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The Hierarchy of the Court Cards
The Kings

The Kings

Keywords for All the Kings
Authority, Wise Council

Authority, wise council, achievement, accountability, confidence, expert, [confident expert], mastery [of an endeavor], experienced. Can be a mature person - usually male but not always.

Father-figure, stature, leadership, force of will, initiative, principled action(s), ability to get things done.

Also, publicity, public recognition, honors, awards, and celebrations.

The King of Wands

The King Of Wands

Examples
Robin Williams
George Washington
Napoleon Bonaparte [Rx]

KING OF WANDS

UPRIGHT
Creative; inspiring; influential; goal-oriented; strong values; honest; fair; determined; motivated; integrity; authority.

REVERSED
Controlling; rigid; opinionated; overbearing; insensitive; arrogant; narrow-minded; confused goals; impatient; hasty.
Element: Fire [Some Decks Air]
Qualities: Active/Masculine
Astrological Associations:
Cancer/Leo [Most Common]
20° - 30° Can / Jul 12 - 21
0° - 10° Leo / Jul 22 - Aug 1
10° - 20° Leo / Aug 2 - 11

Note: You can assign any of the Fire signs - Aries, Leo, or Sagittarius to the King of Wands. For example; Elizabeth Hazel in her book, 'Tarot Decoded' assigns 21° Scorpio to 20° Sagittarius to the King of Wands.

Elemental Associations

Rank = All Kings = Air

I consider all the Kings as far as their rank among the court cards as being associated with the element of air. I also consider this to be their secondary element. Their primary element is the element associated with each of the suits of the given King.

King of Wands = Air of Fire King
King of Swords = Air of Air King
King of Cups = Air of Water King
King of Pentacles = Air of Earth King

Arrange the elements to ranks or even the elements to suits in any way you choose.

The King of Swords

The King Of Swords

Examples
Jean-Luc Picard
Albert Einstein
Adolph Hitler [Rx]

KING OF SWORDS

UPRIGHT
Generates intellectual energy; professional; intelligent; level-headed; insightful; mental strength; clear thinking; concentration; responsible; ambition; focus; strong-willed; diplomacy; debate; persuasion; good advice; fair; calm authority; power; protector; ethical leader; articulate; impartial; integrity; wise counselor.

REVERSED
Ruthless; dominating; desire for control at any cost; harsh; merciless; stern; strict; cold; cruel; using mind as a weapon; unreasonable; unfair; uncaring; bitter; filled with hate, bias, and/or prejudices; corrupted authority; poor judgment; selfish; plotting; uncaring.
Element: Air [Some Decks Fire]
Qualities: Active/Masculine
Astrological Associations:
Capricorn/Aquarius [Most Common] 20° - 30° Cap / Jan 10 - 19
0° - 10° Aqu / Jan 20 - 29
10° - 20° Aqu / Jan 30 - Feb 8

Note: You can assign any of the Air signs - Gemini, Libra, or Aquarius to the King of Swords. Example; Elizabeth Hazel in her book, 'Tarot Decoded' assigns 21° Taurus to 20° Gemini to the King of Swords.

More Elemental Associations

If we assign some simple meanings to the elements;

Fire = Motivation
Air = Intellect
Water = Emotions
Earth = Materialism

We can then use these simple assignments/meanings to define each King.

King of Wands - Air of Fire
Intellect + Motivation

King of Swords - Air of Air
Intellect + Intellect

King of Cups - Air of Water
Intellect + Emotions

King of Pentacles - Air of Earth
Intellect + Materialism

See: Suits and Elements

The King of Cups

The King Of Cups

Examples
Dr. Phil
Ghandi
Rev. Jim Jones [Rx]

KING OF CUPS

UPRIGHT
Wise; caring; kind; devoted; family interests; sincere; supportive; attentive listener; diplomatic; responsible; creative; calm; sensitive; responsible; sophistication.

REVERSED
Untrustworthiness; dishonesty; manipulative; selfish; emotionally guarded; immaturity; instability; too sensitive; disagreements; insecurity; addictive behavior.
Element: Water
Qualities: Passive/Feminine
Astrological Associations:
Libra/Scorpio [Most Common]
20° - 30° Lib / Oct 13 - 22
0° - 10° Sco / Oct 23 - Nov 2
10° - 20° Sco / Nov 3 - 12

Note: You can assign any of the Water signs - Cancer, Scorpio, or Pisces to the King of Cups. Example; Elizabeth Hazel in her book, 'Tarot Decoded' assigns 21° Aquarius to 20° Pisces to the King of Cups.

Possible Number Associations

Even though the court cards are NOT numbered you can assign them numbers if you want to. Here is the most common numbering for the court cards.

11 - Pages [Reduces to: 1+1= 2]
12 - Knights [Reduces to: 1+2= 3]
13 - Queens [Reduces to: 1+3= 4]
14 - Kings [Reduces to: 1+4= 5]

You can also do something which I like to do and that's assign each court a number according to rank.

1 - Kings
2 - Queens
3 - Knights
4 - Pages

This system leads to the following number associations.

1/14 - Kings
2/13 - Queens
3/12 - Knights
4/11 - Pages

You can use NO numbers for the courts - or any system you wish as long as it works for you.

See: Court Numbering

The King of Pentacles

The King Of Pentacles

Examples
Bill Gates
Bob Villa
The Ferengi [Rx]

KING OF PENTACLES

UPRIGHT
Generates material energy; enterprising; adept; resourceful; conservative; prudent; practical; reliable; steady; patient; supporting; generous; love of nature; achiever; competent; entrepreneur; success; ambition; power; leadership; skillful with hands; prosperity; abundance; achievement; provider; harvest; businessman; sound financial judgments.

REVERSED
Poor business sense; wasteful choices; impractical; vices; gambling; lazy; unmotivated; materialism; devious; fraudulent; manipulation; con artist; physical addictions; greed.
Element: Earth
Qualities: Passive/Feminine
Astrological Associations:
Aries/Taurus [Most Common]
20° - 30° Ari / Apr 11- 20
0° - 10° Tau / Apr 21- 30
10° - 20° Tau / May 1 - 10

Note: You can assign any of the Earth signs - Taurus, Virgo, or Capricorn to the King of Pentacles. Example; Elizabeth Hazel in her book, 'Tarot Decoded' assigns 21° Leo to 20° Virgo to the King of Pentacles.


Note:

To see just the cards click Here

Don S.


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The Tarot Studies/Tarot Journeyman web site was created, written (mostly), and is copywritten by Donald W. Stephens. Anything on the site is free to use as long as it's source/author (me) is mentioned and it would be nice if you added the URL to the Tarot Studies web site as well. http://www.nodntap.net/tarot/. If you have a question, comment, suggestion, opinion, or find a problem on the Tarot Studies web site email me at nodntap@yahoo.com. Thanks for taking the time to stop and check out the Tarot Studies site, and a big thanks to all those who have helped me along the way and inspired me.

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Peace and glad tidings to all, Don S.