspect? Do you run your hands expertly over The Star’s fetlocks to see if she shapes up to your perfect Star? Do you inspect the teeth of The Devil to make sure he’s someone that you can work with or do you take The Lovers for a quick canter around the paddock?
    Well, here’s a suggestion from ME to YOU:  Why not take a look at the Court Cards to see whether you can work with THEM?  After all, they tend to be the section of the Tarot that readers tend to frown  around – why not make sure that the Courts are guys that you are comfortable with?
    Radical, eh?
    So here are my Top 7 bits of advice for expertly checking out the Tarot Court in a new deck:

    1  The most important thing in the Courts, for me, is symbolism – what is there for you to work with? Plenty of symbols will give you plenty of pegs on which to pin your ideas about the Court Card and lots of things to talk about in your reading.  Check also for consistency – do all the Knights have some kind of steed, for example.  If not – why not? Can you see why the Knight of Pentacles might be left to labour along on foot….or does it show a lack of thought about what the Courts represent?  Are all the Queens wearing shoes, except one? Why might the Queen of Cups go barefoot and the Queen of Swords wear shoes that are tightly laced? Does it make sense to you?
    Tons of symbolism, nice setting, expressive character and suit colour-themed
    2  The next most important thing is Setting – are the Courts active in some kind of scene?  For me this is important because it helps with the story-telling aspect of your reading.  What direction are they heading? What are they DOING?  What are they looking at/turning their back on?

    It seems to me that people struggle with the courts because they seem to punch holes in the flow of your story-telling much more so than the Majors or Minors, so any setting that allows you to incorporate the Courts into your story is a Good Thing.

    3  Character – this covers a lot of ground – if the characters are expressive, clearly delineating a personality type by their expression or pose, then this helps you work with them.  Someone bent over and tired-looking has easily got a completely different message from a sprightly young Page. 
    4  Sex – is there an equal balance of male and female characters? Are they all women? All men? Are they animals/birds? Is that what you want?
    5  Rank – how are the Courts ranked?  Straightforward Page (Princess)/Knight/Queen/King ares traditional and, for me, easier to work with than an entirely new combination like Lightbringer/Demon/Sprite and Soul where it’s not clear which rank trumps the others and how progress is made – you have got some additional learning to do.  And does that learning conflict or support what you already know about Ranks in your other decks?

    A Princess to replace the Page, nice setting, symbolism, suit attributes 
    6  Colour – this could form part of symbolism – do the suits have colours? Are those colours pulled through into the Courts? If they are, it might make it easier for you to incorporate suit traits into your story?  Do those colours represent the elemental associations that you’d expect?  If not, will that affect your use of elements in this deck?
    7  Astrological information etc – some decks have information from other systems built in to their Courts which makes it a danged sight  easier to talk about, for example, astrological traits instead of having to memorise the associations!
    The black-clad Ninja with his sneaky expression and his heuuuuge hidden sword
    The other Courts have astrological associations clearly illustrated – result!
    Of course, this isn’t a complete list, and they don’t ALL have to be present in every deck’s court, but these are just some of the main prompts that will help you find easy to work with Courts.  
    Now, if you’ll excuse me,  I’m off to run my hands expertly over the haunches of the Knight of Wands ;-D

  • Page of Pentacles | Tarot Newsletter

    Tarot Thrones | Alexander Danlioff Page of Pentacles
    Me and my Tarot newsletter – minus the tights

    Yes, another Tarot goal for this year is struck off the first tee with a satisfying thwack! Sure, I’m still at the first hole (well, on the fairway somewhere!), but you know, Rome wasn’t built in a day 😀  and at least I’m not in the rough!

    Golfing metaphors aside – I sent out my first Tarot newsletter.  *toots party tooter. waves small flag*
    You can sign up for it over there on the right hand info bar *points* and I absolutely promise you that your details will remain with me and never be given to any strange men that profer me envelopes stuffed with money.  Or cake.  Mind you, who would want the sort of cake that can be stuffed in an envelope?
    I was all Page of Pentacles about the newsletter. I’ve been using Mailchimp for a while now, but actually creating something for yourself, as opposed to a client, is a little daunting.  That’s why it’s taken me soooooo long to get OFF THE BLOCKS! 
    Look, now I’m now mixing my sporting metaphors…..
    What to call it?! Jeez – you can stymie yourself at every single hurdle (more sport!) and I named and renamed my poor newsletter waif about a thousand times, eventually settling on The Little White Newsletter.  
    Which I then proceeded to place in a band of bright pink.
    Well, why not have a little fun with it all? And in Alexander Daniloff’s delightful little Page, we see him with a game tucked under his arm.  And hence all the sport metaphors – games and fun are the order of the day for the Page of Pents!
    It was also important to me that the newsletter was brief – I appreciate that there are lots of brilliant Tarot newsletters out there, but right now at the beginning, I just want to pass on information to you while you are checking your morning e-mails so as not to get on folks nerves when I hit their inbox.
    The long-winded chatty stuff I save for here * throws opens arms at Thrones Towers*.
    So, how did the Page o f Pentacles manifest for this project?
    * It was my FIRST newsletter and Pages often represent beginnings of things.
    * It was SMALL 🙂
    * It was a HANDS-ON learning experience 
       (how many times did I edit it before I sent it out – go on ask me! About a MILLION times!! <- total
       Page of Wands exaggeration there, methinks!
    * With the newsletter I’m trying to HELP and NURTURE people’s interest in Tarot in a PRACTICAL
       way.
    What else does the Page of Pentacles say to you? 
    Oh and if you missed the newsletter you can find it here.
    PS – now that I’m getting the statistics information for the newsletter (which I think are pretty decent), I’m morphing into the Swords family.  All of them 😀

  • 30 Day Tarot Challenge | Day 3

    Question 3 in the Tarot Challenge:


    Do you have more than one deck that you use, and, if so, do you have a favorite? If not, why do you like the deck you have chosen?


    I think that most Tarotists develop the compulsion to add to their deck collections!  Sometimes it is just the amazing art that attracts you to a deck, sometimes it’s a system or mythology that you love to work with.  Sometimes it’s just the thrill of the new.  Yes, I am a Tarotholic.  I am only about 4 days ‘clean’ and not anticipating to run to many more.  I love, love, new decks!


    I do have a favourite.  Actually, a couple of favourites.


    My comfy-slippers deck is the Rider Waite Smith – either the Original or the Centenary Edition.  Yes, they’re pretty much identical, but the Queen of Swords looks a lot less po-faced in the Centenary Edition, I think!


    I have loved the DruidCraft Tarot since I first laid eyes on it and I can honestly say that I use it every single day.  I love the ethos behind it.  I love the art of Will Worthington beyond words.  


    I am his biggest fan.  *said in same tone of voice as Kathy Bates in Stephen King’s Misery* 😀


    I’ve used The Druidcraft in lots of posts on this blog – too numerous to list!


    My newest love is Alexander Daniloff’s Tarot which I love TO DEATH.  It’s one of those decks that just sings out to me – the colour, the style of the artwork, the humorous touches.  Right up my Tarot street! I’ve already written about his Court Cards – you can check them out here


    I’m also a teeny bit in love with the Lenormand Revolution Oracle by Roz Foster and Carrie Paris.  Again, I am absolutely loving Roz Foster’s artwork across the cards.  The overall effect is a consistent, clean and damned attractive deck.  Now all I need to do is learn how to read with it!


    A good Tarot deck is, for me, something that has plenty of symbolism in it to get the ol’ juices flowing as far as intuition goes.  


    I’m increasingly drawn to old decks – perhaps I’m searching for interpretations, lost over the years and hundreds of decks that have now been published.


    So – why don’t you tell me what YOUR favourite Tarot deck is – give me a link to it.  Help me feed my addiction 😀

  • Lunar Eclipse Spread

    Please click on image to visit
    Alexander’s site

    Tomorrow night is a lunar eclipse (28 November) – the last one until April 2013 – and it’s a wonderful event to witness.  What makes it very special, for me, is that hardly anyone looks up at the skies these days – perhaps lovers, foxes and those of us who have to travel by ferry 🙂  People are trudging home from the pub or work, usually looking at the ground….and I’m sitting in the garden hugging a mug of tea for warmth, staring at the sky.

    During a lunar eclipse, the Earth’s shadow falls across the face of the moon, turning her cool white face into a warm, earthy blush.  The red moon is magnificent to see!

    It’s a humbling, awe-inspiring event, guaranteed to remind you that you are but a tiny speck on a big ball spinning in space!

    Here’s a fun spread to do during the eclipse.

    Apologies to readers who are also members of the Glasgow Tarot Meet Up Group because they are already familiar with this 🙂

    It’s very easy:

    1  Shuffle your cards whilst contemplating the thought: ‘what energies are being eclipsed in my life?’
    2  Complete your shuffle.
    3  Turn your deck over so that the images are now facing you.
    4  Flick through the cards until you find your World (or equivalent) card.
    5  The card BEHIND the World is what you currently hold in shadow.

    You can also expand upon it by adding in a Solar Eclipse element to the spread.  As you search for your World card, also keep an eye open for The High Priestess card at the same time and locate the card directly behind her too.

    Why the High Priestess?  Well, The High Priestess is the card who represents the Moon, if you work with Astrology in your Tarot practice.  So with THIS adjunct to the spread, we can find out what a Solar eclipse hides from us too.

    You can further expand upon the spread by bringing in more cards – how can I bring this energy out of darkness? How will this energy benefit me? and so on.

    *** Edit: info added:  If the card you are seeking is right on the bottom of the pack, with nothing behind it, refer to the FIRST card on the top of the pile, as if they had been laid out in a circle.

    I’ll be working a Court Card variation of this spread tomorrow and posting on Thursday.

    If you try the spread, I’d love to know how you get along with it 🙂