hillbillyoracle:

I’m not sure how helpful this post will be to others as it’s
based very much in my own personal understanding of the court cards. I
struggled for a very long time until I just abandoned most of what I’d read
about them and began to understand them in the context of the rest of my own frameworks.

I think a common understanding of them is that you start as
a Page and work your way up to being King. They often get read as “How much have
you mastered the ideals of the suit?” with page being hardly at all and the King
being the absolute best. It’s very hierarchical, top-down, and it’s not only
sexist with regards to the Queen, but more generally invalidating of what the
other cards have to offer in their own right.

I have come across alternative readings of the Court Cards
but none of them really clicked until I started reading them as dualities.

The first duality I see in court cards is between the material/work
and the ideals of each suit. Pages and Knights are focused on the work of each
suit. They are carrying out the functions of their court, each with different
advantages and disadvantages.

Unfocused vs. Focused Work

Pages, while perhaps less experienced, don’t engage with the
work with the same ferocity of the Knights. Their lives tend to be more
balanced, they tend to be more of the Jack of All Trades.  There’s a real trade off with not being
specialized. They’re versatile, flexible, ready to learn and change. But they
can’t execute to the degree that a Knight can, might get easily distracted or
side tracked. When not showing up in a signifying role, or showing up
specifically in an action position, they can also sometimes point toward gossip
or rumors.

Knights, on the other hand, are fierce to a fault. They are
specialized, focused, and honestly kind of terrifying to me personally. They
are the ideals of the suit, weaponized, constantly in motion. They are coming
to fuck your shit up. They’re not balanced though. They’re rigid, don’t change
course easily, and are stubborn to a fault. But they are also undeniably
effective. They do what they set out to do, they are reliable, they will fight
until the battle is won. When not showing up in a signifying role, or showing
up in an action position, they can also point toward news or a reversal of
luck.

Internal vs. External Ideals

Regents embody the ideals of the suit in their highest form.
They are twin forms of mastery. And much like real regents, they’re often
unattainable. I find in readings they serve as reminders, lessons, or status
relative to other people in a situation. We might be a page of wands in an art
class but a queen in our own families. I find that the lessons of the regents
are much less absolute than the Major Arcana.

Queens symbolize the internal mastery of the ideals of the
suit, people who’ve attained a deep understanding of the suit as it applies to themselves
and those closest to them. They often work behind the scenes and their mastery
isn’t always given its fair due by others. Their skill is no less refined and
important though. Queens perform the kind of work that can only be done in
private. They are masters of growth, healing, and wholeness in terms of their
suits. For these reasons, they’re not less dangerous or effective than Kings.
Their work may not always be seen but it is always deeply felt.

Kings symbolize the external mastery of the ideals of the
suit, people who are publicly lauded and recognized for their expertise,
passion, and skill. They are leaders, influencers, and tastemakers. They set
the pace and the terms of engagement for the group around them. They often receive
praise or scorn for their actions regardless of the work they actually do
because their reputation proceeds them. They are undeniably skillful,
especially with regards to groups of people rather than individuals. While
Kings derive it from different sources, their influence is what makes them
truly formidable.

Conclusion

Again, these are just my thoughts. They’re just another framework
to smash up against what you already know and see what sticks. I find the
duality or dualities model for the court cards to really help me and I’ve had
much better luck interpreting them in readings for myself and others since building
it. But it’s by far not the only way.

Another note – I’m nonbinary and I don’t consider the Queen
and King to represent feminine and masculine energy of a suit like a lot of people
write about. Even without the binary being alienating, I think it’s important
to develop frameworks that challenge conventional gender “energy”
interpretations when it comes to court cards. I’m definitely interested in how
others have worked on this as well.

As always – hope this helps and if you have any questions
please let me know!

*I never claim my way is the one true way. Take what is useful and leave the rest.

**If you wind up using this stuff in another setting, I’d really appreciate it if you could cite me. This is my art. Don’t steal, please credit.