The Court Cards
The court cards are the sixteen people of the deck: a Page, a Knight, a Queen and a King in each of the four suits. They can be an actual person in your life, a way you are behaving, or the approach a situation is asking for. Most confusion about tarot comes from assuming they always mean someone else.
People · 16
| Card | Keywords | Yes or no | Astrology |
|---|---|---|---|
 | enthusiasm, exploration, free spirit | Yes | Fire, in its student season |
 | boldness, haste, adventure | Yes | Fire in motion |
 | confidence, warmth, magnetism | Yes | Fire on the throne of water |
 | vision, leadership, bold authority | Yes | Fire, fully grown |
 | tender news, imagination, openness | Yes | Water, in its student season |
 | romance, the offer, idealism | Yes | Water in motion |
 | empathy, emotional depth, care | Yes | Water on its own throne |
 | emotional mastery, calm, counsel | Yes | Water, fully grown |
 | curiosity, vigilance, new ideas | No | Air, in its student season |
 | charge, conviction, speed of thought | No | Air in motion |
 | clear sight, honesty, boundaries | No | Air on its own throne |
 | judgment, principle, intellectual authority | No | Air, fully grown |
 | study, new skill, diligence | Not yet clear | Earth, in its student season |
 | steadiness, routine, reliability | Not yet clear | Earth in motion |
 | practical care, warmth, resourcefulness | Not yet clear | Earth on its own throne |
 | abundance, stewardship, proven success | Not yet clear | Earth, fully grown |
The rank tells you how someone holds the element of their suit. Pages are learning it and are often news or a beginning. Knights are chasing it, fast and one sided. Queens hold it from the inside and understand it. Kings direct it outward and are responsible for it. So the Knight of Cups is romance in motion, and the Queen of Cups is someone who actually knows how feeling works.
Before you decide a court card is a specific person, try it on yourself. If the King of Swords appears in a question about a conflict, the useful reading is often that you are being asked to be clear and fair, not that a lawyer is coming.
Two or more courts in one spread usually means other people are genuinely part of this. Three or more often means the situation is being run by everyone's opinions, including some that were never asked for.
Common questions
How many court cards are there in tarot?
Sixteen. Four ranks, Page, Knight, Queen and King, in each of the four suits. They are part of the Minor Arcana, which has 56 cards in total.
Does a court card mean a real person?
Sometimes, and often not. A court card can be a person, a role you are being asked to take, or the atmosphere of a situation. Try reading it as yourself first. If it does not fit, then look around for whose behaviour it describes.
How do I tell the Knights and Kings apart?
By pace and by responsibility. A Knight is going somewhere quickly and is not thinking about what happens after. A King has arrived, is in charge, and answers for the result. The same element, held at two very different speeds.
Which court card means someone is interested in me?
The Knight of Cups is the classic one, because it is an offer led by feeling. The Page of Cups is a smaller version, a message or a first approach. Both say the feeling is real and neither says how long it lasts. For that, look at whatever card came next.
Which of these will find you tonight?
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