All four queens of the Tarot Court Cards are instantly recognisable – we know them up close and personal as invariably they are our mothers. Generally associated with mature women, this age range I feel is becoming wider as more and more younger women become mothers too. It’s safe to say though that we accept the Tarot Court Card queens as emotionally, spiritually, intellectually and generally more mature through life experience.
As inner processes, and events they represent creativity, the creative process and ideas, and seeing the fruits of the efforts of those ideas. They bring a warm, nurturing element to a reading and can also be seen as a right of passage for a woman – embodying and accepting womanhood, femininity and sexuality.
In her guest post, Order in the Court, Barbara Moore describes the Queens as “one who develops and cares for”, which is a beautiful summary. She treats the individual elements to the same concise summary so that a court card and element can be matched in an easy to remember system. Barbara developed this for her then upcoming book, Tarot for Beginners. It is a really great way to see the court cards and adds value to the tarot card meanings for the court cards I have laid out here. Be sure to add both systems to your tarot journal.
Keywords For The Queen Of Wands
- As People:
- An energetic and lively woman; creative but expansive; intuitive and self-confident; endless pizazz; a tough business woman; independent and dynamic; sensual and passionate; a visionary with an eye for the unusual; ambitious and determined; often a hedonist or thrill-seeker; enjoys socialising.
- As Events:
- Success in business or other endeavours; taking up a new creative, but active hobby; seeking or finding a mentor or guide; expansion of business or career; the time is right to go for your dream!
- As Inner Processes:
- Embarking on a period of self-development; exploring spirituality; seeking psychic or spiritual experience; finding a personal failing and actively seeking to correct it; learning to be more daring and bold; a pep talk from female ancestors.
Keywords For The Queen Of Cups
- As People:
- A sensitive and quiet woman; gifted with artistic abilities; gentle and demure; almost certainly psychic, and at the least highly intuitive; graceful and stylish; very loving and giving of herself; a good listener, perhaps a counsellor to many; a seeker of inner transformations and consciousness.
- As Events:
- Success in creative projects; consulting a psychic or spiritual advisor; approaching motherhood, or grand-motherhood; meeting with a counsellor or therapist; embarking on a creative but gentle hobby; a period of intense and prophetic dreams; redecorating your home; meditating and channelling.
- As Inner Processes:
- Exploring consciousness and spirituality; getting in touch with your feminine side; developing intuition and psychism; learning to open your third eye; acknowledging your emotions and feelings; embarking on spiritual pursuits; daydreaming; being subjective.
Keywords For The Queen Of Swords
- As People:
- An analytical and intelligent woman; quick-minded; a problem solver; clinical but not cold; likely to be highly educated or with an interest in continued education; a people watcher who observes more than she speaks; ardent and stoic; a sharp dresser; independent and self-disciplined; an astute businesswoman.
- As Events:
- Success with literary projects; independence perhaps through divorce; entering into self-employment; a meeting with an advisor, perhaps even a psychologist; and end to personal troubles; business meetings; professional learning and certification; networking.
- As Inner Processes:
- Applying logic to a situation; stepping back from the emotions; being objective; stepping out from behind your mask; finding mental clarity; having to be ruthless or strong willed; finding the light after the dark; new found inner wisdom; having the courage of your convictions.
Keywords For The Queen Of Pentacles
- As People:
- A Mother Earth type; practical and dexterous; a natural homemaker; has an affinity with nature and gardening; an amazing multi-tasker; often a manager or businesswoman; sensual with an eye for aesthetics; organised and reliable; often into health and exercise, not always their own; nurtures and protects; is very perceptive.
- As Events:
- Financial success with a project or business plan; expansion of business plans, promotion; changing jobs or career direction; entering into practical hobbies; going to exercise classes; redesigning your garden or home; family gatherings and good times; increase in income and abundance.
- As Inner Processes:
- An increase in awareness; a need to take care and nurture yourself; inner replenishment; counting your blessings; learning to love yourself; a need to reconnect with nature; grounding yourself; self-acceptance; meditating and journeying.
Learn More About Tarot Court Cards
As a group, the court cards can easily confuse many new and experienced tarot readers, and I was one of them. For a long time I did not fully understand this group until I saw them as my own family. I explore that process is How to Finally Conquer the Court Cards. To continue with the rest of this series, please use the links below.
GREAT info…love the way it is divided by: as a person, as events, and as inner process. VERY helpful!!!
Hi Ginger,
Thank you for your comment. As you’re no doubt aware, the Tarot Court Cards don’t always relate to people in a spread, they can represent many things. I feel the most common, or most important ones are the three I have written about (though the concept isn’t my own, unfortunately). Each is unique to each queen, with her influences clearly expressed in those situations, and indeed in any spread they may show up in. Of course this isn’t confined to the queens, it’s also true of all of the Tarot Court Cards – they each have their own unique influences in any situation, and so it’s helpful to see them in the varying situations they can appear in.
Glad you enjoyed the post, thanks for stopping by ;)
Warm wishes,
Catherine
very well written :-) very often i feel that two cards make up the personality of one person. court cards are so interesting when you attribute them to people you know. when i teach tarot, i make up fictional stories about people who are the court card. its a lot of fun that way as stories are etched in your mind. Like, a knight of pentacles choosing his career over his queen of cups girlfriend who cries, etc. I like attributing these cards to celebrities as well. :-)
Thanks, Kareena – I enjoy people watching and one of my favourite pastimes is attributing them to a tarot court card. Our family are the first people we know, makes sense to use them as our templates.
Thank you for your comment, and welcome to Tarot Elements :)
Which deck is the leftmost in the 3 entries above (3 brightly colored queens) first in the trio?
Middle is thoth, last is quest..first is……? Radiant waite?