Understanding Court cards is perceived to be difficult by tarot students. Generally court cards represent one of these three aspects:

• A person
• Aspects of a personality
• Aspects of a situation

All of these can be either yourself or somebody else, just to make things a bit more complicated.

Positional Spreads like the Celtic Cross cannot determine the meaning or circumstance of a Court since they are generally seen in isolation. Like humans, the tarot enjoys being touched, in contact with each other; the best example of such a spread is The Opening Of The Key spread (OOTK).

I now view Court cards in an entirely simplistic manner, e.g. Older Man, Younger Woman, and take note of the element. Next, I look at the cards on either side of the Court and use them to build up a picture of who it presents or is doing, using Elemental Dignities to determine relative strengths and weaknesses in relationship to what else is going on with the other cards.

It is very difficult to determine the status of a strange naked person standing in front of you in a bare room! This is analogous to seeing a court card in isolation. We make decisions about an individual according to the time, place, actions of others, dress style, actions, who is standing close by, etc. Sociologists and anthropologists have spent thousands of hours happily observing humans in various environments.

We make decisions about an individual according to the time, place, actions of others, dress style, the action of an individual, and who is standing close by, their attitude, etc. Sociologists and anthropologists have spent thousands of hours happily observing humans in various environments.