The 56 Minor Arcana cards are thought to represent the sum total of life’s experiences. This number has other correspondences: the ancient astronomical Great Year consisted of 56 years, and the Solar and Lunar cycles coincide every 56 years. Fifty-six was the Natal number of the Sun God born to Mother Earth (Tara). Buddha’s first 56 steps were 14 (seven forward, seven backward) in each direction to form a cross, and there were 56 postholes forming the Aubrey Circle at Stonehenge to mark the solar and lunar eclipses. There are, of course, other systems proposed by various authorities and these will be found in books such as Manly P Hall’s The Secret Teachings of All Ages (see Bibliography).
Readers who use the Tarot for prediction and fortune telling see the numbered suit cards as actual events that may happen in the future. For example, the Six of Cups foretells a pending marriage or a new baby; the One or Ace of Money means an unexpected gift is on its way, and so on. The alternative, non-predictive ‘reading’ views the numbered suit cards as events in our daily lives that can influence the way we react to given situations. These cards thus present us with insightful opportunities to become aware of our usual mode of thinking and responding to given situations. If we are receptive and non-judgemental, such insights can help to bring about beneficial changes along the path to self-awareness. To illustrate this we can take the example of a child being sent away to school. The emotional impact of such an event may cause one child to feel abandoned and unloved, whereas another child’s response may be one of pleasure and relief to be out of the control of the parents. Yet another child may appreciate the sacrifice the parents have made to enable him or her to go to a better school or improved environment. The actual event is simply that the child has gone away to school, but how that event is interpreted can either cause emotional trauma and stress or it can be treated as an exciting adventure. In other words, it is not the event but our often automatic response to it that can cause a range of emotions ranging from sorrow or self-pity to pleasure.
Below is a suggested synthesis of the conventional number symbolism, including the Hermetic Laws listed on page 35, that may be applied to the Tarot’s Minor Arcana card numbers. Each card has both a positive and a negative connotation which may be helpful in the context of the card expressing a value in relationship to other cards in terms of syntax and semantics when reading a spread.
KEY WORDS: The Source; Divine Spirit; Oneness; Natural Gifts
Number one represents the unity and oneness of the Cosmos – expressed as ‘God’ or the eternal spirit that is present in all things, the seed from which everything stems – order, originality, creativity and endless possibilities. This number encapsulates all our natural talents and blessings held in potential. In other words, the Universe – God if you will – has offered us gifts and abilities to enable us, as CG Jung put it, ‘to become that which we already are’.
Number one is a principle rather than a number that marks the beginning and permeates all things. It expresses something absolute, expansiveness, and the undivided self in a state of bliss.
ANTITHESIS: We may not be using or exploring our gifts and talents and are perhaps misusing them for negative purposes.
There may be confusion about which path to follow, or we may even be living in a fool’s paradise. Instead of expanding we are imploding, contracting or hiding ourselves.
KEY WORDS: Duality; Separation; Creativity
Number two expresses the Feminine Principle of intuition, the womb of life, creativity and a desire for peace and harmony, but it also symbolizes duality and polarity expressed as Yin and Yang, light and dark, night and day, life and death, active and passive. The Hermetic Law of Polarity is about opposites; being in conflict; sitting on different sides of the table in a state of argument.
Separation from our true spirit or nature leads to a realization that we are not ‘complete’ or fulfilled. So, where do we focus our energies, and how or where can we find the inner lover?
ANTITHESIS: There is a need to be decisive to search for ways to heal a rift; to find a way to re-integrate with oneself and to recognize that the contrasts may be too accentuated. There may be too much light or too much darkness.
KEY WORDS: Reconciliation; Soul Fulfilment
Number three expresses the Masculine Principle of rationality, prudence and a sense of completion. It also expresses the masculine life-force and sexual libido. Three is about the integration of mind, body and spirit and the joy of using positive energies and sexual power.
The Law of Resonance is about harmony, resolution and reconciliation, where two people stand side by side – not on opposite sides – using debate to find a truth (the third component) rather than trying to argue that black is white. Number three is a symbol of going forth and living in a forthright manner.
ANTITHESIS: Impotence, ignorance, malice and an inability to complete or resolve outstanding issues. It may represent inertia and withdrawal.
KEY WORDS: Materiality; Earthiness; Endurance
Number four is symbolic of the four elements – fire, air, water and earth – that constitute the material world and Cosmic order. The four elements can also represent intuition (fire), thinking (air), feeling (water) and sensation (earth) and symbolize the inspirational, cultural, social and physical planes of existence.
The four segments to the Hermetic Law of Manifestation refer to the four elements:
First there is the element of Fire which is that spark of genius, that brilliant imaginative idea or creative thought that has come from nowhere – out of the blue.
Then follows the element of Air which is symbolic of the thinking process. Who are the people such as professional advisers, craftsmen, specialists, or what are the tools or finances needed to bring forth the idea?
The next element, Water, is about formation: to create a two-dimensional plan or model of what form this idea will take because any manifestation must have three dimensions. At this stage we need to imagine it in our mind’s eye or sketch it on paper or simulate it using computer graphics.
The final process is the Earth element. This is where the idea is about to be manifested or actually built in three dimensions. We may all have bright ideas and creative imaginings but how many become a manifested reality? The difficulty is that as we go through each element so the resistance increases and this can only be overcome by our commitment, tenacity and will power.
ANTITHESIS: There may be a tendency to hold on too tenaciously to our worldly goods, or there may be a negative energy preventing us from getting our life in order. We must beware of being too earth-bound and never dream of other realms or lose our sense of the reality of the inner worlds.
KEY WORDS: Humankind; Hope and Humanity; Uncertainty
The fifth element added to fire, air, water and earth is the quintessential element of ether or the heavenly realm. Human beings are composed of a gross (material) body made up of the four elements plus the subtle body of ether (spirit).
Number five (two representing female + three representing male) is the sigil of Man, humankind, human nature and natural phenomena. It symbolizes the full spectrum of life and living, of sensual pleasures and enjoyment, because spirit has tempered the four elements of materiality.
Number five can signify hope and endeavour.
ANTITHESIS: Paucity of life; disregard of nature and the environment. It may indicate a certain recklessness or lack of a sense of humanity.
KEY WORDS: Harmony; Balance; Stability
Number six is made up of two (female) + three (male) + one (unity or a child). It is a symbol of harmony, marriage, love, beauty and resolution. It represents partnership, health and a balance of mind, body and spirit. As with all partnerships, marriages or the birth of a child, we are vulnerable, embarking on an adventure to an unknown destination, but we must be prepared to trust in the outcome.
ANTITHESIS: We may feel we are at a crossroads and cannot decide which route to take. Unforeseen, unexpected circumstances could upset the equilibrium of our life which could create a sense of conflict.
KEY WORDS: Cyclical Changes; Rhythm of Life
Number seven is about the cycles of time, cosmic order, the changing rhythms of the seasons and possible changes in fortune and to transformation.
There are the seven days of the week, the seven colours of the rainbow, the seven musical notes, the seven Liberal Arts (grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music and cosmology) and so on.
ANTITHESIS: Disorder, chaos, bareness, a lack of or disjointed movement. There may be too much or not enough time and an absence of control or discipline. The natural flow and rhythm of life may be temporally disrupted.
KEY WORDS: Judgement; Regeneration; Material and Spiritual Success
Number eight can represent law, justice, prudence and a balance of seemingly opposing forces.
The octave can signal the start of something new: perhaps regeneration or a renewed endeavour combining the energies of Heaven and Earth. It represents the culmination of worldly goods and spirit or inner fulfilment.
Number eight symbolizes Hermes Trismegistus’ tenet ‘as above, so below’. It is also the goal of the initiate.
ANTITHESIS: A sense of incompleteness; stagnation; unfairness and dissatisfaction.
KEY WORDS: Human Frailty; Detachment; Review of Attainments
Number nine is the bridge to another realm: it signifies being on the brink of something new. But we need to exercise caution or mark a pause, allowing time for consolidation or reflection and the gaining of insights into our positive experiences and shortcomings. This is a period to allow space and time for new ideas to emerge; a time for preparation that has the potential for new discoveries and self-understanding.
ANTITHESIS: A sense of a lack of progress, inertia and dissatisfaction due to unexplored talents and abilities. There may be limitations and difficulty in seeing a way forward.
KEY WORDS: Transition; Purpose; Fulfilment
Number ten – the Decad – embraces all numbers and is complete at four (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10): unity (one), duality (two), reconciliation (three) and the manifest world (four) represent cosmic creativity.
Nature is God (one) + infinity (zero) = spiritual law. Number ten is a turning point when all things are possible. This may be a time to begin again with a greater sense of trust and effort but without becoming overburdened.
ANTITHESIS: This signals a period when we need to get back to basics and to understand our limitations. We must take care of the necessities of life – including our spiritual needs.
The interpretation and meaning of each numbered card in the Minor Arcana are moderated by the symbolic quality of each of the four suits – Money, Cups, Swords and Clubs – which correspond respectively to materiality, emotions (or feelings), intellect and creativity/energy. These four suits are related to the four suits of ordinary playing cards – Diamonds, Hearts, Spades and Clubs – which are believed to have been invented for overtly innocent games to avoid religious prosecution whilst still maintaining the encoded teachings from the time when Tarot cards were banned.
The four suits of the Minor Arcana cards are called:
Money |
(also called Coins or Pentacles) |
Cups |
(also called Chalices) |
Swords |
|
Clubs |
(also called Wands, Batons or Rods) |
These suits correspond to the four elements Earth, Water, Air and Fire which in turn relate to materiality, emotions, the mind and spirit. In medicine they are known as the four Humours – Melancholic, Phlegmatic, Sanguine and Choleric.
For the key words, see chapter 3, The Language of the Tarot (pages 29–46).
KEY: Sensing and mastery of the physical body
This suit reflects our material, manifested world, our relative comforts, earthiness, sensuousness and the desire for security, money and worldly possessions. It concerns the five senses and the quintessence of life – the four elements plus ether. Here we are dealing with structure, stability, the practicalities of life and living and being ‘down to earth’, and how we perceive the physical world of the senses.
ANTITHESIS: The negative aspects can be over-indulgence, greed, dullness, stubbornness and one-track materialism.
KEY: The realm of emotions and the full range and depth of our feelings
The Cup or Grail is a divine vessel, symbolic of the primordial cosmic womb and the search for the secret of immortal life. The suit of Cups relates to our love of nature and our nurturing attitudes while reflecting our close relationships and feelings – from the calm waters of a lake to the raging storms of the sea. Water is the source of all existence on Earth and the flow of the river of life that carries us on our journey. It has cleansing properties. Water also takes the form of that which contains it, indicating that it represents formation and shape.
ANTITHESIS: The negative aspects are over-sensitivity, manipulative moodiness, self-pity and a tendency to be constantly overwhelmed with emotional stress.
KEY: Rationality and intellectual powers
This suit represents the Masculine Principle, incisiveness, mental agility, clarity of mind and reasoning. A sword symbolizes powers of thinking and logic and it can cut and thrust to get through the ‘red tape’; but if used indiscriminately in adversarial confrontation, its double-edge can cause unnecessary wounding and be unjust.
ANTITHESIS: The negative aspects are lack of feeling and compassion, subversive aggression, verbal attack and viciousness. (It is better to give someone a piece of your heart than a piece of your mind.)
KEY: Inspiration, creativity and intuition
This suit represents the Feminine Principle and reflects our energy, vitality, our entrepreneurial ideas, our enthusiasms, our creative imagination and optimism. Clubs can be instruments for creating magic, the spirit of life, and the passions and dreams that give birth to whatever we manifest in our life.
ANTITHESIS: The negative aspects are boredom, disruptive hyperactivity, inability to focus, lack of mental discipline and a tendency to use energies and talents for negative purposes and domination. A club can be used as a blunt instrument.
Most if not all designers of modern packs introduce pictographs for each of the numbered cards. These illustrations impose the designer’s own very specific ideas which allow only one possible interpretation or meaning for each of the numbered cards. As with the older and, I believe, more authentic decks such as the Ancien Tarot de Marseille there are no such evocative pictographs but only the symbols of each suit which allows Tarot readers to exercise intuition to create their own unfettered interpretations. All one needs to do is study, meditate on and remember the ‘qualities’ of each of the numbers one to ten as set out in on pages 32–35 and then ‘modify’ or adjust the meanings by reference to the symbolic ‘value’ of the suit number as noted above.
Below is a matrix of numbers and suits to demonstrate how one can build up a personal vocabulary for each card. Again, it must be emphasized that these are not definitive statements, merely interpretive guides.
The keywords in the matrix are a distillation of the esoteric number symbolism set out in chapter 3, The Language of the Tarot, and in the above section ‘The Four Suits’. For examples of the numbered cards – one from each suit – see plates 24–7.
There are four ‘Court’ cards: the Knave, the Knight, the Queen and the King (see plates 28–43). These cards are named but unnumbered. Generally, teachers of the Tarot suggest that the Court cards represent real personalities who are already in our lives or people we are about to meet. Bearing in mind our own unique myth set out in the Three-Act Drama of Life in chapter 2, everyone who comes into our orbit is introduced by ourselves. We may therefore look upon the 16 Court cards as being ‘outer world’ mirror images of the sub-personalities that inhabit our private ‘inner world’. We also saw in the Three-Act Drama that sometimes the ‘good guys’ turn out to be ‘bad guys’ (and viceversa) in varying degrees of plusses and minuses. In other words, we need to be aware of the counter-balancing ‘flip-side’ or negative aspects of our own and other people’s characteristics.
Whether we call it fate, good luck or synchronicity, the psyche (our inner guide) attracts certain people – mother, father, sister, brother, partners, friends, enemies – into our lives for the specific purpose of reflecting ourselves to ourselves. In other words, they act as a mirror to reflect certain aspects which, if accepted and understood, will help us to take a step closer to self-understanding. All these characters can become invaluable teachers. Synchronicity and the Universe are ever-ready to help those who are willing to take their next step along the path. The events that befall us and all the people we will meet and have met so far should be treated as welcome encounters.
The four suits or elements – Earth, Water, Air, Fire – are metaphors to refer to the four ‘Worlds’: our material world; our world of emotion and feelings; the intellectual world of our mind and our world of spirit and life-force energies. In each of these worlds or planes of existence we have latent talents and dreams (the Knave) and aspirations and ambitions (the Knight). When a Knave appears in a spread it may trigger hitherto unacknowledged gifts or abilities. Similarly, a Knight will remind us that, for a variety of ‘reasons’, we may aspire to do or be something that lurks in the ‘back of our mind’, unaware that if such aspirations were to manifest in our lives it would lead us closer to fulfilment. The attributes of the Queen (intuition) and the King (rationality) hold the keys.
Table 1: The Number/Suit Matrix
|
Keywords: |
MONEY Sensing |
Number One |
The source, unity Natural gifts Ace A fortuitous event |
Good fortune Talent for the good life Improvement in circumstances |
|
|
|
Number Two |
Feminine Principle Separation Duality |
Difficulty in ‘making ends meet’ Material demands/needs not matching expectations |
|
|
|
Number Three |
Masculine Principle Reconciliation Resolution |
Pleasure and satisfaction with one’s material lot |
|
|
|
Number Four |
Manifestation The four elements Endurance |
Tendency to be too ‘down-to-earth’ Attitudes becoming too materialistic |
|
|
|
Number Five |
Human nature Spirit of life force Uncertainty |
Avoid over-indulgences Enjoyment of what life has to offer |
|
|
|
Number Six |
Masculine plus feminine plus child = creativity Decision time |
Beneficence of Nature and the natural world Fertility |
|
|
|
Number Seven |
Rhythm of Life Cyclical changes |
Changes of circumstances |
|
|
|
Number Eight |
As above, so below (Compensations, Regeneration) |
New opportunities to rethink material circumstances and spiritual fulfilment |
|
|
|
Number Nine |
Detachment Consolidation Time for preparation |
Pause to reassess one’s personal circumstances and focus energies |
|
|
|
Number Ten |
Transition Integration Law and order |
Tread lightly on the Planet |
|
|
|
|
CUPS |
SWORDS |
CLUBS |
|
Inner happiness Emotional contentment |
Peace of mind Clarity of mind |
Inspiration Creative ideas Emergence of natural talents |
|
|
|
|
|
Inner conflict Feeling of uncertainty |
Dilemma State of indecision Illusion Caught in two minds |
Creative energies need to be focused and directed |
|
|
|
|
|
Prudence resolves emotional stress Happy outcome |
Resolution of a conflict |
Intuition and rationality create balance in terms of mind, body and spirit |
|
|
|
|
|
Need/desire to make dreams a reality |
Bring order, structure and practicalities into thought processes |
Allow ideas and creativity to become grounded |
|
|
|
|
|
Compassion Senses human frailties |
Be tolerant of feelings and human spirit |
Altruism Use energies for benefit of humankind |
|
|
|
|
|
Family, children and close relationships |
Trust in new thought patterns |
Successful outcome of creative processes |
|
|
|
|
|
Restlessness Need for emotional stimulation |
Search for meaning Engage in life’s rhythms and changes |
Allow for cycles of energy levels |
|
|
|
|
|
Renewed optimism Re-birth |
Respect for law, order and traditional values |
Introduce a wider range of energies to encompass materiality and spirit |
|
|
|
|
|
Self-assessment Count one’s blessings Acceptance |
Time to reflect on thinking processes and attitudes |
Recuperation to allow birth of something new |
|
|
|
|
|
Allow time to heal past traumas and to revitalize relationships |
Become aware of unexplored potentialities and purpose |
Trust intuition to direct and optimize creative energies |
As we shall see, the quality of a Court card is determined by the characteristic symbolism of each suit. Thus the Knave of Money brings to our notice an innovative idea for improving our financial status or a need to seek new horizons. The Knight of Cups might suggest that we are engrossed in our feelings or that we are, or need to be, concerned about ecology and the planet. The Queen of Swords might tell us that on certain occasions our love and compassion might be tempered better with gentle ruthlessness. The King of Clubs balances intuition with rationality, turning idealism into workable reality. Further modifications to the meaning will also be determined by the positive or negative aspects of the immediately surrounding cards in a spread.
The Court cards can tell us how our negative attitudes and game-playing are blocking our progress. We must remember that the Knight is still relatively young (naive), inexperienced and may display impetuosity. It should be noted that the four Kings, the Knight of Clubs and the Knaves of Money and Swords all wear the lemniscate style hat of The Magician and Force to warn us that whilst these ‘characters’ are capable of creating magic and have some understanding of the power within themselves they can also become the trickster and ruthless manipulator, cheat and liar. With the exception of the Knight of Swords, the Queen of Money and the Knave of Clubs, all the other Court card characters have white (transforming) heads of hair.
The grammar and interpretation of symbolism in the pictographs of these Court Cards – The Knave, Knight, Queen and King – are consistent with the Major cards. These 56 Minor Court and numbered cards are ‘modified’ by the metaphoric expression of each of the four suits, also known as the Four Paths of Illumination.
The Knave (sometimes known as The Page) is a young person who serves a knight as a servant/message bearer and apprentice to be trained for his own eventual knighthood. He was a Jack-the-Lad character who needed to be clever and smart – even crafty and challenging in his own way. He is the personification of potentiality for ideas; the embryonic preparation for something new and the seeker of new horizons. The Knave prepares the ground and seeks new horizons. Of course, he is still in a relatively naïve state and might make mistakes or deliver a wrong or incomplete message because he may be confused. On the other hand, the message could be the sort of wake-up call that comes ‘from the mouths of babes’ or that is ‘young at heart’.
ANTITHESIS: In a negative mode, he will be cunning, deceitful and remain the eternal, childish youth who never grows up and succumbs to addictions of drugs, sex or crime.
The Knight is a spirited young pretender to the throne with tendencies to romanticism and aspirations to be a champion crusader. He seeks challenges to exercise his developing, or developed, talents and capabilities; he is a warrior, a follower of ideals and enjoys the status of being a hero who carries out good deeds and gets things done. His horse expresses his spirit of adventure. The rider (spirit) must master the horse (bodily vehicle). The Knight symbolizes thoughts and points of view rather than an actual person.
ANTITHESIS: In his negative mode the Knight may be misguided and unnecessarily expend energy on lost causes, or he may not fully appreciate or express the truth of a matter. He might be lazy, lack courage, have a tendency to dream his life away or become a bully and brutal.
The Queen expresses the Feminine Principle of all aspects of womanhood, intuition and the nurturing of family, friends and, of course, she holds the key to the sacred marriage with the king of their realm.
ANTITHESIS: In her negative mode she can become the wicked witch, the harridan, and use her occult powers for evil purposes, indulge in emotional blackmail and either be precocious or lapse into helplessness. In this mode she is a destroyer rather than a creator. Either way, her strategies ensure she is in control of people and all situations.
The King is the supreme ruler, one who knows and protects the boundaries; one who is disciplined, who governs wisely and blesses those in his realm. He expresses the mature Masculine Principle of rationality, feelings of security and justice.
ANTITHESIS: In his negative mode he can become a tyrant, a weakling, an ineffective leader with no sense of justice or discipline. He protects neither his own boundaries nor those around him.
The Knave is a beardless youth with his feet planted firmly on the flesh-coloured, fertile soil. His static stance is similar to The Magician’s posture. He gazes intently to his right at the gold and black symbol of a coin delicately balanced on his right hand while his left hand grasps the decorated gold girdle, suggesting he has an innate ‘gut feeling’ for money and the material pleasures of life. The overlarge hat repeats the same symbol as The Magician, Force and the King of Money, Knight of Clubs and Knave of Swords.
The red tunic, gold girdle, blue hose and red shoes incorporate the same clothing as The Fool. Another coin disc is floating just above the ground over his right foot. (‘He has the world at his feet.’)
The Knave can have a tendency to become a trickster and indulge in unscrupulous dealings.
This card symbolizes a budding entrepreneurship; a latent ability to create the magic to improve material existence and enjoy the sensualities of life and living, but it remains in potential. In other words, the groundwork is being prepared for something new.
The Knight’s eyes are completely focused on the coin as both he and his horse move ahead in the same direction. He has turned in the opposite direction to the Knave and now the coin ahead has become much larger and more prominent. The Magician’s hat worn by the Knave has been discarded for a more simple, practical, everyday fillet headwear, but in his right hand he holds a weighty, powerful wand as his weapon to create the magic to achieve his desires. The gold-edged red tunic, blue hose and red shoe are reminders that The Fool’s influence is still present. He is mounted on a flesh-coloured horse (his spirit) with blue hooves, gold bridle and decorated girth, and both rider and steed single-mindedly go forth together.
The Knave’s potentiality has become the conscious aspirations of the Knight. He knows what he wants to do and has the ability to put his thoughts into action by using the club (intuition) for practical application. His expedient thinking processes may lead him to use people and situations for his own ends: he needs to be aware that his club could become a bludgeoning weapon.
The Queen stares intensely at the even bigger coin disc balanced on her over-large right hand while her normal-sized left hand lightly holds a black and gold mace. The decorated crown is precariously perched on her head and she does not appear to be sitting on her gold and green throne. She wears a flesh-coloured girdle around her waist and a matching neckpiece.
The blue hair suggests that she possesses certain characteristics of the older woman in The Lover, The Hanged Man, Temperance, The Star, The Moon and Judgement and the blue mane of the mounts of the Knights of Cups and Clubs.
This Queen has all the attributes of womanhood symbolized in the Major Arcana cards. Apart from her highly developed intuition, she personifies love, motherhood, sensuality and all the sensuousness of clothes, jewellery and a created beautiful environment. She makes the perfect mother/wife/mistress. Although she carries a mace and has a throne, the loosely worn crown indicates she is less concerned about her royal status than her ambitions to acquire security and the material blessings life has to offer.
Her ruthless drive for money and security could turn her into a greedy woman who lusts for power.
This bearded, white-haired King is a wise old man who sits comfortably and at ease on his well-decorated and embellished throne that is more like a well-upholstered chair. He has no need to focus his energies on the smaller-sized coin he holds in his right hand and casually looks away, ignoring the money symbol. Like the Queen and the Knight, he appears to have no need for the trappings of a royal personage. Instead, he wears the hat (and attitudes) of the youthful Knave. This King knows how to create the magic of the Magician and has the experiences demanded by Force.
He is balanced on his left leg with his right crossed over in front, like The Emperor and The Hanged Man (except the latter’s right leg is crossed over behind), and wears the same blue hose and red shoes of The Hanged Man. His legs form the shape of the chemical sign ‘S’ for Sulphur. His head is turned towards his left, looking away from the direction of his body and feet which might indicate a wise man’s ability to be flexible and amenable to changing his mind.
The two legs of his throne and the flamboyant clothing suggest that his material wealth and status are only temporarily on Earth. This personification of rationality and the Masculine Principle indicates that he is a ‘man of the world’ whose throne is set in a natural environment. As he is looking away from the sigil of money, he may be inclined to be philanthropic because he can afford to be generous. Whilst he knows how to turn a deal to his advantage, he could become a grasping tyrant whose only interest and purpose in life is to acquire more and more material wealth.
The Knave and Queen are facing right and the Knight and King to their left suggesting that to be an entrepreneurial character in the material world one needs to exercise a subtle combination of intuition and rationality.
The long, white, garlanded hair and his forlorn gaze down into the Cup suggest that his head is full of romantic, idealistic thoughts. He carries a hat in his left hand; the windswept drapery and scarf is like the gold wimple worn by Temperance and the swirling ribbon of the Queen of Cups’ throne. In his right hand he carries a burdensome, heavy, oversized Cup.
His red tunic, blue hose and red shoes express similar characteristics to the Knave of Money. But this Knave, ponderously trying to grasp the significance of the Cup, is certainly on the move across a gold and fertile landscape. He appears to be overwhelmed by feelings, sensitivities, idealism and unrealized, probably incoherent dreams.
Like the Knave, he is still intensely focused on the Cup, totally engrossed in his feelings, except he has a longer perspective on what it might mean. The Cup itself is over-large and heavy and barely ‘balanced’ rather than grasped in his right hand. His mode of dress, lack of headwear and his movement to the right suggest that nothing very much has developed from being a Knave except that he is mounted on a blue-maned horse (see above, Queen of Money). Of all four Knights, it is only the Knight of Cups who is holding the reins of the horse: does this indicate he is controlling where his ‘spirit’ will take him in his quest? This may be a quest for romantic love which could evolve into him becoming a crusader for ecology out of a love of humanity and the Planet.
Unless he introduces order and rationality into his life the potentiality for manifesting his heartfelt desires will be thwarted and, out of frustration, he could turn to subversive activities.
The crown sits on a rolled, stuffed base, which separates both her head and her heart from the status and authority symbolized by the crown. This is similar to the base of the crown worn by Justice. She sits comfortably, with parted thighs, on a throne hidden from view; the flowing, ribbon-like gold and flesh-coloured drapery is reminiscent of the thrones of The High Priestess, The Empress, The World and the scarf worn by the Knave. Her red mantle, blue cotte, gold girdle and gold kirtle are also similar to those worn by The Empress, Force, Temperance and the Queen of Money. In her right hand she has a firm grasp on the Cup which has a closed lid concealing the secrets of the full spectrum of love: romantic, sexual, compassionate, unconditional love and the love of humanity. The transformational white wand she carries in her left hand can also be seen in The Fool, The Lover, The Wheel Of Fortune, The Devil and the Knight of Swords and King of Clubs. Again, as with Justice, she balances her feelings with compassion and has the power of her wand to transform our life to experience peace and love.
In her negative mode she can be floating or drowned in a sea of turmoil and uncontrolled, self-induced deep emotional stress.
This card is dominated by the over-sized Cup and the King’s flamboyant headwear. His crown appears to have a pair of wings: does this indicate he is ungrounded with his head in the clouds? The heavy crown reminds us of The Tower of Destruction and inflated egos. He sits easily on his throne, has a firm hold on the weighty, ornate Cup and his left elbow is nonchalantly resting on the well-padded, golden arm of the throne. Like the other three Kings, he is looking to his left, disregarding the object in his right hand and turning away from the direction of his body. Unlike the Cups in the other Court cards in this suit, the Cup the king holds has no red ball decoration on its stem. His blue tunic, gold girdle and red cloak are similar to The Emperor’s dress and not dissimilar to the tunic, red hose and blue shoes worn by the King of Money.
This King is capable of ruthless compassion and his strong feelings need to be tempered by rational thought. He is a caring ruler but has a tendency to lack balanced judgement to the point where he could become a weak-willed tyrant who gives in to whims, indulgences and seduction.
The knave is staring at the ground and leaning to the left in an unstable stance. Although he wears the lemniscate hat of The Magician, Force, the King and Knave of Money, and carries a sword and red staff or wand (The Fool), he appears to be unaware of the potential and potency of the gifts and talents bestowed upon him. The gold sword with a white hilt is held in such a manner that it could not be used as a weapon (for intellectual fencing); instead, he is in danger of wounding himself on the left side of his face. The sloping sword also indicates the lack of balance and discernment seen in the sword of Justice and the King of Swords. His actions, gifts and judgement could be unpredictable and he would find difficulty in directing his innate cleverness. His stance, hose and shoes are similar to the Knave of Money and the well-cut tunic (The Hanged Man) and flowing blue and gold mantle (The Hermit) suggest he may be inclined to be thoughtful about his position and enjoy solitude.
This is a young man dressed for battle, ready for action and on the move. A heavily reinforced helmet protects the most treasured part of his body. His armour, gold girdle and flesh-coloured epaulette remind us of The Emperor and The Chariot. The gold breast plate and shin guards also protect his heart and lower limbs. He is intent on upholding the law, order and traditional values. In his left hand he carries a white, transformatory sword that has the power to right the world’s wrongs but it is dangerously close to the horse’s head – he might wound his own spirit.
The prancing, heavily armoured horse and richly decorated girth, red saddle and regalia indicate that, like the Knave, this Knight and his horse are fashionably well dressed.
The Knight is a person with a mission who seeks both physical and intellectual challenges to satisfy his crusader spirit. Such zealous endeavours could become belligerent and unnecessarily aggressive to the point where an argument is generated simply to satisfy a need to exercise or sharpen his wits.
As with the Knave and Knight, the Queen of Swords is looking to her right. She carries a red-bladed sword which is not held upright (see the sword of Justice), suggesting that she may be swayed by her intuitive feelings of compassion. The crown is comparatively lightweight; her red cotte, blue, gold and flesh-coloured mantle, gold kirtle, gold neckband and girdle illustrate an attire similar to The High Priestess, Justice and Temperance.
Her gold and flesh-coloured throne, on which she sits comfortably and with her thighs apart, is similar to the throne of Justice. The left hand is touching her solar plexus indicating that she trusts her ‘gut feelings’.
This is a well-organized, tidy woman whose sharp, energetic intellect is tempered by intuition. She will help to defend the realm but may find herself embroiled in lost causes and swayed by her head rather than her heart.
The King, a beardless, clever man who is young at heart, is half-sitting, half-standing and ready for action. Ignoring the weapon in his right hand, he is looking down to his left with his body and feet turned to the right. His elaborate lemniscate Magician’s hat, far more prominent than his royal status crown, indicates that he has a bright agile mind and encourages innovative thought and ideas. The sword, with its flesh-coloured blade and gold hilt, is carried upright in his right hand and his left hand lightly holds a white and gold mace or wand. The dangerous cutting edge of the sword is prevented from causing a self-inflicted wound by the brim of his hat.
The epaulettes and armour (The Chariot and the Knight of Swords) suggest he upholds family values, tradition and the rule of law. The epaulette’s face on his right shoulder has both eye and mouth closed but the face on his left shoulder has an eye and mouth open. (Does this mean he knows when to be silent and when to speak?) The well-decorated blue breastplate and gold neckpiece protect his feelings and power of speech (persuasion) and the armoured red skirt guards his sexual region. The white girdle might suggest he exercises an intuitive flexibility. His throne appears to be a hard stone plinth, decorated with an unidentified insignia: seemingly, this King is not too concerned with material comforts!
The King of Swords is a well-armed, well-prepared monarch who will fight for a just and rational cause. He has a tenacious spirit, enjoys challenges and responds positively to new ways of thinking and reasoning to achieve a goal.
In his negative mode he could be a rigid, intolerant tyrant who lacks compassion and feelings and has a tendency to become pompous and self-righteous.
The Knave looks serenely to his left, gazing straight ahead towards the future. In both hands he is holding a heavy green, fertile club with buds bursting with new growth. The bare legs suggest a vulnerability (The Lover) but he wears blue shoes and his feet are well planted on the ground. Unlike the other three Knaves he is moving along a left-handed path and has flesh-coloured hair topped with a fillet-style red and yellow hat with a white headband. He carries with him a weighty wand of talent, ideas and youthful energy. He may possess the qualities of The King, but these are hidden behind the tunic and red mantle.
This young man has abounding talents and energies that need to be nurtured, developed and allowed to be expressed, otherwise they will be transmuted into disruptive, potentially harmful hyperactivity. The creative spirit must be given rein.
The Knight is looking down in appreciation of the gifts, energies and talents that are embedded in the symbol of the gold-coloured Club held in his left hand. It is now a more manageable size, indicating the Knight has it under control. His horse (spirit) is also looking in the same direction but the Knight’s body and mount are moving in the opposite direction. The simple, everyday fillet worn by the Knave is discarded for the lemniscate hat of The Magician, Force, the Knave and King of Money and the Knave of Swords. The well-decorated upper-body armour protects his heart and groin and the blue breeches and red hose are adorned with a yellow rosette; he wears a white shoe.
The horse’s white body is hidden under a flesh-coloured blanket; its unbridled head suggests that the transformatory qualities of the Knight’s spirit largely remain a secret (as in The High Priestess and The Empress). The blue mane reflects the blue hair found in The Pope, The Lover, The Hanged Man, Temperance, The Tower, The Star, The Moon and Judgement as well as the Queen of Money.
This young person knows where he wants to be and understands how to capitalize on innate abilities. The Knight has the fire, energy and passion for creative works, and the intuitive ideas and flexibility of mind to progress in his quest for fulfilment.
In a negative mode he could become subversive and misdirect his talents.
Her white tresses are as long and flowing as The Star and The World. She is looking down and to her left. The disproportionately large, top-heavy club – shaped more like a serious weapon – rests over her shoulder and nestles in her hand on her right thigh. Her left hand also gently rests on her other thigh. She sits comfortably with her legs apart on a throne that cannot be seen behind her voluminous red mantle, blue cotte with gold kirtle and girdle. Unlike the other three Queens, she is turned to her left and disregards the implement she is holding.
Abundant feminine energies tempered with love and guile, coupled with highly developed intuitive powers produce this formidable Queen who has boundless creativity and imaginative ideas. But, like the Knave and Knight, unless these abilities and energies are well directed and explored for positive ends, they could become overbearing and destructive.
This young, beardless King looks serenely to the left (in the same direction as the Queen, Knight and Knave) and ahead into the future. His hat, with its half-hidden crown is a repeat of that worn by the King of Swords. He is also somewhat similarly dressed in well-decorated armour, red breeches, blue hose, red shoes and protective epaulettes. The gold armour belt protecting his solar plexus region draws attention to the area of ‘gut feelings’ (intuition). He is lightly balanced on his feet, sitting squarely on a throne that is somewhat similar to the throne of Justice. In his right hand he holds a heavy white and gold mace in a non-threatening manner, while his left hand, like the Queen’s, rests on his thigh or inner groin. He appears to be sitting in a relaxed posture, but this is deceptive because he is dressed and armed ready for action whenever necessary.
Through his balance and integration of the Masculine and Feminine Principles of rationality and intuition and his fertile imagination, creativity and high energy levels, he has the power and capability to manifest great benefits.
The single blue post to his throne indicates that he may err on the side of idealism rather than being a pragmatic ruler: this could lead him into unrealistic adventures or enterprises when, like the King of Cups, his heart may overrule his head. This King could become dangerous if he lacks discipline and his energies run out of control.
Deciphering the 78 Major and Minor Arcana cards tells us something about the cast of characters and influences in the story of our quest. Now, we can discover how their roles relate to each other in an apparently random, open-ended interaction which ‘encodes’ discrete messages so that we may understand where we are at present and the next step we need to take in the fulfilment of our quest.
As mentioned earlier, check that the deck you are using does have a consistent and bona fide symbolic language of vocabulary and logical grammar, otherwise the depth of meaning will be muddled and confusing.
For the serious aspirant, meditating on the symbols and symbolism of the deck can expand one’s psychic awareness and intuition when using the cards for personal divination and for breaking down any negative, blocking constructs that separate us from who we really are. It is better for the reader to gain a general impression of the range of meanings and interpretations of each card rather than attempting to memorize the whole deck. Let the intuition take over – do not learn the meanings by rote. Without it sounding too ‘New Agey’, it may help to become familiar with the Tarot and begin to penetrate its depths of meaning if you turn over a new card each morning from your randomly shuffled deck and hold the image and its symbolism in your mind throughout the rest of the day.