The sixteen court cards, regardless of which school of tarot your cards belong to, tend to represent developmental stages or steps in a process. They show a very distinct learning curve, from apprentice or beginner—the Pages—to the initiated and in constant training—the Knights—to the networker, social developer, and change agent—the Queens—to the Master—the Kings. This approach also negates the gender often ascribed to each of these cards. Getting rid of the gender element in this process is probably one of the more liberating ways to work with these cards, as now we are focused on where we find ourselves in a cycle, stage, process, or goal instead of whether or not we need to be more masculine or feminine. This is why this section has been written with nonbinary pronouns. Each deck creator designs their cards around the energy that calls to them from the deck itself. It is not in any way meant to limit or control how you interact with the cards or the characters portrayed on them. Regardless of what gender is pictured on the court cards themselves, each one still represents a stage you will enter along your path. For me this is truly helpful, especially when I am working on long-term goals or short-term experiences, which, by the way, is a distinction you will need to understand before you begin your pathwork with the court cards. Are you focusing on something long term (perhaps with a timeline of three to five years) or something that is a short-term experience (taking perhaps three to twelve months)? The time frame is important, as it lets you know how quickly you will need to work through each of the court card stages. Perhaps you will find you’re further along than you first thought, and those five years just got reduced to two!
Let me give you a couple examples of what I mean and show you how you can set up your pathwork experience with the court cards to supercharge your goals, manifestations, or healing processes.
For the first example, let’s look at something that is long term. Because I work with a lot of female entrepreneurs, we’ll use the idea of starting a business. This needs to be something that you plan to grow over a three- to five-year period. If you can’t commit to a business for three years, then just don’t do it. Business is hard; it takes a lot of time and a lot of single-minded focus and concentration, which is why you have to commit the time, and lots of it. For the sake of this argument, let’s say you are planning to hit King status in three years. This means in three years time you will be considered an expert in your field and a true leader in your industry. People well seek you out because of your expertise. This is a fabulous goal, but how do you get there? Well, by starting at the beginning, of course. Hello, Pages!
You want to spend as much time in this stage as possible. You need to surrender to the energy of this stage, not rush through it. I see boredom kill so many businesses. Everyone is in a rush to be King. Don’t be. It’s hard at the top and even harder if you didn’t learn all the right lessons in the beginning. This stage with the Pages sets the foundation for everything else that comes next. You literally build upward from the foundation you lay in this stage. Love yourself and your business enough to build a strong, stable, and secure foundation, and only when that is done should you move on to the next stage, the Knights.
The Knights, in many respects, kick up the active energy of the process or phase you are in. Unlike the Pages, who are more observational and focused on single tasks, the Knights are where the action really revs up. The Knights need to hone multiple skills, juggle multiple responsibilities, and manage a wide variety of tasks in short periods of time. In many respects, the Knights represent first level management of your business. The Knight will actively engage you on all the elements of your business—setting up email lists, taking ideas from the Pages phase and turning them into real tangible things, creating a social media presence, blogging or vlogging, and hiring a virtual assistant, just to name a few. Under the watchful eye of the Knights, you will learn product creation skills and battle plans, also known as launch strategies. You will sharpen your mind, learn to limit your distractions, use boredom as a creative weapon, and become singularly focused on the long-term goal of becoming King of your domain. You will find that you go through many Knight phases on the path toward your goals. Like the Pages, you never really say goodbye to this stage; rather you just learn when to actively engage in this phase and when to move on to the next one, which would be the Queens.
The Queens bring with them all the glitz and glamour you would expect, but don’t let that fool you. If you have made it to this level, you are working harder than you ever have before. The only difference is that you are enjoying it. You are so engaged with what you are doing that it no longer feels like work but more like an extension of who you are. You may have seen some sparks of success while you were in the Knight’s phase, but you haven’t seen anything like what you will see here at the executive branch of the tarot court cards. In many respects, this is the make-or-break stage of your journey. Things will come at you fast, and you won’t have the time you wish you had to spend on dreaming and creating. The pace at this level can overwhelm people. It may have been what you said you wanted, but now that you are here, the pressure to constantly keep up, keep creating, keep moving, and keep relevant is starting to get you down. It is when working with the Queens that you will either give up and bow out or learn how to use this pressure to create something miraculous. There are many people, myself included, who would love to stay right here at this stage. There is something so satisfying about getting this phase right. It makes you forget why you ever wanted to be King. The problem is that you will end up at King level by default, just because you are such an awesome, badass Queen. Unfortunately, that is just the way it goes, so like it or not, you are about to level up.
Believe it or not, being King isn’t anywhere near as much fun as people dream it is. Those who have gotten this far know that wearing this particular crown is hard. Now more than ever, the responsibility lies solely at your feet. Things you could get away with before are now frowned upon and called out, often in public. Once you have stepped foot into this fourth stage or phase, all eyes are squarely on you. Everyone wants to know you, know what you are doing, who you are with, what you are wearing or eating, you name it. You are the King and people know who you are. Of course, this was the goal all along, to be King of your field, career, niche, and business in three years. But now that you are at the top, now that you have worked through all of the phases … now what?
That is just a simple example of how to use the court cards as steps, stages, and phases. This allows them to become more focused concepts for your pathwork practice. Now let’s see how this plays out in a smaller goal over a much tighter time frame.
Again, let’s stick to a business framework. Let’s say you just signed up as an essential oil advocate. You love essential oils and you truly want to share this passion with as many people as possible, so you have set yourself a goal of reaching the Elite sales title in your first year. Since you now have your goal, you would settle in with the Pages and start studying. Learn your oils and gather as much information as you can about how to use the oils, market the oils, and close a sale. Ask lots of questions of people who have already done what you want to achieve. After you have gathered all the data you need, you would move into the action phases and start being known as an essential oil advocate. This is when you would start posting on your blog and social media sites about the oils you love and use on a regular basis. You would start crunching your numbers and really pay attention to the questions others now ask you. Next you would move into the Queens stage by finding other people to collaborate with, and you might see if you can get on some podcasts, or start one of your own. You may write guest blog pieces and see about joining other groups that are a natural fit for your product, or looking into what partnerships and joint ventures you can create. The Queens love to network, so think about how you can start classes or create a meet-up group, or even get yourself to a conference or event that puts you face-to-face with others. If you have done all of this correctly and with a committed, focused mind, you should reach your goal of being the Elite King by the end of the year. Or who knows—maybe you will do even better than that and your results will blow you away. Before you know it, you will be the almighty leader of your own team of hopeful advocates who now dream of being where you are, and guess what? You can tell them all about how you used the tarot court cards to track and plot your goal of going from Page to King in under twelve months! Hurray!
I could write these examples for pretty much anything—weight loss, health and well-being, relationships, you name it. The same stages, phases, and steps apply. There is literally nothing you cannot achieve by following the stages of the tarot court cards. Now that you have seen what is possible with these cards, let’s take a deeper dive into the individuals that make these sixteen cards so special, because getting to know the energies of these phases, steps, and processes will only empower you and your goals more.
The Pages are, in many respects, a representation of someone who is just learning to meditate. They are beginning a journey with a very specific destination in mind. For a Page, the goal is to be a Knight, and for the newbie meditator, it is time to either reduce stress, increase one’s level of awareness, improve one’s mental focus and clarity, or, for some, reach enlightenment. The Pages and the beginner meditator both start off exactly the same way: by learning how to become expert observers. The newbie meditator, or for the sake of this book, the newbie pathworker, is learning how to observe their thoughts, feelings, actions, and material existence. The Pages break these components up over four cards, which makes working with the Pages a fabulous tool for new meditators and pathworkers alike. I will often get my healing clients to start working with the Page cards in the tarot as part of their healing journey, especially after an intense few months of healing work. This is to ground the new energy that is rising inside of them, and to assist them in making better decisions and taking more aligned actions for their health and well-being goals. The Pages are the very first steps in a much longer journey, but before they even begin that journey, they need to put in the time and do the slow tedious work of getting their bodies, minds, emotions, and spirits aligned with the experience itself.
The Page of Swords is the starting point for mental training. This Page must observe the thoughts, beliefs, biases, and words of those around them. Much like a baby learns how to speak, what to believe, and how to be prejudiced, the Page of Swords finds themselves in a world where they have to relearn all they thought they knew. It is here in the Page of Swords that we start to understand that truth, in and of itself, may be more fluid then we are willing to admit. Just as you learn how to meditate, the Page of Swords must also learn to observe the thoughts that float around in their head. They must examine, without judgment, their inner dialogue, and see how it matches or doesn’t match the dialogue of those around them. They must also learn to do this without attachment. The Page of Swords is only an observer at this stage. Even though they may wish to swing that sword all on their own, the consequences of doing so will cause more harm than good.
The Page of Wands is the first time we have been asked to monitor how we might act or react to the world around us. As babies, we learn how to act and react from our parents. Their triggers often become our triggers in one form or another. The way we deal with fight or flight becomes less instinctive and more habitual the older we get, showing that we learn how to act or react to triggers over the course of our human lives. Here in the Page of Wands, you are being asked to put all of that under the microscope. Becoming the observer of our actions and reactions is actually harder than monitoring our thoughts. If you have ever undertaken any new habit training, you will know exactly how hard this is. The Page of Wands is a crucial card in habit changing, for if you cannot first observe how you interact and engage in the world around you, you can’t change it either. Think about things you have wanted to change in your life, like bad habits you tried to break or new habits you have tried to create. How easy was it to do any of that? Research shows us that the older we get, the harder it is to change habitual behavior, yet it doesn’t say it can’t be done. You just have to make a decision to do it, and then walk that journey. Lucky for you, you have the Page of Wands to assist you. Of course, the Page of Wands has a bit of swagger and cockiness about them, but at some point, self-preservation will kick in, and if you can stick with the tedious task of being the ever-present observer in your reactionary world, you will see your focus, clarity, and resolve grow stronger and better with each passing day.
The Page of Cups introduces us to the consequences of our dreams, feelings, emotions, and imagination. Not unlike the Page of Wands, the Page of Cups needs to be on alert for things that trigger them. The watery energy of the cups is a challenging energy to work with at the best of times, but it is even harder when you cannot do anything but sit on the shore and watch. This act of looking or observing is actually seen in many Rider-Waite-Smith decks, as the Page of Cups is the only Page that has their own animal totem with them: the fish. I am not going to go into a discussion here about the fish and what it symbolizes, but you can check out my book Tarot Court Cards for Beginners if you want to go further with the fish. For now, let’s just say the fish and the Page offer us up the complex duology of emotional energy. It is both internal and external. It flows in us, through us, and out of us. What emotional conditions we create internally shape the physical conditions of the world around us. The Page of Cups is learning that in order to understand their emotions better, they will also need to learn how to observe the reflection of that energy in the world they engage in. This means tapping into that other lovely cup’s energy: intuitive sight. Seeing via the third eye while still keeping the physical eyes open is one of the hardest things for new meditators to do. In fact, it is hard even when you have been meditating for many years, but this is where it all begins, right here in the Page of Cups with the ever-watchful fish. The watcher and the watched are both taking notes and exploring how their feelings shape the world, one emotion at a time.
The Page of Pentacles deals with pretty much everything in the physical material world, including all the things you can feel, taste, and touch. This is the Page of material resources, that which makes up the physical world of matter. This Page learns early on in the game of life that money is not the only way to be wealthy, and that most forms of abundance have nothing to do with money at all. The Page of Pentacles also learns just how closely our bodies, health, and food are linked to our beliefs about abundance. This Page doesn’t have time for delving deep into their emotions, nor do they have time to sit around and contemplate their navels, oh no, because while others are off wondering about the meaning of life, the Page of Pentacles is learning what makes the world turn and how they can move, flow, and grow right alongside it. Walking hand in hand with the Page of Pentacles, you will learn just how interconnected the physical world actually is. The Page spends each and every day collecting data, finding patterns, and seeing how things connect. The Page is, after all, training to be a Knight, but in order to get to that status there is much to master. The Page is learning about their body as well, and seeing how it changes, grows, and reacts. The Page of Pentacles is the perfect card to work with when you start a healing journey. Of all of the Pages, this one might be the one that stretches some of your current beliefs, which makes this card a perfect journeying partner.
Pathwork
Intentional
For this exercise, you will need to pull all four of your Pages out of your deck. Line them up in the following order: pentacles, swords, cups, and wands. Then go ahead and set your intention for some issue, problem, or concern you are currently having with your health or physical body. I recommend writing this intention out and placing it above the four Page cards you’ve laid out in front of you. You can also set some crystals there and light a candle if you feel moved to do so. In this exercise we are going to be using the Page of Pentacles as a grounding point, mainly because this young Page represents the physical, material world. Take three nice deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth and allow yourself to gently relax. Keep your gaze on the Pages as you repeat the following text:
Today I walk hand in hand with the Page of Pentacles to take stock of all my healthy, life-affirming habits. I document and record these things so I can best keep track of them. (Pause)
I ask the Page of Swords to monitor my thoughts, beliefs, and communication surrounding my health intention. May this Page show me where I am out of alignment and where I am communicating correctly about my health and well-being.
I ask the Page of Cups to monitor my feelings and emotions about my current state of health and well-being, and to alert me when my feelings are out of alignment with my current set of health goals.
I ask the Page of Wands to work with the Page of Cups so that I can be intuitively guided to healthy foods, healthy thoughts, healthy people, and nourishing conversations.
I know by walking with the Pages I will be able to better navigate my health and well-being goals.
Take another deep breath and close your eyes; if you feel moved to, picture your intention as being fully fulfilled. Smile as you visualize this completed intention, so that you fill it with positive energy. Take two more nice deep breaths and release the visualization. If you want to, you can keep the cards out, along with any crystals you have used, and leave everything set up until your candle burns down.
Intuitive
One of the hardest lessons for a Page to learn is discipline. It is not in a child’s nature to sit still for long. Your own inner child energy gets restless when it is not being stimulated, or when it is being stifled and contained. In this exercise, you get to take the shackles off and let one or all four of the Pages out to roam wild. Take a nice deep breath, settle your body and your mind, and slowly bring up a mental image of yourself as a small child. Once you see yourself in your child image, see if you can figure out which sort of Page you are. What does your energy feel like? Take another nice deep breath and allow your mind to drift to a time when you were fully focused, when your child self was happy, content, and immersed in a task. Hold this scene in your mind’s eye for as long as possible. Make it bright and colorful. Enlarge it so it takes up all of your vision. When you feel you have memorized all the joyful elements you can, take another deep breath and write down in your journal any additional information you have about this memory or the task that kept you so still and focused.
Wandering
Pull all four Pages out of your deck and place them facedown in front of you. Close your eyes, scan the cards, and then select the one you get an intuitive hit from (this could be the card that feels warmer or cooler than the others) and turn it over. Whichever Page you have selected is the one that you need to work with today, so go ahead and put the other three Pages back in your deck. This exercise is more about learning how to make a deeper connection with your Page card. Now think about how you would plan a day’s worth of activities for this Page. What places would this Page like to visit and what sort of adventures would this Page find the most alluring? If you have the Page of Pentacles, there is a good chance something outside in the backyard or at the local park might be of interest. If you selected the Page of Wands, think more creative and action-based activities, like painting or paintball. If you selected the Page of Cups, perhaps a trip to the library or the beach would be in order. And lastly, if you selected the Page of Swords, maybe a museum or comic book store might be the way to go. Once you have mapped out what you consider your ideal day for your Page, consider going to do all of those activities. You pulled this Page for a reason, maybe because it’s time to walk in this Page’s shoes for a while.
Before we begin this section, I just want to let you know that some of what you are about to read may sound very similar to what you just read in the Page’s section. That is because it is. Pages are in training to be Knights, and they overlap in many and various ways. The real difference here is action over observation. Where the Page was more of an active observer, collecting data and then seeing how it applied to the path they found themselves taking, the Knights are action-oriented. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where things get very, very real. Alright, glad we had this little chat before you dive in, but now it’s time to continue.
The Knights are where your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs become action-based habits. These habits will then dictate how you engage with the world around you. Habits are nothing but internalized learned behaviors and things we have programmed into our minds and bodies over extended periods of time. Slowing down, being more aware, and really being present with your thoughts, feelings, actions, and reactions are not easy tasks. But it is essential to attaining a more joyful, healthy, and abundant life. Pathworking with the Knights is a step in the right direction when it comes to creating and maintaining new, life-honoring habits. Here you can train your skills right alongside them. Learn how to be more mindful with the Knight of Swords. Learn how to tap into your emotions and use them to empower you with the Knight of Cups. Learn how to stop being reactive and plan your moves with precise action with the Knight of Wands. And of course, learn how to be in the world of material things but not a part of it with the Knight of Pentacles. Let the next phase of your mindfulness training begin.
The Knight of Swords carries on the lessons that they started learning back when they were a Page. Now, however, it is time to really dig deep and focus like never before. The Knight of Swords knows how important it is to create a calm and focused mind, for this is imperative in battle. When the mind is overcome with fear and self-doubt, one can become a target. However, when the mind is calm, it can make quick and decisive actions that will benefit not only the Knight themselves but all of those that surround them. There is more at stake when one becomes a Knight. This is no longer the journey of one, the single journey of the Page; this is where one person’s journey becomes an integral part of other people’s stories. This level of responsibility is something the Knight of Swords takes very seriously, which is why you will find this Knight meditating for hours on end, morning, noon, and night. Focus, flow, and awareness are key to this Knight’s success. Working with the Knight of Swords will bring you to a quieter, more peaceful state of being. This Knight will show you how to still your mind, expand all of your senses and use what is around you to your advantage. Just don’t be fooled into thinking that this Knight is passive. Every action this Knight takes causes a reaction, and they know only too well in which direction that energy will flow and what sort of ripples it will create. This Knight means business and won’t take too kindly to anyone thinking they can half-ass their lessons with them. That sword the Knight yields is sharp, and they are not afraid to cause some pain if they feel it’s necessary. Therefore, think carefully before you choose to walk with the Knight of Swords and remember that humility will be your longest-serving friend.
The Knight of Wands seriously wants to light a fire under your ass. This Knight has no interest in your excuses and won’t take no for an answer. This Knight will never understand why people stand still, nor will this Knight understand why people are afraid of the word no, or why others think failure is such a big deal. As far as the Knight of Wands is concerned, you will never truly know anything unless you do it, which is wise, to be honest. Far too often we play out ridiculous scenarios in our heads to convince ourselves to never ask that question, never take that first step, never try changing, never … you can fill in the blank. The Knight of Wands doesn’t comprehend this sort of limited thinking. The fiery potential this Knight burns with stops them from ever thinking that they cannot do something. How liberating is that? How different would your life be if you just did all the things your heart desired for you to do? What would your life look like? How different would you feel about who you are and your place in the world? According to this Knight, there are only two types of people: those who do and those who bitch about those who do. The Knight of Wands doesn’t listen to people who only complain or only have negative things to say. This Knight takes that sort of toxic energy and burns it away. This is a skill we could all use: to take the toxic energy in our lives and use it as fuel. In many ways, the Knight of Wands is talented in the arts of transmutation and alchemy. Though not as skilled as the Queen and King, the Knight is certainly no slouch at taking something dangerous and harmful and turning it into something productive and beneficial. Through your work with this Knight you will also learn how to keep your creative and spiritual spark burning, even when it feels like the world is doing its best to snuff your light out. I hope your clothes are flame resistant!
The Knight of Cups may be a bit of a romantic, but they know how to use one’s heart to create a life worth living and loving. This Knight is all about the “feels,” even if it ends up getting them into trouble or causing self-inflicted emotional pain. If this Knight can’t feel it, then this Knight is not going to do it, end of story. Emotions are really tricky things, and I know I am guilty of sometimes wishing I never had any at all. It sure would make life easier if we didn’t have to constantly wade through every single emotion we have—fear, doubt, regret, sorrow, grief, resentment, and anger. Life would be so much more fun if all of those things never existed. Unfortunately, emotions are an important part of the physical game. They are our navigation system and literally guide us from one phase of our lives to another, and the Knight of Cups is an excellent navigator. Sometimes this Knight is depicted with their eyes closed, showing how this Knight is able to tap into something other than physical sight to move and stay on top of the horse they ride. This Knight is well on the way to understanding how to use the power of one’s emotions to benefit one’s path. This meditative process of “feeling” your way through each moment is not easy to learn, for there is a lot of detachment involved. You see, it is one thing to attach to your emotions, but it is quite another to let them go and merely see how they influence, guide, or trigger your responses. As I said, emotions are tricky things. They can limit you or expand you. They can give you life-affirming energy or leave you feeling depleted and drained. Emotions can guide you toward the life of your dreams, or they can get you lost in a world of darkness and pain. Let this Knight guide you through the first steps of detachment. Let the Knight of Cups show you some of the tricks they have learned to stay focused and disciplined in the sea of choppy, emotional waters. Most of all, let this Knight heal and open your heart, so you can learn to love feeling again.
The Knight of Pentacles is a being of slow and steady movement. This Knight won’t be rushed and believes that the only way to build a strong and lasting foundation is to lay it one brick at a time. That is exactly the way this Knight engages with all aspects of the physical realm: one piece at a time. The Knight of Pentacles is not one to multitask and considers this line of thinking and doing to be flawed and misguided. This Knight believes you should give yourself totally to the moment, to whatever task, person, problem, or situation you find before you. Anything less would be disrespectful. The slow, steady pace of the Knight of Pentacles is going to be hard for some people to deal with, especially considering we all seem to live in a world that moves faster than we have time to comprehend. It is not easy being a slow and steady person in a fast-paced environment. Sometimes it makes you a target, and other times it makes you invisible. Sometimes being both of these things can be beneficial. When people start to attack you for being too slow or taking too long, or accuse you of dragging your feet, just remember that your way of doing or being does not have to conform to anyone else’s timeline. The Knight of Pentacles is very aware of this, and is used to being left behind by the other Knights, as they eagerly ride off for some form of adventure. Being left behind makes you feel invisible, but at least you no longer have to hear about how long you take getting things done. Training with the Knight of Pentacles guarantees that when you commit to something, you do so completely and fully, and make sure it is done in the right way in divine time.
Pathwork
Intentional
Most of us tend to sharpen the skills we are already good at and put off things we don’t usually excel in. Knights must sharpen all their skills, not just the ones they are good at. They have to practice and practice and practice. Part of that practice is meditation and visualization. This is such an effective part of skill-building that 90 percent of the world’s top athletes also use this mindfulness technique to sharpen their skills. Now it’s your turn. Pick a skill that you truly want to learn, even though right now you are just miserable at it. Maybe it’s cooking healthy meals, maybe it’s balancing your checkbook, maybe it’s painting, maybe it’s rock climbing. It really doesn’t matter what it is; just be brave, pick your worst skill, and bring it to the meditation cushion along with a timer set for five minutes. Settle yourself by taking some nice deep breaths. Before you hit the timer and close your eyes, focus in on the skill you want to learn and see yourself doing it. Really get into the environment you see yourself in while using this skill—the people there, the clothes you are wearing, the expression on your face, and the feeling of your body. Tap into this, and then hit that timer, close your eyes, and stay focused on your image until your timer beeps at you. Repeat this as often as you feel you need to or until you start to see results.
Intuitive
Pull all four Knights out of your deck and place them facedown in front of you. Close your eyes, scan the cards, select the one you get an intuitive hit from, and turn it over. Whichever Knight you have selected is the one that you need to work with today, so go ahead and put the other three Knights back in your deck. Place your Knight either on your meditation altar or somewhere in front of you so you can keep your focus on the card. Relax into your breathing, drop your shoulders, and settle your mind. Keep your gaze on the card as you allow yourself to relax more deeply. Just keep your focus on the card in front of you and allow any thoughts, images, or chatter to just move on through your mind. When you feel focused and relaxed, go ahead and close your eyes. Stay still and silent for as long as you can, just letting the information or messages float in. When you feel done or no longer feel connected to the card and its messages, pick up your journal and write down any and all messages that this Knight sent you. Don’t overthink this process by trying to question whether or not what you heard, felt, or saw was just your imagination. Just write it down; imagination or not, the information is important and relevant to where you are in this moment. You may want to do further journal work to go deeper with your Knight’s message.
Wandering
For this exercise, you are going to have to either keep your smartphone with a note-taking app handy, or have a small journal and pen and carry it around with you for a whole day. Yes, this is going to be a whole day of mindful wandering, though it would be incredibly helpful if you kept it up for as long as you could tolerate it. Knights are meticulous about their habits, which is why they have a strict schedule and a fairly consistent routine. They know what they do with their time, how much energy they use on each task, and who they spend their time with. They also have gaps of time for relaxation, contemplation, and higher learning. Today you are going to wander through your day like a Knight, and you are going to track your life in the space of twenty-four hours. This is amazing mindfulness and habit training, as we typically just zombie our way through our daily lives. You want to be aware of everything you do from the time your feet touch the floor in the morning until you lay your head back on the pillow at night. Grab your phone or journal and begin your mindful wandering through a day in the life of you. Use the information you gather as a way to view how you use your time. Which habits suck your energy and which habits invigorate you? Let this data guide you to better manage your day and your energy.
You have now reached the stage of your development when it is time to bring your gifts, talents, and skills to a much bigger audience. No more practicing in the dark and only showing off to a few close friends. Think of this stage as being dragged out of the shadows of obscurity into the spotlight. Like it or not, none of us who has gotten to this level can escape attention from strangers. When we reach the position of Queen, we must understand that everything we have worked for and everything we have built has not been for us alone, and now it is time to give back. This is not always an easy thing to do, especially for us introverts, who, despite loving coaxing from all four of the Queens, will have to be dragged out from under the blanket fort we have built in the corner of our room. In many respects, the Queens are here to teach us how to take ownership of what we have created, and to stand proud and learn how to take a compliment, no matter how uncomfortable. The Queens show us how to take our rewards with grace and how to give back with a focused mind, an open heart, a generous pocket, and a true desire to help others.
The Queens have some of the most extensive networks in the tarot empire. There is nothing and no one these lovelies do not know, and connecting people is one of their favorite pastimes. This is another way you will know when you have entered into the stage of the Queen. You will know people, and not just any people, but people who can make things happen. You will be able to connect people to each other so that they too can advance along their soul paths. The Queens also have a lot of teaching energy around them, and they will impart knowledge, wisdom, and tricks of the trade willingly and without the need for coaxing or scheming. Just know that there will be some sort of payment involved, be it money, time, or whatever else the Queens deem necessary in exchange for the wisdom they share.
Does any of this sound familiar to you yet? Have you truly reached the level of Queen or are you just poking around? You may think you learned these skills while in training with the Knights, but the Knights’ range of influence is small compared to the world that the Queens open up for you. Think about everything you have learned thus far and multiply it by fifty, because that is the growth that happens at this stage. You could say that it is in the court of Queens that you are finally stripped bare of all your foolish and childish ways and now dress in the regal robes of confidence, grace, power, and honor.
The Queen of Swords is no stranger to quiet, stillness, and alone time. One’s best thinking is done in these simple moments, without distraction and constant interruption. This Queen knows the importance of space and is not at all afraid to let others know when they have had enough of people for the day. This Queen understands that the space inside their head is the most important space they have, and is very mindful of the thoughts, beliefs, and ideas that take up occupancy inside the mind. The Queen of Swords understands how easily you can allow limiting voices the opportunity to grab the mic in your brain. The Queen knows that if you are not vigilant, these scared, frightened parts of the ego mind can end up derailing you from the part you now play in the bigger, broader world around you. The Queen knows that you have not come this far or worked this hard to be so easily misled. Through meditation, the Queen will guide you on how to pluck these nagging doubts and inner critic voices from your mind to free up space for more empowering and life-fulfilling thoughts and ideas. This then allows people, places, and things to line up with ease and grace, as you have stilled the ego monster and paved the way for miracles to happen. The Queen of Swords learned back in training as a Knight that everything starts in the mind. Every hope, every dream, every doubt, and every fear—all seed in the mind. The more attention you give them the faster they sprout. In order for the Queen of Swords to rule, hold court, and be of service, they must constantly be weeding out anything that does not serve their higher calling. Pathwork with this Queen will teach you to do the same.
The Queen of Wands is like no other muse you will ever come across. This Queen is delightful, playful, desirable, and will literally set your world on fire. The Queen of Wands has gotten slightly better at standing still, though it is still their least preferred option. They have learned that sometimes even fire needs time to burn down and smolder for a while. Burning brightly all the time is exhausting, so this Queen has gotten more comfortable with kicking back and taking some downtime, as long as there is plenty of pleasure involved. Being pleasured is one of the Queen of Wands favorite pastimes, and they expect others to want to please them whenever and wherever they command. The ability to receive pleasure is not an easy skill to learn, as most of us are more eager to give than receive. This is why working with this particular Queen is so beneficial. I mean, what good is desire if you never allow it to bring you any pleasure? What is the point of all that manifesting, goal grabbing, and dream achieving if you don’t take time to bask in its afterglow? At this stage in the game, the Queen of Wands has learned how beneficial it is to take a breath, or two or three, in between conquests. The Queen of Wands allows time in the day to truly marvel at what they have created. The Queen also spends time thinking about what others would like to create, for their creations will end up becoming part of the Queen’s own experience. This is why this Queen wants others to use their creative talents wisely. You could say that at this phase of the journey, the Queen of Wands is learning to seek the pleasure found in the joy of others. The muse connects us all with an infectious and wildly spreading spark. There is no getting away from the creative energy that pumps through us all. It seems only right that we should allow it to bring us pleasure as well.
The Queen of Cups is not afraid to show their feelings. In fact, this Queen will wave them about like a badge of honor. The Queen of Cups doesn’t care if you like this sort of emotional display or not, because this is how the Queen engages with the world and that is all there is to it. Flowing, intuitive, and heart-centered, the Queen of Cups doesn’t have time for people who are too busy trying to mask, hide, and conceal who they truly are. The world is full of so many people pretending to be someone they are not and denying themselves feelings they are desperate to explore. But not this Queen. This Queen knows there is something liberating about throwing off all the masks and just being your authentic, messy, complicated self. The Queen of Cups knows how liberating it is to be fully engaged with people, places, and situations when you are not so busy trying to force your emotions to behave. When this Queen is feeling something, they show it. This does not make the Queen of Cups weak, or fickle, or even manic—quite the opposite. When people come to the Queen of Cups, they will always know what they are going to get. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that this Queen wears a heart on their sleeve and does not have a brain between their ears. For the Queen of Cups sees you, all of you. They know what you think, how you feel, and how you respond under pressure. The Queen of Cups knows your strengths and your weaknesses and is not above exploiting both of them. A feeling Queen is a powerful Queen, and a powerful Queen is honored, loved, and, above all, respected. The Queen of Cups, like all the Queens in the tarot empire, has an expansive network and social circle. Pass the emotional tests this Queen has laid out for you and the Queen’s world will open to you and grant you all your heart’s desires. Fail the test and you could be locked out forever.
The Queen of Pentacles brings us back down to earth, oftentimes with a thud, especially if we have had our head in the clouds for longer than we should. This Queen is more of a doer than a dreamer and enjoys putting things together, tending to them as they grow, and gathering the fruits of long and constant hard work. This Queen prefers to be outdoors in the open air, as this is where their true magic lies: in the world of material things. Money and health are both equally important to this Queen, for they understand that one without the other is a futile and shortsighted pursuit. This is why this Queen will show you how to have a healthy relationship with both your body and your money, which makes the Queen of Pentacles a particularly helpful guide for the self-
employed or the entrepreneur. Home based businesses are, of course, this Queen’s speciality, for there is a true freedom to dictating your own hours, your own income streams, and your own way of creating the life that you wish to experience. A lot of times these things are overlooked in the pursuit of money, which is why the Queen of Pentacles brings us back to center, reminding us that money is useless when we have sick and suffering bodies.
The Queen of Pentacles wants to show you how to balance what you need with what you want. This Queen wants to show you how to create a life that is self-sustaining, beneficial to all, and, most importantly, secure and stable. Don’t bother bringing your excuses to this Queen, because there will be no interest in what you have to say. The Queen of Pentacles will, however, be more than happy to show you how to create a life that you can enjoy, a life that you want to engage in each day, and a life that won’t leave you with regrets or wondering “What if ?” Just understand that all of this takes time, and the Queen of Pentacles is never in a hurry. You can’t rush divine creation. It comes in its own time, in its own way, and on its own terms. But the Queen of Pentacles promises that when it does arrive, it will be more than you could ever have hoped and dreamed for.
Pathwork
Intentional
Queens are networkers. They gather people, entertain people, and introduce people. They know who is who and what is what. They have a vested interest in all those they meet and are able to make recommendations and connections just by snapping their fingers. My mother used to tell me all the time: “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” A powerful Queen is not made overnight. They are strategic with their growth, and right now that is exactly what you need to be. Pick one of the four tarot Queens you wish to be or see yourself becoming, and start making the sort of connections this Queen would make. Act like your Queen would act, and move in the sort of circles you think your tarot Queen would move in. Perhaps your tarot Queen would throw a dinner party or even a fundraiser. Maybe the Queen you have selected would do charity work or seek out like-minded people through meet-ups and social events. Once you have decided on the Queen you want to be, sit with the card and allow yourself to visualize becoming that Queen—walking in that Queen’s shoes; speaking the words you imagine they would speak; standing, sitting, and behaving the way you would expect your tarot Queen to. As you watch the scene play out, just be aware of anything in particular that stands out, as you may want to copy this later when your visualization is complete. Take as much time with your visualization as you feel you need. Do it as many times as you need to. And by all means, journal about how it feels to step into your tarot Queen’s shoes. Keep in mind that you do not have to be an extrovert to excel at this. The online world is perfect for introverts, and it is just as capable of opening doors and connecting you with new and amazing people if you are intentional, joining online communities, courses, networks, and social groups. There is a tarot Queen for everyone. All you need to do is step into their shoes and place their crown on your head.
Intuitive
Do you ever think about your current circle of influence? This is the circle or collection of people that currently surround you and influence your decisions, whose opinions sway your actions, thoughts, and beliefs The Queens of the tarot know exactly how important this group of people is, for they have seen how kingdoms have risen and fallen based on the impact of those closest to their leaders.
For this exercise, you need one of the four tarot Queens, preferably the one that you feel is the closest personality match to yourself. Think about how you process and interact with people. Do you do it emotionally, intellectually, materially, or spiritually? One of these connects you to the one of the four Queens. Select one, and then place that Queen faceup in front of you. Now, let’s take a look at the people or influences that surround your current Queen, as they will tell you a lot about what energy is molding your current vortex of manifestation.
Shuffle your deck and place one card above the Queen. This card represents the blessings in your current circle of influence. Now place another card below your queen. This is someone or something that is blocking you within your current circle of influence. Now place one card to your Queen’s right. This card is for where your circle supports you. And lastly, place another card on her left. This is the card that shows the person in your circle who opposes your growth and success. You should have five cards in total—four cards surrounding your Queen of choice, who is in the middle of the cross-like spread. Turn them all over so every card is now faceup. Pull out your journal and start digging deeper through the influences you see around your Queen.
Wandering
In your life, you probably know the odd tarot Queen. Heck you might even know all four of them—your social circle may be made up of a mixture of all four tarot Queens. Being able to see the four Queens out in the world is a fabulous thing, because it makes it so much easier to find the one you need at the moment you need them. Which of your tarot Queens do you need right now? Which one has the connections, the list, and the contacts that will assist you in whatever task, goal, or project you are currently working on? If you can’t find the four Queens in your social circle, expand your search, because I guarantee you have them in your world right now. Maybe it is someone you work with, someone who rides the bus with you, someone at your spiritual center, or even another parent at your kids’ school. Somewhere in your life, the tarot Queens are playing their parts, just waiting to extend their knowledge and expertise to you. But you have to ask. You have to let them know this is something you want and need from them. Don’t sit around waiting for the contacts you require or hoping the connections might just fall into your lap. You have to be proactive along this part of the path. You have to speak up, raise your voice, be clear and precise with your communication, and ask. The very worst that can happen is someone will say no, and that is not even a bad thing. It just means you have not asked the right Queen, or you have not asked the right question. Queens connect; it is what they are groomed to do. So keep moving through your world, seeking out the Queens, then ask, ask, and ask again.
Welcome to the top of the pile, to the place where you will have to work harder then you ever have before, because now you are King and everyone wants your crown. It is true that there will be many who have no interest in being where you are once they see how much hard work and responsibility is involved, since they have no desire to work that hard. However, there will always be a handful of vultures just sitting and waiting to see how and when you will slip up, show signs of weakness, or falter on your path to self-mastery. For some, this stage is better than anything they could ever have imagined, as there are more amazing opportunities, more ways to show up and be of service, and even more ways to work with all the skills, habits, and gifts you have fostered in the last three stages. For others, the role of King will feel like a self-built prison from which there seems to be no escape. Not everyone is cut out to be King, but like it or not, this is where you are, so it’s time to dig deep and look at all that you have learned.
Although it may seem like you have the choice to go back to life as you knew it, the reality is that you can’t. You don’t think the same way, you don’t engage with your emotions and feelings the same way, you don’t react or act the same way, and, above all, the material and physical world looks different to you now. You might be able to give back the crown, but you will never again be the person you used to be. You shed your skin back in the Knights. You were reborn and lovingly groomed with the Queens, and now you are a more aware, more aligned, more in-tune version of yourself. You are someone who is no longer capable of living life through the lens of all of those old fears, doubts, and limitations. This is the catch-22 of becoming King: you can’t go back, even if you decide you don’t want the crown, the glory, or even the fortune. You can only go deeper.
When you reflect on others who have reached this stage, what do you think about them? How you see people in places of power will influence how you work with the Kings during the pathwork exercises. Do you admire leaders in your field? Are you inspired by thought leaders and change agents in your community? Do you put famous people on a pedestal, or do you think their influence is all bullshit? Your answers will show where you hold bias toward power, leadership, expertise, and influence. Just remember, there is nothing wrong with having bias; we all have it in one form or another. There is, however, something wrong with hanging on to biases to our own detriment, for when you allow your biases to limit your experiences, you are the one who loses out.
The King of Swords has become a master of the mind. Thoughts, beliefs, and ideas are all carefully crafted and then released without an ounce of attachment. There is no plotting or scheming with this King. This allows for quick, flexible, and in the moment decision-making without doubt and anxiety. There is no need to be right when you can make all your decisions the right ones. There is no constant chatter in the mind that slows this King down or makes them second guess a course of action. This King has learned how to open up the mind and let it flow without the limitations of fear, regret, and anger. This allows the King of Swords to manifest quickly and easily, as if somehow everything just falls into place magically. The King of Swords practices meditation every chance they get, for a still, clear, calm mind really is this King’s superpower. At this stage of the game, you will find that you will be able to make almost intuitive choices, as if you don’t even have to think at all. You instinctively know what will work for you and what will not. You no longer waste your time on limiting ideas or mind traps that keep you from obtaining your goals, hopes, and dreams. As you engage in pathworking with this King, think about how, at this level, it is not about going further, but going deeper to find the stillness, the center, the core of your soul path. You have learned some amazing tricks to get you to the top of the hill, but how quickly you adapt and evolve will dictate how long you stay at the top.
The King of Wands can be volatile; there is no getting around it. When you play with fire for long enough, you start to wonder who and what it can burn the fastest. This King is forever needing to fuel their flames, which means they are always on the lookout for something to burn. Creative energy can be addicting and fire can only stay lit for so long. Unlike the other elements, fire is not something that can be maintained indefinitely, as it requires feeding. Constantly feeding a fire is hard and grueling work, and by now you have learned when to best harness and release this energy. You know when to stoke the flames and when to let the embers just burn in waiting. You have also learned that fire is an unpredictable energy and, as skilled as you are, you can’t always guarantee safety and protection to those who come into your domain. At this point, people know to come to you at their own risk, which might make your time at the top feel a bit lonely. Even though people are drawn to your energy and flock to see you do your flaming parlor tricks, very few want to get too close to you. The King of Wands knows how to spot authenticity and integrity a mile away, and this also limits the amount of people who become part of this King’s inner circle. As entertaining as the King of Wands is, nobody is quick to forget that they are also dangerous. Perhaps you like the thought of being dangerous, and this excites and thrills you. Deep down there may very well be a piece of you that craves the fear other people carry when they think of you. Or perhaps this bothers you and stops you from truly fulfilling your divine destiny, whatever that may be. This particular throne is only for those who can stand the heat, pardon the pun.
The King of Cups is no stranger to self-love, self-indulgence, and emotional mastery, with a helping of emotional manipulation on the side if necessary. This King has felt it all, as there is no feeling or emotion that they have not learned to control or work through. This King knows when emotions are weaknesses and when they are strengths. The King of Cups has played with and tested the limits of all those pesky human “feels.” This King understands how to use the flow and ebb of their emotions to navigate and guide them along the path to success, health, and joy. There is an air of smugness about this King, and rightly so, as not everyone can get a grip on their feelings as quickly as this King does. Imagine being able to harness your most crippling feelings and use them to drive you forward. Think about what you could achieve if you knew that no matter what situation presented itself, you could handle it with ease and grace, never letting your emotions get the better of you. Perhaps then there would be more “yes” and less “no” in your life. What would that mean to you? The King of Cups is a “yes” person because they do not have to worry about what happens next, as they just deal with whatever rises and falls in the moment. There is real freedom to not being a slave to your emotions anymore. To finally be free of all of that draining energy is liberating. This is the level of life the King of Cups has achieved. This is the throne this King now sits upon, which is why this King can be prone to the odd bit of emotional manipulation, sometimes by choice and sometimes by accident, for they can’t always be held responsible for the reactions or actions of others who have not yet reached the same level of mastery.
Pathwork
Intentional
For this exercise, you need to find your inner King. The King that represents you at your best. The King that is in your zone—confident, driven, focused, and in complete control. Take the four Kings out of your deck and place them faceup in front of you. Which of these Kings best represents what it is you are trying to achieve? Do you own a business and want to be seen as an expert in your field? Do you want to be the King of your checkbook and master of your finances? Or do you wish to set the gold standard inside your family and be the inspiration you wished you had while you were growing up? There is a King for everyone once they know what they want to master, who they want to lead, and what influence they wish to have. So go ahead and pick your King. Select the card that is aligned to your personal aspirations, whatever they may be. Place this card somewhere you can see it throughout the day, perhaps on your altar, or maybe you need to take a picture of it and keep it as the lock screen on your phone. Whenever you catch a glimpse of your King during the day, repeat the following mantra: “I am King of my domain and I move through the world with confidence and ease.” If you want to write a more specific mantra for your chosen King, go right ahead. But just remember, it should be quick, easy, and get you into the flow of the King’s energy.
Intuitive
How do you envision the view from the top? Being King is not easy, nor is it often comfortable. But this is because most people never plan to be King. They don’t really see themselves pulling it all off and mastering the mountain. This lack of planning often means your King status will be short-lived and possibly even traumatic.
In this exercise we are going to do a bit of forward planning. You are going to see this coming together, your moment of kingly glory, and embed it into your vibrational memory. Sit down in a comfy chair, take a couple of nice deep breaths, and start to imagine your perfect day. You have to imagine it from beginning to end, from the moment your feet hit the floor in the morning until you drop off to sleep at night. If you need to close your eyes to visualize this, by all means do so. If you can daydream with your eyes open, then do that. Make sure you soak up every detail, from the weather to what you are wearing to who you are sharing this day with. Allow yourself to really sink into this daydream. Listen to the conversations you might be having. Notice how your body feels, how your face looks, and how you are carrying yourself. Depending on how good of a daydreamer you are, spending about five to ten minutes will be more than enough for the visualization side of things.
Once you are done with the daydreaming, pick up your journal and write it all down. Title your page “My Perfect Day” and date it. This exercise takes the pressure off being King for a while, and instead reminds you why you want the things you do, and why you work so hard to both achieve them and keep them. Or maybe it shows why you climbed the mountain in the first place and why it is important to soak up the view for as long as possible. Before you know it, all of your Kings will be right side up and working to assist you in running and maintaining your personal empire.
Wandering
The Kings in the tarot can often represent a certain time of life or the senior part of our mortal journey. We enter this elder phase of our existence somewhere between sixty and sixty-five years of age. I work with many clients who are in their King phases of life, and they teach me so much about what it means to be an elder. For one thing, just because you made it to the King phase in your life hardly means you have everything figured out. Oftentimes, the longer you live, the more things you realize you don’t understand at all. They also teach me the magic of time, and how with decades of time to view the soul’s journey, they can pinpoint divine moments in their lives, seeing how the flow and rhythm of their lives has played out.
In this exercise, think about what you want to be doing in the King phase of your life. You might want to consider the following: What wisdom do you want to impart? What new skills or adventures would you like to have? What places would you like to see, and what do you want to do when you see them? Just relax into this exercise and let your mind wander into the age of the King, a place where age is revered, elders are respected, and your knowledge and wisdom opens new and exciting doors that before were hidden. Even if you are already in this phase of your life, hold the vision anyway. Allow your awareness to wander to places you have yet to travel to or to achievements you have yet to attain. Just breathe, relax, and wander through this King phase of your life, without rules, without restrictions, and, most of all, without judgment. If you wish, you can take your daydreaming to your journal and write this all up to explore it further.