Court-cards tend to be the stumbling block of Tarot. Are they a facet of the querent, something to increase or decrease… or just people? I tend to send people to Alison Cross’s brilliant blog, Tarot Thrones where she shares her expertise on these sixteen cards. Alison is an expert.
I take Kings and Queens as always being people, Cavaliers and Valets are sometimes people somethimes something else [the latter two are the hardest]. But I don’t want to go into the ins-and-outs of court cards’ theory here. But, I do want to share with you some of the things that will be covered in my forthcoming Tarot course.
The four Valets (also called Pages/Princesses/Daughters) correspond to the Knaves/Jacks of the “ordinary” playing cards. They symbolise, for me, young women but can also appear as the “thoughts” of the Kings and Queens, or suits. Lots of times, they are both.
Let’s deal with them as actual women, first. A Valet can be a woman who is under thirty, with very rare occasions being in her early to mid-thirties. I don’t know why but Cavaliers crop up as people in their mid-thirties regularly, but it’s rare for a Valet to do so unless it’s the fiancée of the Cavalier you’re reading for.
One of the best ways to see them, in my opinion, is that you can also associate their Suits with topics:
Tarot de Marseille
Valet of Cups: a daughter, sister, fiancée, and best female friend – she’s a female within the home unit.
Valet of Batons: female friend, girlfriend, and correspondent – she’s a female you associate with.
Valet of Swords: female intern, colleague, and student – she’s a female you work or learn with or teach i.e. student of the querent.
Valet of Coins: female medical student/junior doctor, junior barrister, and banker – a female you consult.
You can normally give a description of the person by the cards in attendance (i.e. either side). This is normally applicable if you’re not using the above. However, both need to be pips, and the card to the court card’s left is the dominant and modified by the right:
Smith-Waite Tarot
Cups: white to blonde hair, pale, medium to short height, adds weight.
Batons: reddish-blonde to red and brown, ruddy/freckles, medium to tall, reduces weight.
Swords: very dark brown to black, olive to Asian, medium to tall, reduces weight.
Coins: black, dark skinned, medium to short height, adds weight.
Personally, I use the above for Kings and Queens (and trumps I-III) mostly, and it tends to help only in love questions.
Yet very often they won’t be people.
A lot of people wonder what the “thoughts” exactly mean, as the term appears in a lot of old manuals with sometimes very vague or contradictory examples. I can only give my own opinion, based on experience, but the thoughts tend to actually be the precursor into the qualities of the suit.
So:
Harris-Crowley Thoth Tarot
Valet of Cups: news relating to family, domestic life, as well as romantic affairs.
Valet of Batons: traditionally the “postman” (e-mail, SMS), social engagements, flirtatious banter… not necessarily innocent.
Valet of Swords: all work and financial news (if it relates to pay), stuff you’ll need to “act on”.
Valet of Coins: medical, legal, real estate and all governmental news.
Also, the Valet’s can make important combinations when touched by certain cards:
9 of Batons + Valet of Coins – Call the Doctor!
Valet of Coins with the Nine of Batons – dealings with a doctor.
Valet of Coins with the Nine of Swords – dealings with a lawyer.
Valet of Coins with the Four of Coins – guilty verdict/gaol, hospitalisation.
Valet of Swords with the Ten of Cups – sincere ally.
Valet of Swords with the Ace of Swords – contract, job news.
Valet of Swords with the Nine of Swords – young female rival in work.
Nine of Swords + Valet of Coins – the lawyer!
Valet of Batons with the Ten of Cups – love at first sight.
Valet of Batons with the Seven of Coins – false friend, backstabber.
Valet of Batons with the Nine of Swords – young female rival in love questions.
Valet of Cups with the Ten of Cups – the one, ardent lover.
Valet of Cups with the Ace of Batons – a proposal, engagement.
Valet of Cups with the Seven of Batons – unexpected pregnancy.
Yes, he/she is the one – the Ten of Cups + Valet of Cups
