The Court Cards consist of sixteen cards in total, with each suit having 4 figures: A Page, a Knight, a Queen, and a King. They are possibly the hardest to interpret, yet at the same time, the most rich in information and possibilities.

This is why many people who read tarot are often puzzled and confused by the court cards, as these sixteen cards can mean many different things, all at once and at the same time.

Court Cards and Their Different Messages

Court figures can indicate in a reading, significant people in the querent’s life, but they can also represent the querent themselves. Court cards can bring news and advice, and they can also be read like any other card: as an indication of thoughts, feelings, or important events in the querent’s life.
The versatility and flexibility of court cards make them particularly valuable in a reading, as a great deal of information can be found. Every tarot reader has their own ways of interpreting these cards. Different tarot decks and traditions name and describe the Court in various ways. As with all tarot, each person must find the truth that each card will have or reveal to them.

Court Cards as People

Traditionally, Pages are young children or teenagers, while Knights are young people. Queens are adult women, and Kings are adult men. But this is not set in stone, as in practice, these roles can often change.
Personally, I don’t assign Queens to be exclusively women or Kings to be only men, just like I don’t think Knights are only men in the reading. A King or Knight in a reading for a woman can easily represent her, and not necessarily point to a man in her life.

With Pages, it’s easier because they are more androgynous; they can be either a young woman or a young man. It’s possible that Pages and Knights represent the querent’s children, even if they are now adults. Pages and Knights can also represent love interests, especially in younger people. In this case, Knights generally signify a male love interest, while Pages signify a female one.

Pages and Knights can also represent friends, coworkers, and family members, but we should always keep in mind their youthful energy. Sometimes, for older querents, Pages and Knights can reflect their own enthusiasm, passion, and vitality, their eternal youth. Sometimes, these cards describe an older person as immature or even senile.

Pages and Knights can also be older people who are doing things typically associated with Pages and Knights. For instance, an older person returning to school could be one. An older person on a specific quest could be a Knight.

Generally, Queens are adult women, and Kings are adult men. However, sometimes women in business with great leadership and authority will show up as Kings. Queens and Kings can represent friends, family, coworkers, or love interests in the querent’s life.

Let’s see an example:

The querent is a man, and he draws the Page of Cups… This is easier since the Page could be a young woman in his life; she could be his daughter, a young girl, or a teenager. The Page could also describe him, showing some feminine, creative, gentle energy.
But the Page could also be a young man, and it could represent his son, a boy, a teenager, or a very young person. It might even describe the querent, as someone youthful, playful, immature, but also energetic, creative, and innocent.

If a King or Knight shows up and the querent is a man, it’s a simpler scenario since it undoubtedly represents him or refers to a masculine figure in his life. But be careful—it heavily depends on the question asked! For example, if they asked, “Will I meet my beloved?” and the King of Cups appears, it doesn’t mean they’ll have a male lover (although, it could!).

If the querent is referring to expecting or wanting a woman, this King of Cups might actually represent a woman with the characteristics of the King of Cups: a compassionate, somewhat emotional woman, with deep feelings, strong intuition, and a warm, gentle nature. Just like a reversed King of Swords could tell us that they can expect a woman who is harsh, aggressive, loud, or argumentative.

Therefore, the question is CRITICAL to interpret the meaning of the court card that shows up: Is it talking about a third party or the querent’s own traits? And not just the question, but the general context of the reading and the other cards in the spread.

News and Advice

It is generally understood that both Pages and Knights are messengers. They’ll bring good news when the card appears upright, and bad news when the card appears reversed.
Kings and Queens can also be messengers, both good and bad depending on the card’s position, but they are mainly sources of advice or suggestions for the querent.

What Do These Court Figures Do?

When understanding the court cards, we can determine something about the personality or situation of the individual the querent is asking about based on traits associated with the card’s rank and element. Rank refers to their status (Page, Knight, Queen, or King), and element refers to the suit of the card.
While each rank may classically denote age or gender, the ranks also come with specific traits that can help us understand the motivations and priorities of the people in the querent’s life, as well as their own.

Pages are learners and communicators. A Page can represent someone of any age who is going to school or learning something new. A Page can also represent someone actively communicating or delivering a message.

Knights are travelers and doers. Knights have a goal or destination in mind. A Knight can represent someone of any age who is motivated and proactive in pursuing a goal. A Knight can also signify someone who travels frequently.

Queens are nurturers, givers, and caretakers, and in my experience, they typically represent adult women, although a Queen could be anyone, man or woman, who is in a position to nurture something or someone.

Kings are leaders. While Kings often represent adult men, I’ve seen Kings easily and confidently represent strong women leaders.

The Importance of Rank and Suit

Each suit in the Minor Arcana is associated with one of the four elements: Cups are water, Pentacles are earth, Swords are air, and Wands are fire. The rank (Page, Knight, Queen, or King) of the court cards describes how the individual interacts with their element.
For example: the Page of Cups may be a young person who is learning or communicating about love. If they are a child, we might see them as sensitive and loving. If they are a teenager, we might view them as dreamy and romantic.

In this way, we can understand how the elements reveal the behavior, attitude, and circumstances of the querent, or the third parties that the cards may be referencing:

► People of Cups will be sensitive, romantic, compassionate, emotional, and dreamy. ► People of Pentacles will be solid, stable, responsible, and practical. The Page of Pentacles could be a five-year-old with a lemonade stand, while the King of Pentacles could be a CEO. ► People of Wands will be creative, passionate, inspired, and sometimes hot-tempered. ► People of Swords will be honest and intelligent, but they can also have sharp tongues and, under certain circumstances, be aggressive.

There are three factors that help determine the relevant nature of a person represented by a court card in a reading:

• The first is RANK
• The second is the ELEMENT, which reflects attitude or “judgment”
• The third is their STATE or “dignity,” meaning whether the card is upright or reversed

Rank is the easiest to interpret since it can suggest age or gender, as well as physical age versus “spiritual age.” Spiritual age is when you’re 50 but feel and live like you’re 25, or the opposite—you’re 28 but feel like you’re 60. A Page can be a young child or teen, but they can also be an adult with a youthful spirit. A Knight is someone youthful or young in attitude, while Queens and Kings are adults or elders. But they can also indicate a child with an “old soul.”
Rank is almost like an age classification, whether it’s physical or spiritual.

Judgment or attitude is the element, the suit of the card, and it will tell us, for instance, with a Page, that the person is youthful, innocent, inexperienced, but also dreamy, full of energy, hope, faith, and trust. Judgment or attitude is what that person does, how they behave, and their basic attitudes and mannerisms.

The Element or judgment is the suit of the card and its characteristics.

The “dignity” or state refers to how that rank and judgment are being presented, how they show up, and this is determined by the position of the card, upright or reversed.

The “dignity” of the card is given by its position, upright or reversed.

In the rest of the cards, whether Major or Minor Arcana, an upright card can be negative, and many reversed cards are positive. Take, for instance, card number 5—they are quite negative upright and much more positive when reversed. The 7 or 8 of Swords works similarly, to name a few examples.

However, with court cards, an upright card is always positive, and a reversed card is negative. In other words, the card is either “well dignified” or “poorly dignified.”

►When a card is well dignified (upright), we interpret it in the most straightforward way. What the card says, is. ►When it is poorly dignified (reversed), we might see the opposite meaning of its upright interpretation, perhaps a delay, a decrease, an opposition, or the card’s energy may be stuck in the past.

When a court card is well dignified, the individual it describes (whether the querent or a third party) is generally well-adapted and embodies the most positive aspects of their element (their suit). When a court card is poorly dignified, the negative aspects of the element show up in the character or circumstance of the individual.

◙ Poorly dignified Cups can indicate someone who is depressed or shy, for example. ◙ Poorly dignified Pentacles can reflect someone who is irresponsible, unemployed, or ungrounded. ◙ Poorly dignified Wands suggest someone who may be bored, unmotivated, or lazy. ◙ Poorly dignified Swords can indicate someone who is “slow,” confused, or dishonest.

Court Cards as Advice

Often, we can interpret court cards as offering advice to the querent. Once again, the rank, the element, and the dignity can help us clearly see the needed advice.

What Advice Do Rank and Elements Give?

Pages might direct the querent to learn something, study something, or communicate something. A Page of Cups might advise the querent to unleash their creative talent, just as a Page of Swords might suggest they need to speak up or defend their position.
Knights might advise setting a goal, going on a journey, or being more proactive in pursuing something. A Knight of Pentacles could suggest that success comes by sticking to traditional ways, following routines, or perhaps indicate the need to find a job. A Knight of Swords might advise charging ahead without fear.

Queens might advise nurturing or supporting something, whether it’s a home, a project, or a business. A Queen of Pentacles might indicate the need to be more nurturing, offering support and care, while a Queen of Cups will suggest that emotional connections are key—love, and let yourself be loved. Letting emotions flow so that things flourish and succeed.

Kings might advise taking a leadership role in a particular area. Acting responsibly, with maturity, confidence, and determination. A King of Wands might suggest being generous and helping others, being less selfish. A King of Swords will invite being fair, thoughtful, and rational, with truth as the guiding principle.

What Do States or “Dignities” Advise?

This is simple. An upright, “well-dignified” card can advise continuing along the path or adopting the attitude described by the card. It’s “you need to keep doing this” or “you should do this.” The querent may be a “Pentacle” and should continue acting like one, or maybe they need to be more of a “Cup” or “Sword,” for instance.
A reversed or “poorly dignified” card, tells us that the querent has a specific shortcoming in that area of life that needs to be corrected, or it can point to hesitation, difficulty, or denial on the part of the querent in dealing with the issue.

Interpreting Predictions and Specific Advice from Court Cards

►Pages may predict that you’ll receive an important message. That is, a letter, phone call, text message, or email. The nature of this communication will be indicated by the element and dignity of the card:
A well-dignified (upright) Page of Cups could bring a message of love, good news about romance, or positive communications about emotional or creative matters… maybe you’ll get a call about being cast in a play, or hear that your book has been approved, or that they like your designs or photos. A poorly dignified Page of Cups means you’ll receive an important message about emotional matters, but it will be negative.

Pages can also predict or advise on education. They might suggest taking classes or getting a new certification. Pages can also, in our modern times, represent the internet and might refer to searching for or launching a specific website!

►Knights can advise setting goals and predict journeys. The nature of the goals or journey is determined by the suit. They are always good news relating to life’s journey, activity, and attitude. They’ll tell you if you should do something, what to do, and how to do it.

A Knight of Cups could signify the arrival of a romantic suitor in your life, but if you’re a male querent, it might be telling you that you need to take things slowly, relying on emotions to move things forward. You need to be more gentle, placing greater emphasis on emotional matters.

A Knight of Swords could be the signal to embark on a journey, project, or adventure. While you should push forward with determination, it might be advisable to think a little before acting. On the other hand, a Knight of Wands will tell you to dive in without fear. You’ll figure out what to do along the way, don’t worry about a thing, just go for it!

►The four Queens can predict or discuss a specific topic, action, or situation. The Queen of Pentacles might relate to business or motherhood. The Queen of Cups could predict romance. The Queen of Wands might promote creativity, just as The Queen of Swords could describe loneliness, or the need to speak a hard truth or make a tough decision.

►Kings often predict professional advancement and success in business. The nature of the business will depend on the questions asked and the general context of the reading.

Of course, as with any card, the reader’s intuition can lead them to an unusual or unconventional interpretation in a reading, one that will be meaningful to the situation.

The Big Secret to Reading Tarot

Learning the meanings of the cards is important, it’s fundamental, the basics—it’s probably 50% of the process. But the real secret lies in intuition. When you’re doing a reading, when you lay out the spread, the cards should “tell” you a story. You need to be able to see it and interpret it, and you should be able to see the whole picture.
The secret to reading tarot is intuition.

Can you be literal with the cards? Sometimes, yes. But not always. If someone asks, “Will I meet a woman I’ll love?” and they draw, for example, the King of Wands, the 10 of Swords, and the 5 of Cups, you can’t just be literal and say: “A man with a mustache will show up in your life, maybe your boss, and he’ll betray you, leaving you sad and alone like a dog.” You might instead interpret this King as a woman who has the characteristics of that King, and that the 10 of Swords represents his past, where he has been betrayed, and that’s why he is hesitant about love and lives in the solitary attitude of the 5 of Cups. He needs to overcome all this first if he wants love not just to appear, but to stay in his life.

I could give you 20 different interpretations of what those 3 example cards—the King, the 10, and the 5—could mean. But it’s really your intuition that you should follow. Your inner voice will take the most appropriate meaning from this web of multiple interpretations and settle on just one. You achieve this through your intuition, while also considering the other cards and the overall context of the reading.

That’s why reading tarot isn’t easy, and I don’t want to discourage you… you can learn and study it, and you absolutely should—it’s essential if you want to read cards. But what’s really important isn’t studied or bought—it can only be learned: it’s intuition. Don’t worry, we all have it, so do you! Maybe yours is underdeveloped or dormant, but it can be awakened and improved, or at least, you can try.

Some people might go their whole lives without tapping into their intuition or awakening it, but I’ll tell you the second secret of tarot: if you’re reading this, it’s because tarot has called you, and if it has, it’s because you have the ability to interpret it. It might be latent or dormant, but something within you responds to tarot’s call, and on your journey, you will learn to use and access your intuition. You’ll see how, with it, you can deliver extraordinary readings.

The second secret of tarot is that if you’re interested in it, it’s because it has chosen you and called you.

Let’s take a quick summary of what we’ve covered about court cards, along with some key tips:

• ► Court cards can represent people in the querent’s life, the querent themselves, and/or represent advice, situations, or predictions. They can signify or show events that are happening, have happened, or will happen.
• ► Court cards can highlight internal or external attitudes of the querent or a third party, whether they are known or not, whether they’re from the querent’s close environment or not.
• ► Court cards are most often messengers. The news will be good or bad depending on the dignity (position) of the cards.
• ► Court cards of the Cups suit will always bring messages (good or bad, depending on dignity) related to emotions, creativity, intuition, and love.
• ► Court cards of the Pentacles suit will always bring messages (good or bad depending on dignity) related to the material plane, money, possessions, physical and tangible matters. It could be finances or work issues, and how the material world affects the individual, their family, or their circumstances.
• ► Court cards of the Swords suit will always bring messages (good or bad depending on dignity) that relate to communication, ideas, reasoning. They can involve paperwork, documents, and letters, and they will always deal with the intellectual plane of ideas, logic, and reasoning.
• ► Court cards of the Wands suit will always bring messages (good or bad depending on dignity) related to action, one’s position in life, work or activity, and the actions and attitudes that need to be taken or pursued.
• ► Court cards can represent more than one thing at the same time in the same reading.
• ► Court Cards as people won’t always fit perfectly in their assigned roles in a spread.
• ► A court card can be a permanent symbol for an individual, or it might describe who they are only at that moment.
• ► The interpretation will be based on the dignity of the card (upright or reversed), the suit or element, the general context of the reading and other cards, intuition, or a combination of all of them.
• ► When court cards represent people, well-dignified cards are happier, healthier, and more helpful than poorly dignified ones. Poorly dignified cards will represent people with issues.
• ► When court cards don’t represent people, poor dignity can change a prediction or indicate resistance to the card’s advice or a lack of the card’s energy.

Court cards are the hardest to interpret and often cause a headache for any tarot reader, but they are also the richest in information and possibly the most fascinating to discover and understand, and they will undoubtedly provide great help and support in understanding the entire context of a reading. So don’t resist them or fear them… they will give you invaluable insights!