Tarot glossary
What is a court card in tarot?
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A court card is each of the four figures in every tarot suit: Page, Knight, Queen and King. There are 16 in all, within the Minor Arcana. They can represent people, roles, stages of maturity or ways of acting, depending on the question and the reader's tradition.
Who the court cards are
Each suit has four figures, which makes 16 court cards in the deck. They come after the Ten in each suit and show human characters, rather than scenes or loose symbols.
The names vary a little. In the Rider-Waite-Smith, they are Page, Knight, Queen and King. In the Thoth deck, by Crowley and Frieda Harris, the titles are Princess, Prince, Queen and Knight.
How they are usually read
There are three common readings, and they can all coexist. The first sees the card as a real person in the querent's life. The second reads it as a part of you, a way of acting. The third understands it as a stage of maturity within the suit.
A simple reading is often the most useful way to start: the Page learns and brings news, the Knight acts and moves, the Queen cultivates and welcomes, the King commands and decides.
- Page: curiosity, beginnings, messages.
- Knight: movement, pursuit, impulse.
- Queen: inner mastery, care, presence.
- King: authority, responsibility, command of the suit.
Why they seem harder
Court cards tend to confuse beginners because they do not point to a clear situation, but to a way of being. Instead of guessing who the person is, it is worth asking which quality of that suit the question calls for.
With practice, they become one of the richest parts of a reading, because they offer a description of attitude.
Frequently asked questions
- How many court cards are there?
- There are 16, four per suit: Page, Knight, Queen and King. They are part of the Minor Arcana.
- Does a court card represent a real person?
- Sometimes. Many readers see it as a person in the querent's life, and others as an aspect of themselves. Both readings are valid.
- Are the court cards the same in the Thoth deck?
- No. In the Thoth the titles are Princess, Prince, Queen and Knight, with a different logic from the one used in Marseille and the Rider-Waite-Smith.
Educational content, for reflection. Tarot does not replace medical, legal or financial advice.