The Court Cards:

 

The Court Cards:

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”

Knight of Wands:

“The moral qualities appropriate to this figure are activity, generosity, fierceness, impetuosity, pride impulsiveness, swiftness in unpredictable actions. If wrongly energized, he is evil-minded, cruel, bigoted and brutal. He is in either way ill-fitted to carry out his action; he has no means of modifying it according to circumstances. If he fails in his first effort, he has no recourse.”

These people are obsessive and proud, they skip planning their actions precisely, which is the reason for their inability to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. They have one track minds as is the nature of their element, they are extremely passionate and willful. These people have their inclinations and anyone who is not in accord with their aims are not really welcome, therefore they may express their contempt for such people as cruelty, which is offered dispassionately. Although they are honorable to a fault, and may be exceedingly charitable, but only as it is in accordance with what they perceive as virtue, and honor. Thus, bigotry is also a virtue for the lesser Knights of Wands, hence even brutality may be carried out by such people without concern for the victim, as they feel it is the righteous thing to do. Their swiftness in unpredictable circumstances comes from the fact that although they plan, their reasoning is often overwhelmed by excitement, as they have a tendency to work themselves up into a frenzy over the aim and therefore tend to overlook the journey towards achieving it.

Queen of Wands:

“The characteristics of the Queen are adaptability, persistent energy, calm authority, which she knows how to use to enhance her attractiveness. She is kindly and generous, but impatient of opposition. She has immense capacity for friendship and for love, but always on her own initiative. There is as much pride in this card as in the Knight, but it lacks the spontaneous nobility which excuses that error. It is not true pride, but self-complacent vanity and even snobbery. The other side of her character is that she may have a tendency to brood, come to a wrong decision thereon, and react with great savagery. She may be easily deceived; then she is likely to show herself stupid, obstinate, tyrannical. She may be quick to take offence, and harbour revenge without cause. She might turn and snap at her best friends without intelligible excuse. Also, when she misses her bite she breaks her jaw!”

Passionate and emotional, these people love to be around other people. They are prone to getting their feelings hurt on account of their need for love and affection from others. They are extremely lovable, gracious and strong, but are also willing at times to be vulnerable. They give all to the ones they care about and thus, when hurt, they take it personally, sometimes jumping to wrong conclusions by placing the blame, instead of seeing the truth behind what has hurt them. Prone to disappointment by others, their rational faculty becomes overwhelmed under such emotional stimulus and then they repress their feelings unable to acknowledge the cause of their uncomfortableness, from which they may explode into fits of rage culminating in savagery. They are in other words too proud to confront their feelings, and this leads to wrong actions wherefrom only more emotional discomfort follows, they are indeed stormy people, although they are utterly lovable and beautiful.

Prince of Wands:

“The moral qualities appropriate to this figure are swiftness and strength. But he is sometimes inclined to act on impulse; sometimes easily led by external influences; sometimes; especially in trifles, a prey to indecision. He is often violent, especially in the expression of an opinion, but he does not necessarily hold the opinion about which he is so emphatic. He states a vigorous proposition for the sake of stating it.”

Here we have an intellect that is incapable of expressing itself, he is often misunderstood on account of the fact that he moves from one interest to another unable to fully integrate any one idea. Although he is remarkably intelligent, his will is scattered and he is not taken seriously, which leads to frustration, this along with his fiery temperament is the cause for his penchant for violence. Similar to a two-year old that hasn’t yet developed the ability to speak and as a result is prone to having a tantrum about the slightest discomfort.

“He is intensely just but does not feel that justice is to be attained in the intellectual world. His character is intensely noble and generous. He may be an extravagant boaster, while slyly laughing both at his boast and at himself for making it. He is romantic, especially in matters of history and tradition, to the point of folly, and may engineer “stunts” or play elaborate practical jokes.”

Obviously, these people being misunderstood live in their own worlds, therefore they are prone to obsess themselves with things like history, perhaps unconsciously they feel like they are living in the wrong era. They do not fit in and they know it, thus, the reasoning for their sense of justice hinging not on compromise, but rather violence, as confronting the issue intellectually will only lead to more frustration.

“He is always fighting against odds, and always wins in the-long very long-run. This is principally due to his enormous capacity for work, which he exercises for its own sake, “without the lust of result”; perhaps his haughty contempt for the world at large-which however coexists with profound and ecstatic respect for “every man and every woman” as “a star” is responsible for this.”

He may have come to realize this as a result of his own unfortunate disposition and his romantic inclination. Thus, he views himself as a bearer of this truth, which in his own life has been experienced as discomforting.

“Each of the qualities mentioned above is found in its antithesis. There is great cruelty in him, partly sadistic and partly due to callousness arising from indifference-and, in a sense, laziness! So too he may be intolerant, prejudiced and idle-principally because it saves trouble.”

His inability to adapt may be remedied if only he had the fortitude to commit himself and if he willed to be accepted. However, he is incapable, and he would rather play the role that has been allocated to him by society, which is that of the villain.

Princess of Wands:

“The character of the Princess is extremely individual. She is brilliant and daring. She creates her own beauty by her essential vigour and energy. The force of her character imposes the impression of beauty upon the beholder. In anger or love she is sudden, violent and implacable. She consumes all that comes into her sphere. She is ambitious and aspiring, full of enthusiasm which is often irrational. She never forgets an injury, and the only patience to be found in her is the patience in which she lies in ambush to avenge. Such a woman, ill-dignified, shews the defects of these qualities. She is superficial and theatrical, completely shallow and false, yet without suspecting that she is anything of the sort, for she believes entirely in herself, even when it is apparent to the most ordinary observer that she is merely in the spasm of mood. She is cruel, unreliable, faithless and domineering.”

This type of free-spirited person is best presented here, as everyone’s darling, incapable of responsibility to anyone but herself. Often, she is an object of jealousy or lust or both, thus, she is an inspiration for those who are close to her. She is a natural muse in all she does, thus some may see her as lacking any moral qualities, but this is not actually true. Her outgoingness is an expression of herself and is not intended to manipulate or hurt those around her, although some may see it that way. She only becomes vengeful or aggressive once wronged, hence her personality is pure innocence, which adds to her allure. She is always searching for something greater than herself, which is hard to find, so her quest may be seen as insincere. It certainly might be insincere, but this is not on account of her lack of trying to find meaning. She is a performer and every action is theatrical, an encounter with such a person is hard to forget, due to her attractiveness and uniqueness. Her cruelty and domineeringness stems from her individuality, which when restricted, give’s way to hurtful behavior in an attempt to win back control. People like these are often callous and selfish, but for the most part, they are a pleasure to have around.

Knight of Cups:

“He is amiable in a passive way. He is quick to respond to attraction, and easily becomes enthusiastic under such stimulus; but he is not very enduring. He is exceedingly sensitive to external influence, but with no material depth in his character. When the card is ill dignified, he is sensual, idle and untruthful. Yet with all this he possesses an innocence and purity which are the essence of his nature. But he is, on the whole, so superficial that it is hard to reach this depth.”

People like this surround themselves with members of the opposite sex, although they are liked by most people, they need constant emotional reassurance. They may find reassurance for a while until they find themselves again faced with uncertainty and in need of comfort, which may result in a rebalancing of sorts. This stems from them lacking any “material depth”. These people are dreamers, but their need for reassurance keep them occupied with people around them, which enables a certain connection to materiality. They can be promiscuous and may be the reason for them being perceived as superficial, this superficiality stems from their passivity as they seemingly lack any fortitude of will, thus having a tendency to be swept away by the tide. Hence, they are extremely sensitive to external influence, especially concerning sexual attraction, which by its nature fulfills their emotional needs for a time. Of course, with this type of person, there is a natural inkling towards dishonesty and this becomes quite apparent when a relationship of any kind has run its course. Their emotional vulnerability makes it impossible for them to commit to anything that would lead to development.

“He tends to mismanage all his affairs; and unless sheer good fortune attend him, his whole career will be an unbroken record of failure and disaster. Often his mental “civil war” ends in schizophrenia and melancholy madness. The abuse of stimulants and narcotics may precipitate the catastrophe.”

Queen of Cups:

“The characteristics associated with this card are principally dreaminess, illusion and tranquility. She is the perfect agent and patient, able to receive and transmit everything without herself being affected thereby. If ill dignified all these qualities are degraded.”

This card represents someone who perfectly embodies the qualities of maternity. She exhibits patience and loving kindness, always putting others first and having them determine the mood of any given situation. They are passive and perfectly amiable, unless they are in the presence of an unwelcome situation, in which case they act accordingly. Therefore, one may compare their character to the stern and patient aspects of motherhood, or as the quote states, these people may embody the lowest qualities of motherhood also. When in the company of such people one gets the feeling that they are engaged but as passive onlookers only including themselves when called on. 

Prince of Cups:

“The moral characteristics of the person pictured in this card are subtlety, secret violence and craft. He is intensely secret, an artist in all his ways. On the surface he appears calm and imperturbable, but this is a mask of the most intense passion. He is on the surface susceptible to external influences, but he accepts them only to transmute them to the advantage of his secret designs. He is thus completely without conscience in the ordinary sense of the word, and therefore usually distrusted by his neighbors. They feel they do not, and can never, understand him. Thus, he inspires unreasonable fear. He is in fact perfectly ruthless. He cares intensely for power, wisdom and his own aims. He feels no responsibility to others, and although his abilities are so immense, he cannot be relied upon to work in harness.”

These people are chameleons, they are incredibly intelligent and use their knowledge of people and behavior to manipulate others. In these people relationships are viewed intellectually, as a means to an end. They are without empathy and compassion, love for them is just an idea or a word, that has great meaning for others, and to be used as a tool. They do not care about who they trample on to reach their goals, as long as they obtain what they’re after. Interactions with society for such people are but necessary accompaniments, stepping-stones along the road to get what they truly desire, which is power. In a word, these people are “psychopaths”.

Princess of Cups:

“The character of the Princess is infinitely gracious. All sweetness, all voluptuousness, gentleness, kindness and tenderness are in her character. She lives in the world of Romance, in the perpetual dream of rapture. On a superficial examination she might be thought selfish and indolent, but this is quite a false impression; silently and effortlessly she goes about her work.”

The “work” of these people is supportive, they are the perfect caregivers and lovers. She is that man or woman who will make the perfect husband or wife, as always putting her partner at the center of the world. They live their lives seemingly to support the dreams of others, however they don’t do it at their own expense, as it is their nature to love and to give themselves to those they love. Thus, they have no ambition for themselves, as their happiness is entirely reliant on the happiness of those they have chosen to rely upon.

Knight of Swords:

“The moral qualities of a person thus indicated are activity and skill, subtlety and cleverness. He is fierce delicate and courageous, but altogether the prey of his idea, which comes to him as an inspiration without reflection. If ill-dignified, the vigour in all these qualities being absent, he is incapable of decision or purpose. Any action that he takes is easily brushed aside by opposition.”

People like this need structure such as with their work, where they will have to be subordinate to someone else, for them to realize the potential of their creativity. Although extremely creative and passionate about their ideas, the elements that correspond to this card are chaotic when together. The will is unable to realize itself unless it is kept in check by external control. They are, however, not content with mediocrity, and this facet of their characters creates problems for them, as they lack the discipline to reason the efficacy of their ideas. They have great potential. However, if this potential has no aim it tends to explode into all directions.

Queen of Swords:

“The person symbolized by this card should be intensely perceptive, a keen observer, a subtle interpreter, an intense individualist, swift and accurate at recording ideas; in action confident, in spirit gracious and just. Her movements will be graceful, and her ability in dancing and balancing exceptional. If ill-dignified these qualities will all be turned to unworthy purposes. She will be cruel, sly, deceitful and unreliable; in this way, very dangerous, on account of the superficial beauty and attractiveness which distinguish her.”

This card symbolizes a person who is extremely intelligent and emotionally stable, she is master of her emotions and the emotions of others. They are exceptionally intuitive, which they use to strengthen their bonds with other people. This ability, comes from their insight into human nature and their empathy. However, these same people may use the same devices to destroy the lives of those they know to have wronged them, since they have the effortless ability to control the perceptions of those around them, they often use this ability, in service of cruelty towards their victims. In summary: They are skilled at making allies for whatever their intended purpose.

Prince of Swords:

“A person thus symbolized is purely intellectual. He is full of ideas and designs which tumble over each other. He is a mass of fine ideals unrelated to practical effort. He has all the apparatus of Thought in the highest degree, intensely clever, admirably rational, but unstable of purpose, and in reality indifferent even to his own ideas, as knowing that any one of them is as good as any other. He reduces everything to unreality by removing its substance and transmuting it to an ideal world of ratiocination which is purely formal and out of relation to any facts, even those upon which it is based.”

This card represents someone who is purely intellectual to the point of folly. These people have no grounding in the material world and due to their lack of foundation, their wills are scattered. They, as a result of their intelligence, have the ability for glamour, in a sense. Always impressing upon themselves and those around, that those things people value most, are not really important. The will has to be grounded in order for the intellect to realize itself creatively, these people do not have that grounding and tend to drift from one passion to another, without ever establishing themselves as proponents of any.

Princess of Swords:

“The character of the Princess is stern and revengeful. Her logic is destructive. She is firm and aggressive, with great practical wisdom and subtlety in material things. She shews great cleverness and dexterity in the management of practical affairs, especially where they are of a controversial nature. She is very adroit in her settlement of controversies. If ill-dignified, all these qualities are dispersed; she becomes incoherent, and all her gifts tend to combine to form a species of low cunning whose object is unworthy of the means.”

People like these are great entrepreneurs, they tend to do miraculous things with money. Their practical wisdom, dexterity and cleverness can be seen as an ability to turn lead into gold. They are entirely concerned with material affairs, and practice control over these things so joyfully, that it resembles sport, or an art form. They are always looking for their next enterprise, which usually ends in success from whence they will merely start again with something new. This they do out of love and not reward, but this being their character, if they are intellectually incapable, their efforts become little more than a series of comedic errors.

Knight of Disks:

“Those whom he symbolizes tend to be dull, heavy and preoccupied with material things. They are laborious and patient, but would have little intellectual grasp even of matters which concern them most closely. Their success in these is due to instinct, to imitation of Nature. They lack initiative; their fire is the smouldering fire of the process of growth. If ill-dignified these people are hopelessly stupid, slavish, quite incapable of foresight even in their own affairs, or of taking an intelligent interest in anything outside of them. They are churlish, surly, and jealous (in a dull sort of way) of what they instinctively realize is the superior state of others; but they have not the courage or the intelligence to better themselves. Yet they are always irritably meddling about petty matters; they interfere with, and inevitably spoil, whatever comes their way.”

In their minds, people like these mean well and for them that’s enough, but most of the time they are too incompetent to do well. They should never try to pioneer any new insights, they are best suited for things that are structured or regimented, or easily imitated; as creativity and intelligence is not their strong suit. However, they are utterly aware of their incompetence and usually they try to present themselves as highly creative, this failing on account of the fact that they are anything but creative, it is only seen as more idiocy exposing their true natures. Their pettiness is actually dangerous, as if they are always trying to prove to the world around them that they are indeed normal, as if fighting for their place under the sun. They are obsessed with the way other people view them, as if, all that’s needed is the acceptance of people around, as if life is little more than a popularity contest, from which, winning would result in them finally being like the rest of us. They are good at their jobs, but only as it doesn’t demand much more than hard work, such as being a brick layer, or filling up match boxes, for which they are uniquely suited. It is only when you let them out of the house, or the factory, or perhaps they have some idle time after retirement, that they can really become a problem.  

Queen of Disks:

“Persons signified by this card possess the finest of the quieter qualities. They are ambitious, but only in useful directions. They possess immense funds of affection, kindness, and greatness of heart. They are not intellectual, and not particularly intelligent; but instinct and intuition are more than adequate for their needs. These people are quiet, hard-working, practical, sensible, domesticated, often (in a reticent and unassuming fashion) lustful and even debauched. They are inclined to the abuse of alcohol and of drugs. It is as if they could only realize their essential happiness by getting outside of themselves. If ill-dignified they are dull, servile, foolish, they are drudges rather than workers. Life for them is purely mechanical; and they cannot rise, or even seek to rise, above their appointed lot.”

Here we have the quintessential kindergarten teacher, who as fate would have it, is also a single mother. Caring, loving and giving, but highly emotional and extraordinarily unhinged. The world is a playing field for damned souls according to the cat ladies, but they hide the thought so well. They try their best, usually their overwhelming emotional character leads to fits, for which they may be prescribed psychotropic drugs. But it never gets better, their intellects are weighed down by their heightened feelings for people and the world around them. Their promiscuity is in a sense a way for them to experience the purity of their inner beings, without the corruption of the world to spoil it. They tend to take their frustrations out on the kids, opting for jobs like kindergarten teachers, or perhaps pediatric nurses. Although you may find them working as post office clerks, and you will certainly know them, for they are the clerks with the loudest voices, most imposing smiles, and they never forget your name.

Prince of Disks:

“The character denoted by this card is that of great energy brought to bear upon the most solid of practical matters. He is energetic and enduring, a capable manager, a steadfast and persevering worker. He is competent, ingenious, thoughtful, cautious, trustworthy, imperturbable; he constantly seeks new uses for common things, and adapts his circumstances to his purpose in a slow, steady, well-thought out plan. He is lacking almost entirely in emotion. He is somewhat insensitive, and may appear dull, but he is not; it so appears because he makes no effort to understand ideas that are beyond his scope. He may often appear stupid, and is inclined to be resentful of more spiritual types. He is slow to anger, but, if driven, becomes implacable. It is not very practical to distinguish between the good and evil dignities in this card; one can merely say that, in case of his being ill-dignified the quality and the quantity of his characteristics are somewhat degraded.”

The person depicted in this card can be summed up as, the guy who never gets invited for dinner and drinks after work, usually along with the boss, he is the only one left out. He has next to no social skills, and he doesn’t care, his job and his things are his only interests. They can be real bastards at work, and they tend to think they are in charge. He is the cousin nobody wanted to play with, for the simple reason, that he would always get someone in trouble. This is their need for attention raising its ugly head, they don’t have the competence to be noticed in any other way. They are sly and untrustworthy, but somehow, they are able to maintain the mediocrity that the world has bestowed upon them, and with surprisingly little effort. He is the know-it-all simpleton who nobody ever listens to, as these people are usually way too dumb not to be obvious.

Princess of Disks:

“The characteristics of an individual signified by this card are too various to enumerate; one must summarize by saying that she is Womanhood in its ultimate projection. She contains all the characteristics of woman, and it would depend entirely upon the influences to which she is subjected whether one or another becomes manifest. But in every case her attributes will be pure in themselves, and not necessarily connected to any other attributes which in the normal way one regards as symbolic.”

This card symbolizes the Vampire or the Goddess, depending on the nature of the querent. These two archetypes are both aspects of one’s relationship with the Divine Feminine, or what Jung called the Anima, for women this archetype manifests as the Animus and takes on a masculine form. We tend to project our ideal of perfection onto those we fall in love with, so the lady who steals your heart becomes a manifestation of your Anima in the flesh. The image is usually corrupted at the start of one’s journey and as one moves closer to perfection, this image of Beauty becomes clearer and less stained by imperfections. The card must be interpreted in this way, in all cases it represents union and fertility, guidance and motherhood, however, whether this be an actual person or the subject of the reading, would have to be determined in the context of the reading. The Earth is linked to Saturn via its association with the Anima, and which gives the Daughter her power and role within the new formula of Tetragrammaton. As humans we have an inherent striving for perfection and this is understood in the context of Idealism. Although, in the beginning of the journey our ideal of perfection is corrupt, as owing to experience with the world around us. However, it is through this contemplation, that we are attracted to the path of return, or in a sense any ideal of fulfillment and perfection would be associated with this impulse. As such, it is ascribed to the Anima, who according to Jungian analysis serves as a guide towards perfection. In the world she manifests mythologically as Juno, and by the Goddess’ association with her Mother she connects one to Rhea, who is said to reside in the Intellectual Heaven, which in Platonic metaphysics is likened to the world of Ideal Forms. This is then what is significant about this card, and the reading thereof depends entirely upon the subject’s relationship to his Anima, in context of the question.

All quotes were taken from Crowley's Book of Thoth.

‘Love is the law, love under will.”