The Elemental
Personalities of
the Court Cards
The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two
chemical substances; if there is any reaction, both are transformed. 154
Carl Jung
There is no consensus about how to interpret the court cards. With experience, each reader must develop a personal meaning for each of the sixteen “people” cards. Tarot readers generally agree that court cards, especially the kings and queens, can represent people of differing ages and genders. Court cards can also be read as different types of situations, life experiences, lifestyles, societal roles, available energies, personality traits, messages, opinions, viewpoints, zodiac signs, or times of the year. In addition, the themes reflected in the three pip cards associated with each non-Page court card often have relevance in the reading (see appendix C).
By considering the nature and predominance of elemental qualities in each of the court cards, we can get a sense of the personality of each card. The descriptions in this chapter are meant to be evocative of the Golden Dawn attributions used in the Waite-Smith deck. Readers are invited to fill in the details based on their own experience with the cards.
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Elements and Qualities of the Court Cards |
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Element/Suit → Part ↓ |
Fire |
Water |
Air |
Earth (DD C)–Pentacles (passive feminine) |
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Earthy (DD C)–Pages/Princesses |
Princess/Page of Wands (DDD HH C) |
Princess/Page of Cups (CCC DD W) |
Princess/Page of Swords (WW DD H C) |
Princess/Page of Pentacles (DDDD CC) |
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Fiery (HH D)–Knights |
Knight of Wands (HHHH DD) |
Knight of Cups (CC HH D W) |
Knight of Swords (HHH WW D) |
Knight of Pentacles (DDD |
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Watery (CC W)–Queens |
Queen of Wands (HH CC D W) |
Queen of Cups (CCCC WW) |
Queen of Swords (WWW CC H) |
Queen of Pentacles (CCC |
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Airy (WW H)–Kings/Princes |
King/Prince of Wands (HHH WW D) |
King/Prince of Cups (WWW CC H) |
King/Prince of Swords (WWWW HH) |
King/Prince of Pentacles (DD WW H C) |
A popular book proclaims that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. In Chinese philosophy, Mars is of yang energy (active, dynamic, warm, confident, and extroverted) and Venus exemplifies yin (reactive, reflective, cool, cautious, and introverted). For completeness, in the following summary of traits related to the qualities of the four elements, I have included the relevant astrological associations:
Elemental Attributions of the Court Cards
Crowley and the Golden Dawn viewed the court cards as follows:
The accompanying table summaries some attributes of the court cards based on their elemental associations.
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Court Card Symbolism and the Four Elements |
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Court Card |
Element |
Associations |
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Knights |
Fire |
Adult males, military personnel, warriors; action, energy, motion, comings and goings, travel, quest, movement, inspiration, enthusiasm, assertion, sex drive, thrust, creativity, opportunity |
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Queens |
Water |
Adult females, mother figures, mature accomplished women, influential friends; emotions, empathy, receptivity, caring, loving, nurturing, support, mothering, reconciling, forgiving |
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Waite Kings/Thoth Princes |
Air |
Older adult males, father figures, mature men; wisdom, authority, clear thinking, rationality, decision making, power, leadership, organization, strategy, recognition, accomplishment |
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Waite Pages/Thoth Princesses |
Earth |
Young persons, children, messengers, students, helpers; news, messages, opinions, communications, new learning, inexperience, apprenticeship, acquisition, skill building, material reality |
A Note on Airy People versus Airy Situations
Tarot symbolism has many fonts. In this chapter, we focus on the use of the four elements to characterize the court cards of each suit. This method works well with regard to court cards as people but may seem less convincing when we attempt to describe situations related to an element, especially the element Air as it relates to the Swords suit. The Swords court cards are of an airy temperament (wet and hot, or sanguine) and show traits of the Air signs Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. They live in their heads and excel at talking, planning, connecting the dots, theorizing, and strategizing. Indecision and worry sometimes plague their existence.
On the other hand, “Air situations,” as depicted in the Swords pips, partake of the symbolism of the sword as a weapon that can cut and injure. Warriors carry swords. The Ten of Swords, for example, could well depict the proverb, “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.” Just as fish live in water, people live in air, and human social interactions (“air situations”) are sometimes painful.
The Wet-Dry Spectrum among the Court Cards
Another important distinction derives from where the court cards fall along the wet-dry spectrum. Recall that dryness relates to self-definition, that is, the determination of form according to one’s inner nature. Wetness represents fluidity. Wet things assume the form of their containers and are defined by their surroundings. Of the court cards, the Pages and Knights, as pure types, possess inherent dryness and are more capable of self-determination. The Queens and Kings, as pure types, lack inherent dryness and must depend on their environment to define their form. Consider King Edward VIII of England; he was forced to abdicate the throne to marry the woman he loved. Edward could not continue to be king if he wished to decide upon his own bride. One might say that as a king, Edward was lacking in dryness, but, as a man, he made up for it in heat.
The wet-dry distinction also applies to male and female stereotypes in a patriarchal society. The court cards, after all, represent roles and stereotypes rather than real people. In Western society, these stereotypes derive largely from the Book of Genesis. In the beginning, from the dust of the Earth, God created man in His own image and likeness and gave man dominion over all of creation. On the sixth day, God realized that Adam needed a “helpmate,” so God fashioned a woman from one of Adam’s ribs. Being hot and dry, Adam provided the creative spark and determination of form to the cold and wet female who molded herself after Adam and depended entirely on him for her self-definition. “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.” 156
Dry, Cold, Earthy Pages/Princesses: DD C
During the Middle Ages, at the age of seven the son of a noble family could begin his training as a page in order to become a knight. Pages had to follow detailed sets of rules as they methodically began to master the skills of knighthood. At age fifteen, the page graduated to the rank of squire. The diligence and meticulous training of these youngsters is characteristic of the element Earth.
Earthy individuals partake of the melancholic (dry and cold) temperament, classically associated with black bile, feces, and the cooling planet Saturn. 157 Earth is a passive, receptive, heavy, inner-directed element that serves the other elements by providing a firm foundation on which life can exist. Being earthy, Pages tend to be studious, practical, frugal, efficient, service-oriented, subservient, a bit plodding, and attentive to detail. Their thinking can at times be rigid or rule-bound, and they may have difficulty seeing the big picture. The basic nature of each tarot Page is tempered by the element corresponding to the suit to which it belongs, yet each Page possesses sufficient dryness to maintain an inner sense of identity.
Modern tarot readers often see pages as messengers as well as the news they carry. The Golden Dawn believed that pages can represent opinions, thoughts, and ideas about a topic. The nature of the opinion is revealed by whether the Page is facing or looking away from another card. This directionality reveals whether the Page agrees with or opposes the subject matter reflected in the other card(s).
Just as the elements Earth (DD C) and Air (WW H) form a complementary pair, the melancholic, earthy pages and the sanguine, airy princes/kings complement each other. Each possesses qualities the other lacks.
Page of Pentacles: DDDD CC
The purest expression of Earth is found in the Page of Pentacles (the earthy part of Earth—DDDD CC). The element Earth refers to that which is stable, enduring, tangible, and “down-to-earth.” Earth is dependable and sustaining; it forms the ground beneath our feet and provides the foundation of our existence. We count on the earth simply to be there. Being the earthiest of her group, the Page of Pentacles is calm, studious, detail-oriented, methodical, practical, disciplined, and hard-working. She is a good student who loves to learn and master new skills.
In his classic 1911 text, Arthur Edward Waite linked the Page of Pentacles to application, study, scholarship, reflection; news, messages, and the bringer thereof; rule, and management. 158 Reversed: Prodigality, dissipation, liberality, luxury; unfavorable news. Etteilla saw the Page of Pentacles as a “dark youth.”
Page of Swords: WW DD H C
The most complex, versatile, and subtle of the pages is the clever Page of Swords (the earthy part of Air—WW DD H C). Because the Page of Swords contains all four elemental qualities, she has something in common with everyone. As wet as she is dry, and as hot as she is cold, this Page is like a chameleon that can be whatever she needs to be in any situation. Such versatility and universality may make the Page of Swords (WW DD H C) a good spy. Being an Air card, she is quick, verbal, analytical, resourceful, and vigilant. She values a no-nonsense understanding of what’s going on around her; she loves to communicate, strategize, and connect the dots. Being of Earth, she can be quite determined and persistent in pursuing her goals.
Waite saw the Page of Swords as lithe, active, swift, and alert, as if expecting an enemy to appear at any moment. His keywords include: authority, overseeing, secret service, vigilance, spying, examination, and the qualities thereto belonging. (R): The more evil side of these qualities; what is unforeseen, a state of unprepareness; sickness. Etteilla regarded the Page of Swords as a “spy.”
Page of Wands: DDD HH C
The spirited Page of Wands (the earthy part of Fire—DDD HH C) has three of four elemental qualities but is lacking in wetness. Thus, she is the least moist, soft, flexible, easy- going, open to change, and susceptible to outside influence of the four Pages. Being very dry and somewhat hot, the Page of Wands partakes of the nature of Mars, the warrior who likes to pursue and conquer. She is active, daring, energetic, outgoing, action-oriented, impatient, and unyielding. Lacking “wetness,” she can at times be tense and insensitive, capable of hostility when she doesn’t get her way. Her “dryness” allows her to define clearly what she wants, and her “hotness” gives her the oomph to put her ideas into action.
Waite viewed the Page of Wands as a dark young man, faithful, a lover, an envoy, or a postman. When this Page falls next to a man in a spread, he will bear favorable testimony concerning him, but followed by the Page of Cups, he is a dangerous rival. He bears the qualities of the suit of Wands and may signify family intelligence. (R): anecdotes, announcements, evil news; indecision and the instability that accompanies it. Etteilla viewed the Page of Wands as a “foreigner.”
Page of Cups: CCC DD W
The cool dry Page of Cups (the earthy part of Water—CCC DD W) has three of four elemental qualities but is lacking in heat. Thus, she is the least expansive of the Pages and displays less oomph and less drive for freedom and adventure than the others. Being predominantly cold and moderately dry, the Page of Cups can be withdrawn, inhibited, inner-directed, slow to react, sensitive to criticism, and resistant to change. Being watery, she is a poet at heart who lives in her imagination and seeks to share her fanciful visions with others.
Waite saw the Page of Cups as a pleasing, somewhat effeminate youth, of studious and intent aspect. His keywords include: a fair young man, impelled to render service and with whom the querent will be connected; a studious youth; news, messages; application, reflection, meditation; also these things directed to business. (R): taste, inclination, attachment, seduction, deception, artifice. Etteilla saw the Page of Cups as a “blond youth.”
Hot, Dry, Fiery Knights: HH D
Fiery individuals partake of the choleric (hot and dry) temperament, classically associated with yellow bile, urine, and the drying planet Mars. Fire is a positive, active, proud, mobile, light, energizing, outer-directed element that expands and rises to great heights. Fiery radiant energy is able to leave the Earth’s gravitational pull and travel throughout the solar system. Wanderlust is an essential feature of the fiery Knights. Constantly on the move, they are portrayed on horseback in search of romance and adventure as befits their “hot” nature. The mode of the knights’ travel is often related to the element of their suit: Air (by plane), Water (by boat), Earth (land-based), or Fire (exciting long-distance travel).
Being basically fiery, the knights (HH D) tend to be high-spirited, virile, active, daring, passionate, impatient, expansive, idealistic, pioneering, visionary, and always on the go. The Golden Dawn believed Knights also represent arrivals and departures, or the comings and goings of matters, depending on which way their horse is heading. The dry heat of the Knights makes them capable of fierce action and emotion, though this trait is modified by the element of their suit. Expansive almost without limit, the Knights tend to become fearless leaders, champion athletes, crusaders with or without a cause, type-A personalities, and those who command respect for their breadth of vision and ability to inspire. Unlike the earthy Pages, the Knights see the big picture and seize the opportunity to pursue what they desire, sometimes in an arrogant or overly expansive way. The Knights believe that they must “boldly go where no man has gone before.” The nature of each Knight is tempered by the element of the suit to which it belongs, yet each Knight possesses sufficient dryness to maintain an inner sense of identity.
Just as the elements fire (HH D) and water (CC W) form a complementary pair, the choleric, fiery Knights and the phlegmatic, watery Queens complement each other. Each possesses qualities the other lacks.
Knight of Wands: HHHH DD
The purest expression of Fire lies in the passionate Knight of Wands (the fiery part of Fire). Being particularly hot and dry, the Knight of Wands (HHHH DD) is lively, motivated, expansive, impatient, self-confident, charismatic, abrupt, and vehemently energetic. His nature is to go for the gold. He exhibits a fiery zeal for freedom, independence, and the right to creative self-expression; he resents constrictions and limitations. The Knight of Wands tends to be extroverted, assertive, fun-loving, passionate, adventurous, amorous, and inspiring. Fire represents the spark of life. Fiery individuals want to experience life to the fullest without restriction.
Waite regarded the Knight of Wands as a dark young man whose mobility is associated with departure, absence, flight, alienation, emigration, and changes of residence. He is on a journey past mounds of pyramids, perhaps a reference to Aaron, brother of Moses in the Bible, whose staff “sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds.” 159 Despite this knight’s upraised Wand, he appears to be friendly and not on a warlike errand. The motion of his horse matches his precipitate mood. (R): rupture, division, interruption, and discord. Etteilla delineated the Knight of Wands as “departure.”
Pratesi’s cartomancer (circa 1750) delineates the Knight of Wands as a “door knocker,” causing Paul Huson to exclaim: “Why eighteenth-century Bolognese cartomancers should have considered the Knight of Batons a door knocker is beyond my comprehension.” 160 Huson speculates that perhaps this knight is one who slams the door on the way out—an action consistent with Etteilla’s delineation of “departure” for this card. The high levels of heat and dryness (HHHH DD) associated with this card are consistent with the abrupt and forceful energy used to strike a metal knocker against the door.
The significance of Pratesi’s delineation of the Knight of Wands as a door knocker struck home when I drew this as my daily card before leaving for work. I often select a card at random in the morning to see what synchronicities arise during the day. I work in a psychiatric hospital and, on this particular day, the first meeting I attended was a review of the patients’ behaviors the night before. The nurse described how a particular patient got upset and was pounding hard on the door of the ward to express his frustration at being confined. The Knight of Wands immediately sprang to mind, as did the eighteenth-century delineation “door knocker.”
Apparently, door knockers originated in ancient Greece where they were used to fasten slaves to metal rings attached to the slave owner’s entryway. Like the slaves of ancient Greece, the psychiatric patient mentioned above felt trapped by being committed to a psychiatric hospital. Like a Knight of Wands, he pounded on the door to express his desire for freedom. Bearing in mind that the Greek slaves were captives of war, we see new meaning in Waite’s association of the Knight of Wands with alienation, departure, emigration, flight, absence, and departure. Like Patrick Henry, the fiery Knight of Wands values freedom above all else.
On a recent trip to Italy, I was impressed by the beautiful door knockers that decorate the outer doors of buildings in historic cities like Florence. In eighteenth-century Italy, the image of a knight was sometimes used in finely crafted door knockers. Perhaps this decorative aspect of the errant Knight of Wands as a door knocker explains why this card often shows up in readings related to travel, relocating, and to buying, renovating, or redecorating a home.
Historically the most common form of Italian door knocker was a lion’s head, a symbol of power, strength, and protection. The lion refers to the Fire sign Leo and is also a symbol of Saint Mark the Evangelist, who was petitioned for divine protection. Statues of lions as guardians can be found throughout Italy. The Fire sign Aires is connected to battering rams used to smash doors in. Ornate Italian door knockers were also symbols of nobility, prestige, power, and majesty. The Christian influence in Italy calls to mind the biblical saying: “Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.” 161 Perhaps when the eighteenth-century cartomancers defined the Knight of Wands as a door knocker, they had such associations in mind.
When the Knight of Wands appears in a reading, themes may emerge related to the pip cards associated with the three decans the Knight governs. These are the Seven of Cups and the Eight and Nine of Wands.
Knight of Cups: CC HH D W
The most complex, versatile and subtle of the Knights (HH D) is the romantic Knight of Cups (the fiery part of Water—CC HH D W) because he contains all four elemental qualities and has something in common with everyone. Like a chameleon, the Knight of Cups can blow hot or cold, wet or dry, depending on the situation. Like all Knights, he can be passionate, assertive, and ambitious, but as a Knight of watery Cups, he has a dreamy, poetic, secretive side as well. Some authors view the versatile Knight of Cups as a dissembling Don Juan whose words and promises are not always to be trusted.
Waite described the Knight of Cups as graceful and imaginative, a dreamer. His keywords include: arrival, approach (e.g., of a messenger), advances, propositions, demeanor, invitation, incitement. (R): trickery, artifice, subtlety, swindling, duplicity, fraud. Etteilla delineated the Knight of Cups as “arrival” in contrast to the “departure” of the Knight of Wands.
When the Knight of Cups appears in a reading, themes may emerge related to the pip cards associated with the three decans the Knight governs. These are the Seven of Swords and the Eight and Nine of Cups.
Knight of Swords: HHH WW D
The high-spirited Knight of Swords (the fiery part of Air—HHH WW D) has three of four elemental qualities but is lacking in coldness. Without “cold,” there is little to slow him down. Being overly hot, he is the least passive, calm, practical, contemplative, inner-directed, energy-conserving, and slow to react of all the Knights. As a Knight of Air, he tends to be verbal, strategic, communicative, and caught up in his mind. The excess heat without the balance of cold makes him prone to impractical, overly abstract, or scattered thinking. Being hot and moderately wet, the Knight of Swords can be an exciting ball of fire who rushes off impetuously without a clear focus. He is reminiscent of the animated character Crusader Rabbit of the early days of television.
Waite depicted the Knight of Swords riding in full course, as if scattering his enemies, and viewed him as a hero of romantic chivalry whose sword is swift and sure because he is clean of heart. Waite’s keywords include: skill, bravery, capacity, defense, address, enmity, wrath, war, destruction, opposition, resistance, ruin. He sometimes signifies death, but only in proximity to other cards of fatality. (R): imprudence, incapacity, extravagance. Etteilla’s keyword for the Knight of Swords was “military.”
When the Knight of Swords appears in a reading, themes may emerge related to the pip cards associated with the three decans the Knight governs. These are the Seven of Pentacles and the Eight and Nine of Swords.
Knight of Pentacles: DDD HH C
The obstinate Knight of Pentacles (the fiery part of Earth—DDD HH C) has three of four elemental qualities but is lacking in wetness. Thus, he is the least flexible, soft, moist, easygoing, open to change, and susceptible to outside influence of the four Knights. Lacking the fluidity of wetness, his greatest strength is his capacity for unwavering application of effort. Being dry and moderately hot, the Knight of Pentacles can be enthusiastic and energetic but also stiff, rigid, inflexible, obstinate, uncomfortable with feelings, overly pragmatic, and resistant to change. Being so “dry,” he likes to prune things down to their bare essentials: “just the facts, ma’am.”
Waite saw the Knight of Pentacles as slow, enduring, and heavy. His keywords include: utility, serviceableness, interest, responsibility, rectitude. (R): inertia, idleness, repose of that kind, stagnation; also placidity, discouragement, and carelessness. Etteilla delineated the Knight of Pentacles as “usefulness.”
When the Knight of Pentacles appears in a reading, themes may emerge related to the pip cards associated with the three decans the Knight governs. These are the Seven of Wands and the Eight and Nine of Pentacles.
Cold, Wet, Watery Queens: CC W
Watery individuals partake of the phlegmatic (cold and wet) temperament, classically associated with phlegm and the moistening planet Venus. Water is a patient, receptive, heavy, inner-directed element that flows, molds itself to its container, and sinks toward the center of the Earth. Being watery, Queens (CC W) are sensitive, empathic, patient, calm, energy-conserving, devoted, faithful, nurturing, and compassionate. Like water, the Queens are quite powerful but may take their time, much like the Colorado River in excavating the Grand Canyon. The Queens are at times too subjective and overly influenced by emotion and sentiment. They can put a damper on the impatient, hasty expenditure of fiery energy by the Knights. Because Queens are inherently lacking in dryness, the basic nature of each Queen is strongly tempered by the element of the suit to which she belongs. This is most pronounced in the Queen of Swords who is basically quite fluid (“wet”) but must conform to the stern, objective, detached suit of Swords, which is steeped in the school of hard knocks.
Queen of Cups: CCCC WW
Among the court cards, the purest expression of Water is found in the inner-directed Queen of Cups (the watery part of water—CCCC WW). Despite the fact that Fire provides the spark of life, nothing can grow without water. The heat of the sun evaporates water, which returns to the earth in the form of rain, causing seeds to germinate and crops to grow. Water in motion is tremendously powerful and can hollow out canyons on the surface of the earth. Symbolically water represents our emotions and inner life. Watery people have a strong need for close emotional relationships. As a universal solvent, water is linked to the dissolution of boundaries and a sense of oneness, as occurs during sexual ecstasy, in certain spiritual experiences, or through great works of music, poetry, and art. The Queen of Cups is typically a kind and dreamy woman who feels most at home in the boundless world of imagination, illusion,
and intuition. She has a special fondness for the tarot. Being extremely watery and fluid, she may waver and become duplicitous when ill-dignified.
Waite regarded the Queen of Cups as beautiful, fair, dreamy—a good woman, honest and devoted, who will do service to the querent. His keywords include: loving intelligence, the gift of vision; success, happiness, pleasure; also wisdom, virtue; a perfect spouse and a good mother. (R): a good woman; otherwise, a distinguished woman but not to be trusted;
a perverse woman; vice, dishonor, depravity. Etteilla saw the Queen of Cups as a “blond lady.”
When the Queen of Cups appears in a reading, themes may emerge related to the pip cards associated with the three decans that the Queen governs. These are the Ten of Swords and the Two and Three of Cups.
Queen of Wands: HH CC D W
The most complex, versatile and subtle of the Queens (CC W) is the dynamic Queen of Wands (the watery part of Fire—HH CC D W) because she contains all four elemental qualities and thus has something in common with everyone. Like a chameleon, she can blow hot or cold, wet or dry, depending on the situation. Some authors view the Queen of Wands as a bundle of energy who thrives on multitasking and always keeps multiple irons in the fire. Her predominant qualities are heat and cold in perfect balance; thus, she can be ambitious and enterprising but at the same time calm and undeterred in the steady pursuit of her goals.
Waite described the Queen of Wands as the Queen of the suit of life and animation. Her personality corresponds to that of the King, but is more magnetic. His keywords include: a dark woman, a countrywoman, friendly, chaste, loving, honorable. If the card next to her signifies a man, she is well disposed towards him; if a woman, she is interested in the querent. Also, a love of money, or a certain success in business. (R): good, economical, obliging, serviceable. With other cards of similar meaning, she can also signify opposition, jealousy, deceit, and infidelity. Etteilla regarded the Queen of Wands as a “rural lady.”
When the Queen of Wands appears in a reading, themes may emerge related to the pip cards associated with the three decans the Queen governs. These are the Ten of Cups and the Two and Three of Wands.
Queen of Swords: WWW CC H
The composed Queen of Swords (the watery part of Air—WWW CC H) has three of four elemental qualities but is lacking in dryness. Thus, she is the least rigid, inflexible, self-contained, firm, and unyielding of the four Queens; she is able to be flexible, perceptive, and reasonably balanced in her opinions. Because she lacks “dryness,” her form is predominantly determined by the analytical, emotionally detached suit of Swords. Being wet, she can call upon the “moistening” qualities of Venus, the love goddess, to help her reconcile differences and deal empathically with others. Despite her considerable wetness, she is moderately cold and likely to have suffered Saturn’s chill in her emotional life.
Waite (1911) wrote that the countenance of the Queen of Swords is severe but chastened, suggesting familiarity with sorrow but not representing mercy. Her sword notwithstanding, this Queen is scarcely a symbol of power. Waite’s keywords include: widowhood, female sadness and embarrassment, absence, sterility, mourning, privation, and separation. (R): malice, bigotry, artifice, prudery, bale, deceit. Etteilla delineated the Queen of Swords as “widowhood.”
When the Queen of Swords appears in a reading, themes may emerge related to the pip cards associated with the three decans that the Queen governs. These are the Ten of Pentacles and the Two and Three of Swords.
Queen of Pentacles: CCC DD W
The pragmatic Queen of Pentacles (the watery part of Earth—CCC DD W) has three of four elemental qualities but is lacking in heat. Thus, she possesses the least oomph, expansiveness, and phallic drive for freedom and adventure of the four Queens. Being cold and moderately dry, she is a down-to-earth, pragmatic organizer who is skilled at reducing matters to their essentials to produce tangible results. The predominance of cold makes her sensible and hard-working; the total lack of heat can render her unimaginative and prone to melancholy—the chill of Saturn.
Waite viewed the Queen of Pentacles as a dark woman, one of greatness of soul and a serious cast of intelligence. His keywords include: opulence, generosity, magnificence, security, liberty. (R): evil, suspicion, suspense, fear, mistrust. Etteilla viewed the Queen of Pentacles as a “dark lady.”
When the Queen of Pentacles appears in a reading, themes may emerge related to the pip cards associated with the three decans that the Queen governs. These are the Ten of Wands and the Two and Three of Pentacles.
Wet, Hot, Airy Princes/Kings: WW H
Airy individuals partake of the sanguine (wet and hot) temperament, classically associated with life-affirming blood and the warming planet Jupiter. Air is a positive, active, light, outer-directed element that flows and tends to rise upward. Unlike Fire, Air is contained within the Earth’s gravitational pull.
Being airy, the sanguine Princes (Waite’s Kings) tend to be sociable, optimistic, cheerful, pleasure-loving, expansive, logical, and analytical. Like the Knights, the Kings (WW H) are able to grasp the big picture but, being less hot and impetuous than the Knights, the Kings display better judgment through the use of their synthetic intellect. The Kings’ social skills, ability to connect the dots, and facility with relationships make them good strategists, chief executives, and administrators. Being of sanguine temperament, the Kings know how to have a good time and enjoy the finer things in life. As a type, Kings lack “cold” and thus tend to be more outer- than inner-directed. Kings also inherently lack dryness, so the basic nature of each King is strongly tempered by the element of the suit to which it belongs.
King of Swords: WWWW HH
Among the court cards, the purest expression of Air is found in the fluid and energetic King/Prince of Swords (the airy part of Air—WWWW HH). The element Air is linked to language, thought, and communication. Indeed, the answer is sometimes found blowing in the wind. Air in motion can scatter seeds and spread plants to new locations. Currents of air can transport a tiny spider from one continent to another.
People who partake of the Air temperament readily link ideas, create a relational web, and formulate effective strategies and abstract theories. Air is impartial; it blows on everyone equally without discrimination, like justice fairly applied. Air circulates above the water and the earth and thus has a broad view of human affairs. A stiff wind can disperse the clouds and clear the air, allowing a better view of a situation. On a clear day, we can see forever.
The King of Swords lacks both cold and dryness. Being hot without cold, he is expansive, forceful, and outgoing. Being wet without dryness, he depends on his surroundings to define his form. This King’s environment is the analytical, perceptive, emotionally detached suit of Swords which deals with the conflicts and cruelties of daily life.
Waite tells us that the King of Swords sits in judgment, reminiscent of the Justice trump. He has power over life and death by virtue of his office. His keywords include: judgment, power, command, authority, militant intelligence, law, and offices of the crown. (R): cruelty, perversity, barbarity, perfidy, evil intention. Etteilla saw the King of Swords as a “lawyer.”
When the King of Swords appears in a reading, themes may emerge related to the pip cards associated with the three decans the King governs. These are the Four of Pentacles and the Five and Six of Swords.
King of Pentacles: DD WW H C
The most complex, versatile, and subtle of the Kings (WW H) is the focused yet flexible King of Pentacles (the airy part of Earth—DD WW H C), because he contains all four elemental qualities and thus has something in common with everyone. Like a chameleon, he can call upon whichever quality he needs, depending on the situation. Some authors view the King of Pentacles as the most well-rounded, stable, sensible, and hardworking of all the Kings. His predominant qualities are dryness and wetness in equal balance; thus, he can reduce matters to their essentials and deal with them flexibly to achieve his goals.
Waite linked the King of Pentacles to courage, lethargy, money (sometimes), valor, realizing intelligence, business and normal intellectual aptitude, and occasionally mathematical gifts and attainments. (R): vice, weakness, ugliness, perversity, corruption, peril. Etteilla viewed the King of Pentacles as a “dark man.”
When the King of Pentacles appears in a reading, themes may emerge related to the pip cards associated with the three decans the King governs. These are the Four of Wands and the Five and Six of Pentacles.
King of Wands: HHH WW D
The energetic and peaceable King/Prince of Wands (the airy part of Fire—HHH WW D) has three of four elemental qualities but is lacking in coldness. Thus, he is the least passive, calm, practical, contemplative, inner-directed, energy-conserving, and slow to react of the four Princes/Kings. Being very hot, the King of Wands tends to be enterprising, impulsive, direct, enthusiastic, energetic, and charismatic in his dealings with others.
Waite viewed the King of Wands as a dark man, ardent, lithe, animated, impassioned, and noble, much like the lion emblazoned on his throne. His keywords include: friendly, a countryman, generally married, honest, and conscientious. The card always signifies honesty. It may mean impending news of an unexpected inheritance. (R): Good, but severe; austere, yet tolerant. Etteilla viewed the King of Wands as a “rural gentleman.”
When the King of Wands appears in a reading, themes may emerge related to the pip cards associated with the three decans that the King governs. These are the Four of Cups and the Five and Six of Wands.
King of Cups: WWW CC H
The empathic and pragmatic King/Prince of Cups (the airy part of Water—WWW CC H) has three of four elemental qualities but is lacking in dryness. Thus, he is the least rigid, inflexible, self-contained, tense, and unyielding of the four Kings because his form is determined by the receptive, nurturing suit of Cups. Being very wet, the King of Cups has the help of Venus in reconciling differing viewpoints and empathically appreciating the emotional undercurrents of any situation. The excess wetness with no counterbalancing dryness can render him sensitive, imaginative, spiritual, obliging, and compassionate, but at the same time somewhat passive and indolent.
Waite, noting that Cups refer to water, observes that the throne of the King of Cups is set upon the sea; on one side a ship is riding and on the other a dolphin is leaping. His keywords include: a fair man; a man of business, law, or divinity; responsible, disposed to oblige the querent; also equity, art, and science, including those who profess science, law, and art; creative intelligence. (R): Dishonest, double-dealing; roguery, exaction, injustice, vice, scandal, pillage, considerable loss. Etteilla delineated the King of Cups as a “blond man.”
When the King of Cups appears in a reading, themes may emerge related to the pip cards associated with the three decans the King governs. These are the Four of Swords and the Five and Six of Cups.
Crowley’s Astrological Attributions of the Court Cards
According to Crowley, the Thoth Princesses (Waite-Smith Pages) do not have any zodiacal attribution. Instead, they are assigned to the four quadrants of the heavens around the North Pole with a meridian through the Great Pyramid of Giza. Hellenistic astrology developed in the same region as the Great Pyramid, and the meridian of the Thema Mundi, the Hellenistic horoscope for the creation of the universe, passes through the Fire sign Aries, which corresponds to the suit of Wands. Each Page/Princess is said to cover a quarter of the Earth’s surface as measured eastward around the equator, starting at the longitude of the Great Pyramid (about 30°N, 31°E) and proceeding in seasonal order: Fire/Wands (spring), Water/Cups (summer), Air/Swords (autumn) and Earth/Pentacles (winter). For what it’s worth, Crowley regarded the Page of Wands as covering Asia; of Cups, the Pacific; of Swords, the Americas; and of Pentacles, Europe and Africa. How like Crowley, a Brit, to view America as the Page of Swords, a quintessential problem child!
A simple metaphor may help clarify this idea. Even if you are not a New Yorker, picture the universe as a perfectly formed giant apple. The Earth lies at the center of this apple, and its North Pole points directly upward toward the apple’s stem. Now take a knife and slice the giant apple vertically through its stem into four identical quarters. Each quarter belongs to one of the earthy Pages; they are earthy because collectively they govern the entire universe, and Earth is the element of manifestation. God asks each Page to act as a portal or “throne” for one of the four Aces he has up his sleeve, each Ace representing an idea of a distinct element in the mind of God.
The four Aces link the tarot pip cards of each suit to the corresponding Pages “who rule the Heavens around the North Pole” and serve as seats of power for the Aces. 162 The four Aces, which represent the spiritual root-forces of the four elements, are “placed on the North Pole of the Universe, wherein they revolve, governing its revolution, and ruling as the connecting link between Yetsirah and the Material Plane of the Universe.” 163 In this fancy-schmancy language of the Golden Dawn, the four Pages constitute the “Thrones of the Powers of the four Aces.”
The non-Page court cards are each assigned only 30-degree segments of the zodiac circle. Crowley allots each Knight, Queen, and Prince/King a 30-degree segment consisting of the last decan of one sign and the first two decans of the following sign. Thus, each Knight, Queen, and Prince/King governs three consecutive decans which, taken together, overlap adjacent zodiacal signs. Crowley explains that the Knights, Queens, and Princes/Kings do not rule a single zodiac sign because they represent people, and people inhabit the “realm of the Elements” where “all things are mixed and confused.” 164 People are complex; hence, the court cards that symbolize them must refer to a mixture of zodiacal signs and elements.
In Crowley’s Thoth deck, the court cards indicate people whose natal Sun or rising sign falls “within the Zodiacal attribution of the card”or people who possess qualities of any of the three included decans. 165 Crowley, for example, was born on October 12, 1875 within an hour of midnight. The Ascendant at this birthplace shifted from Cancer into Leo at 10:57 p.m., an hour and three minutes before midnight. Thus, at Crowley’s birth either the last decan of Cancer or the first decan of Leo was rising. The first decan of Leo is associated with the Thoth Prince of Wands, a card Crowley strongly identified with. In one of the rare instances where Crowley cites a practical example in The Book of Thoth, he comments about his own birth chart: “A person born on 12 October might possess many of the qualities of the Queen of Swords; while if, he were born shortly before midnight, he would add many of the characteristics of the Prince of Wands.” 166 Crowley would rather be a Prince than a Queen, or would he?
Paul Hughes-Barlow believes that the Thoth Prince of Wands is “the Great Beast himself, Aleister Crowley.” 167 Hughes-Barlow notes that the Greek inscription on the breastplate of the Thoth Prince of Wands translates as “the great beast,” a term that Crowley reserved for himself. Biographer Richard Kaczynski explains that Crowley grew up in a Bible-reading religious household and his mother “in moments of exasperation with her son … would say he was the beast prophesied in the Book of Revelation.” 168 In Crowley’s notorious 1934 libel trial, he explained that he called himself “Master Therion” because Therion means “great wild beast,” a reference to Beast 666 of the Apocalypse. Crowley told the magistrate that 666 is the number of the sun and added, “You can call me ‘Little Sunshine.’” 169 The British tabloids were less kind and called Crowley “the wickedest man in the world,” an appellation that stuck.
As an astrologer, Crowley was aware that the rising sign of his birth chart was either late Cancer or early Leo (the royal sign)—a region of the zodiac associated with the Prince of Wands. Paul Hughes-Barlow notes that Crowley’s description of this card in The Book of Thoth sounds autobiographical. Crowley described the Prince of Wands as a warrior who is swift and strong (Crowley was an avid mountaineer), inclined to act on impulse, noble and generous, an extravagant boaster (Crowley’s narcissism is legendary), dynamic, energetic, romantic (Crowley was bisexual and promiscuous), violent in the expression of an opinion, just, proud, courageous, a practical joker, contemptuous of the world at large, and a symbol of terror (the Great Beast). 170 As the airy part of Fire, the Prince of Wands combines the intelligence of Air with the enthusiasm and intuition of Fire. Anyone familiar with Crowley’s biography will recognize him in the Prince of Wands.
The Confusion Caused by the Golden Dawn
The Golden Dawn manuscripts created confusion about the court cards because they began with the idea that a King correlates with Fire and with the first letter of God’s name, Yod of the tetragrammaton (Yod—Heh—Vau—Heh). Kings were viewed as patriarchal father-gods endowed with huge creator-phalluses, symbolized by the powerful stallions between their legs. The Golden Dawn’s obvious choice for King was the horse-riding Knight of the Marseille deck. Despite the fact that Colman Smith depicted her Kings as mature older men, Waite in his 1911 Pictorial Key to the Tarot referred to the seemingly youthful steed-riding Knights as men older than forty. This confusion resulted from an attempt to impose the patriarchal system of the Kabbalah on the traditional imagery of the classic Marseille deck.
The Golden Dawn correlated the Princes with the element Air and the Hebrew letter Vau, the third letter of the tetragrammaton, but the Golden Dawn at times also referred to the Princes as Kings. To confound matters further, the Prince of Wands (Fire) was assigned to the first two decans of Leo, the most regal sign of the zodiac. The originators of the Golden Dawn kept flip-flopping about who would be King: their Knights or their Princes.
If we ignore the Golden Dawn’s attempt to force the tarot to conform to the Kabbalah, a sound argument can be made that Knights are of the element Fire, and Kings of the element Air. Like Fire, the Knights are dynamic, energetic, impetuous, daring, adventurous, and passionate. They are bold, aggressive warriors who dash off on a quest at a moment’s notice. Knights have the flexibility and volatility of the mutable signs of the zodiac.
Kings, on the other hand, are logical, tactical, thoughtful, discriminating, settled, and orderly. They resemble the stable fixed signs of the zodiac. As author Nevill Drury explains, “The allocation of Air to the King and Fire to the Knight may seem to be contradictory, but in medieval times the Knights were the aggressors and warriors, and the Kings more commonly the administrators or rulers.” 171 Tarot experts Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone follow these elemental attributions as well and note that the King of Wands “combines Air, associated with the rank of King, and Fire, associated with the suit of Wands.” 172 My own preference is also to view Kings as older, experienced men of the element Air, and Knights as younger, impetuous men of the element Fire.
|
Correlations among Court Cards |
|||||
|
Family Relationship |
Waite-Smith |
Thoth (Crowley) |
Golden Dawn |
Element |
Hebrew Letter |
|
Father (with a huge stallion-phallus) |
Knight (men over forty) |
Knight (Fire) |
Lord/King/Knight |
Fire |
Yod |
|
Mother |
Queen (women over forty) |
Queen (Water) |
Queen |
Water |
1st Heh |
|
Son (with a smaller phallus) |
King (men under forty) |
Prince (Air)—the “Little King” symbolized by the royal star Regulus in Leo |
Prince/King |
Air |
Vau |
|
Daughter |
Page (women under forty) |
Princess (Earth) |
Princess/Knave |
Earth |
2nd Heh |
In Crowley’s attributions, the Thoth Queens refer to the first decan of the cardinal signs and the two adjoining decans. In other words, the Queens oversee the birth of each new season as follows: Queen of Wands, spring; Queen of Cups, summer; Queen of Swords, autumn; and Queen of Pentacles, winter. The Thoth Princes (Waite-Smith Kings) correspond to the first decan of the fixed signs and the two adjoining decans, and the Thoth Knights are linked to the first decan of the mutable signs and its adjacent decans. In addition to zodiacal attributions, Crowley assigned elemental properties to the court cards and, in this sense, regarded the court cards as representing the elements themselves. See appendix C for further details.
154 . Carl Jung, “Quotations by author: Carl Jung (1875–1961),” The Quotations Page, http://www.quotations-page.com/quotes/Carl_Jung/ (accessed 5 Dec. 2011).
155 . Corrine Kenner, Tarot and Astrology (Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2011), p. 199.
156 . Genesis 2:23 (King James Bible).
157 . For associations of the temperaments with astrological factors, see William Lilly, Christian Astrology, (1647) (London: Regulus Publishing, 1985), p. 47.
158 . All citations from Waite in this chapter are paraphrased from The Pictorial Key to the Tarot online.
159 . Numbers 17:8 (New Living Translation).
160 . Huson, Mystical Origins, p. 241.
161 . Matthew 7:7 (King James Bible).
162 . Crowley, The Book of Thoth, p. 179.
163 . Regardie, The Golden Dawn, p. 542.
164 . Crowley, The Book of Thoth, p. 149.
165 . Crowley, ibid., p. 149.
166 . Crowley, The Book of Thoth, p. 149.
167 . Paul Hughes-Barlow, “Knight of Wands Definitions” in “A Compendium of Tarot Card Meanings,” Super Tarot blog, http://supertarot.co.uk/minor-wands/knight.htm (accessed 5 Jan. 2012).
168 . Richard Kaczynski, Perdurabo, The Life of Aleister Crowley (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2010), p. 16.
169 . Kaczynski, ibid., p. 474.
170 . In Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot (San Francisco: Weiser Books, 2003), author Lon Milo Duquette notes that Crowley had “an outrageously twisted sense of humor,” p. 316.
171 . Nevill Drury, The Tarot Workbook (San Diego: Thunder Bay Press, 2004), p. 30.
172 . Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone, Tarot Tips (Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2003), p. 42.