In the approach I use (and others), the first thing to keep in mind are the associations.

Kings and Swords are Air
Queens and Cups are Water
Knights and Wands are Fire
Pages and Pentacles are Earth

Wand Court Cards (Fire-Wands)
Air of Fire:        King of Wands
Water of Fire: Queen of Wands
Fire of Fire:      Knight of Wands
Earth of Fire:    Page of Wands

Sword Court Cards (Air-Swords)
Air of Air:        King of Swords
Water of Air: Queen of Swords
Fire of Air:      Knight of Swords
Earth of Air:    Page of Swords

Cups Court Cards (Water-Cups)
Air of Water:        King of Cups
Water of Water: Queen of Cups
Fire of Water:      Knight of Cups
Earth of Water:    Page of Cups

Pentacle Court Cards (Earth-Pentacles)
Air of Earth:        King of Pentacles
Water of Earth: Queen of Pentacles
Fire of Earth:      Knight of Pentacles
Earth of Earth:    Page of Pentacles

Many consider him as unimaginative and plodding. I see him as steadfast and loyal. This is a wonderfully (wonderfully is over-stating things a bit) balanced elemental combination. Fire spurs his Earth component into activity while Earth gives grounding that the Fire element so badly needs. He is very hard working and once set on a course he will see it through to the end, no matter how difficult. If you're familiar with the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, Loial (Hope I spelled that right..don't have a book near by for reference) would be an excellent example of this Knight. Another example would be Samwise Gangee from the Lord of the Rings books. Frodo would never have been able to complete his journey if it hadn't been for Sam who, by the end of the journey, carried Frodo upon his back.

Knight of Cups (Fire of Water)

As the Fire of Water, this is a potentially explosive combination. Fire pushes his internal processes outward, so he is not one to hide his emotions. He is the true romantic Knight. He's one to sing ballads and write poetry. If anything, he would be one to loose control of his emotions, letting them carry him away. I always imagine him as Romeo, willing to die for love or as Sir Lancelot, a real knight in shining armor.

The Page of Pentacles is the Earth of Earth

A friendly and (very) passive combination. Our first one sided combination, he embodies the qualities of Earth. He is stable, serious, honest and trustworthy. He is a quiet person and rarely is the center of attention, though he is often a companion of those who are. His ties are to home, though not to hearth. Land is important to him, a piece of earth as his own, and he knows it as well as he knows himself. He is a farmer by nature. The growth of the plants he cares for is a symbol for the potential of growth within himself and the growth he brings out in others around him. He is the seed. And the most boring of all the courts.

The King of Wands is the Air of Fire.

A friendly and active combination, his every action and thought it broadcast to the external. Charismatic, he is the true Warrior King. He is not content to stand behind the lines but instead chooses to be in the action, making split of the moment decisions as needed. He is generally respected by the people under him since he is not afraid to get his hands dirty and he knows exactly what they go through.

The King of Swords is the Air of Air

An active combination focused on the abstract mind. His world is one of the theoretical. His mind can take him places and let him see things that most would never even imagine and very few would be able to comprehend. This does mean, however, that he deals very little in the practical world. He may not deal well with other people (thus causing conflict) but to be honest, people are much less interesting than his thoughts. This is not because he is cold but because there are very few people who are capable of sharing and understanding his thoughts and ideas. He is also just and fair. His rationality allows him to cut through confusion and get down to the truth, even if it is something others do not wish to deal with or face. It can help to think of him as an absent minded professor. He may be able to visualize 12 dimensional space but he's lucky if his socks match (thought mostly because he would consider matching socks to be unimportant and not worth his attention). The most flighty of all the courts who seldom sees things through or completes anything. Has a tendancy to go from one thing to another without first finishing what he started.

The Queen of Wands is the Water of Fire (Notice that she has the same combination of elements as the Knight of Cups), an unfriendly combination of both action and reaction. Also note that in this case Fire is the dominate element (IMO) whereas with the Knight of Cups - Water would be the dominate element.

of Fire - Energy, spark, movement, action, desire, passion, Drive

Passionate and sensual, she knows what she wants and is not afraid to go for it with her whole heart and soul. She likely enjoys dance and any other activity which allows her to express her emotions through bodily movement. She is also bright, warm, friendly and playful, that is until she is crossed. "Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned" was likely written with a Queen of Wands in mind :). The most volatile and erratic of the queens - the bitch from hell.

This should give a pretty good example. Let me know if you have any questions.

Random

Earth of Air: Page of Swords

Earth - Foundations, Stability, the Material, Nature, Practicality, common sense

of Air - Communication, the Rational/Abstract mind, Intellect, thought, reason, logic and conflict

Usually the base element, in this case Air will take prominence with the secondary element Earth being somewhat weaker in influence. But these two elements are 'unfriendly or enemies' to begin with so what we have here is Air being the stronger of the two elements. This is often a volatile combination as Earth tries to hold back Air's tendency to try and take mental flight. With the Page of Swords we have the more flighty and thinking type who is less grounded.

Air of Earth: King of Pentacles

Air - Communication, the Rational/Abstract mind, Intellect, thought, reason, logic and conflict

of Earth - Foundations, Stability, the Material, Nature, Practicality, common sense

Here Earth would be the stronger of these two volatile elements so the individual would take on a more Earthy quality and manage to keep his/her more flighty tendencies in control. Which also makes him/her a more boring and mundane type.

Note: With the Earth-Air combinations we have the;

Higher Octave of Pentacles (the mundane) (Earth-Passive)

and the

Lower Octave of Swords ( (Air-Active)

in opposition with one taking precedence over the other. Since these Octaves are direct opposites (Octave-meaning-wise) then they will always be in opposition to each other.

The Outer Octaves of the Conscious (Mundane)

Higher Octave - Pentacles (possessions, money, security)

Lower Octave - Wands (the drive for possessions, money, security)

The Inner Octaves of the Subconscious (Intuitive-Spiritual)

Higher Octave - Cups (emotions, feelings, relationships)

Lower Octave - Swords (dealing with the intellectual conflicts involving emotions, feelings, relationships)

Okay ... so I lost you on my elemental Octaves, {grin}.

Don

Element	Suit	Quality	Meanings
Fire	Wands	Active	Energy, spark, movement, action, desire, passion, Drive
Air	Swords	Active	Communication, the Rational/Abstract mind, Intellect, thought, reason, logic and conflict
Water	Cups	Passive	Emotions, Relationships, Empathy, Reaction, Nurture, Feelings
Earth	Pentacles	Passive	Foundations, Stability, the Material, Nature, Practicality, common sense