RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE CARDS

 By Judy Jennings

© Copyright 2015

Tarot is never static, it travels the same road you do.  Serving as both mirror and guide, the cards can be counted on to give you an honest reflection of yourself, and at the same time, to point in the best direction for going forward.

The cards have relationships; with you, with each other, and with circumstances.  The relationship between yourself and the cards is highly personal and based on your outlook, of course, while the relationship of the cards to circumstance is built on the responsive nature of the energy being that is Tarot.

But what kind of relationships do the cards have with each other?  As in all relationships, the variations are endless, but here are some of the dynamics that are in play between the cards themselves:

Multiple court cards in a reading suggest multiple people are involved in your situation, while a solo royal is likely to be talking about your own personality.  Courts in Swords and Wands will work well together in any situation, as will Cups and Pentacles, and it’s quite favorable to see these royals aligned in a reading. 

Wands and Cups, on the other hand, can be rather incompatible, as can Swords and Pentacles.  While the combination of these royals doesn’t necessarily indicate conflict, when they appear it’s important to be aware that the people involved in your project will have very different natures from each other, and different ways of going about things, potentially creating a situation requiring careful management.

Another powerful dynamic found in the court cards is the relationships that exist between the Knights and the Queens.  Knights are the advocates and protectors of the Queens.  This is particularly true of the Knight of Swords, who has a strong affinity for all Queens, but most especially for the Queen of Wands.  A Knight always enhances the power of a Queen when they appear together.

We’ll look at the way Pages interact with the others next time.  In the meantime, if you’d like an exercise, try laying out all the court cards and examining which direction they’re facing.  We’ll discuss that more next time, too.  As you consider the cards, keep in mind the most basic structure for a reading:  Past, present and future.