The Four Kings
We have now reached the final Lesson of The Court Cards, so when you are ready to meet the Four Kings please read The Kings Intro first before clicking on the indiviual images below. I will then introduce you to each one in person. Some you will get along with immediately and feel like you have known them all your life, others you will be able to take or leave while there may be one or two who will get right up your nose and annoy the hell out of you. Regardless of how you feel about them individually, we must remember that each King is just being himself and behaving according to what his governing Element dictates. You will have to take that into consideration when viewing their profiles and be prepared to forgive them where necessary.
When you are finished reading the Personality Profiles of the Four Kings please come back to this Lesson Page for further studies.
The Kings Intro
Welcome back. So what did you think of our Four lovely Kings above? Did you recognise anyone you know? Did you identify with any of them or maybe all of them. If so, great because that means you are really getting to grips with the cards and will find that their meanings and associations are beginning to automatically be assimilated.
A Final word on the Court Cards
Now that we have completed all the Court Cards, pair up each of the Suits Kings and Queens. You will discover that the King and Queen of Wands look directly into each other’s eyes, the King of Cups stares at the Queen who shyly looks down, the King of Swords stares straight ahead while the Queen stares at him analysing, criticising and waiting as if for an answer to her question or for an explanation. Both the King and Queen of Pentacles stare down not at each other but at what they possess.
Other than the obvious couples in the Tarot how do you think they would fare if they were to mingle. Let’s say the King of Cups was to run off with the Queen of Wands. Do you think they would get along?
When considering this, the information below may be of some help in working out the compatibility of certain suits.
Same Suit/Element
Wands/Wands (Fire/Fire)
Cups/Cups (Water/Water)
Swords/Swords (Air/Air)
Pentacles/Pentacles (Earth/Earth)
When the Suit/Elements are the same they can either get along very well or despise each other…
Same Polarity
Wands/Swords (Fire/Air)
Cups/Pentacles (Water/Earth)
When both are masculine as in Fire and Air or both feminine as in Water and Earth they are generally compatible.
Complementry
Swords/Cups (Air/Water)
Wands/Pentacles (Fire/Earth)
When the Suits complement each other they are considered generally friendly but would not be entirely comfortable with each other.
Contrary
Wands/Cups (Fire/Water)
Swords/Earth (Air/Earth)
When suits are contrary they either get along, hate each other or are totally indifferent.
When studying the Court Cards of the Tarot you should endeavour to know and understand the personalities involved as if they were your friends, family, and work mates. When it comes to your friends, you generally know the guy or girl who suit them or not and will be the first to point out to a third person that a particular friend’s new boyfriend or girlfriend is really not suited to them or just their type. Have you ever stopped to think how you actually arrive at this decision? It is and was always based on their elemental make-up for the positive or the negative. It is just that you probably never associated elements with humans before in that context and the influence they have on personalities, characters, the physical and behaviour. It may help you better understand not only yourself but also your fellow human beings.
Getting to know the Court Card personalities will help you bring to life the people surrounding the querant and can greatly assist in your storytelling abilities.
Creating the Right Atmosphere
It takes time, patience and a lot of practice to become a competent Tarot Card Reader. For those of you who have been bitten by the bug and had your appetite whetted by taking this course you have just taken the first steps on what will be an immensely rewarding, enriching and deeply spiritual journey. You will have begun to develop a deep respect for the cards and the lessons they endeavour to teach you and will get irritated and insulted by those who regard Tarot reading as a bit of a lark and nothing more than an amusing party game.
When the time comes for you to feel happy about reading for people other than friends or family, creating the correct reading environment for you is important. Yes, it is true that you only need a deck of cards to read with but I believe that a certain amount of ritual and a scattering of specially selected props really bring the best out in a reading and add to the general mystical and spiritual atmosphere that surrounds all divination.
So what am I talking about?
Self-Care
For me, before any reading, I will always and I stress always cleanse the area I am to read in, my own energy field and the cards. I will always set up a grid of protection around both the reading area and myself. I will then ground and centre before setting the intention for my chakras to open so that I may tune into the energy of the querant. When I am finished, I always do a ‘closing down’ process by cleansing myself, the space and the cards. I set the intention for all my chakras to return to their normal size and speed of operation. I set up a grid of protection around myself and the space I am working in. I then ground.
Working Area
A proper table, which is large enough to fan a deck of 78 cards is useful and enables proper access to all the cards. A tablecloth of some dark material such as velvet or silk in black, purple etc. with illuminators, such as candles, night lights or oil lamps will add to the scene… Use Incense or an oil burner if the smoke from burning incense is overpowering to you or the querant. Not all people like incense so check beforehand. Some carefully chosen crystals add to the occasion and can assist your readings with their powerful channelling energies. Play around with different crystals and see which ones help you tune in better when reading. A pendulum for dowsing, feathers, statues of angels, fairies, your special deity, a pad and pen for calculating numerology personal year/destiny numbers etc and a soft light.
It is always nice to end a reading with something light and short in duration such as a three-card Angel Card reading, a Power Animal card selection, a Fairy Card reading or if you have the knowledge, let the querant pull a rune stone from a bag or box.
The above may all sound very theatrical but setting the scene not only settles you into opening and tuning in, but also gets the querant into the right frame of mind. They can then fully concentrate on listening to what you are saying. This helps them to reap the full benefit of any important information the cards may have for them.
All said and done, there is nothing wrong with just reading on your lunch break in work, down the local pub or having a cup of coffee in your mate’s kitchen. You do not need any pomp and ceremony at the end of the day, just you and your cards. However, the above suggestions do spice the whole thing up!!!
How long will all this take?
There are no hard and set rules applied to Tarot Readings, but a thorough reading takes at least an hour and in that time 3 or 4 issues should be addressed. However, some readings are so intense that the whole hour may more or less be given to just one reading. If the querant only has a limited time available then the three-card reading is perfect to answer such questions. If you have a group of friends all wanting their cards read during an evening then again the three-card reading won’t take up too much time. Save the Horse-shoe, Celtic Cross or larger spreads for when you have the time! Short readings have their use as they put the pressure on you to deliver effectively, efficiently and coherently in a short space of time.
While starting out as a reader you will expect to give at least 50 readings for friends and family before you feel confident with the process of reading and the meanings. After each of those reading you will return to your notes to go over cards that you stumbled over or forgot the meaning of. This is how you will eventually get to grips with all the cards.
As time goes on and you return to your notes again and again you will have digested most of the information given within and likely added some of your own. You will find that some readings work on an almost intuitive level whilst others go by the book. Never disregard anything that pops out at you from a card even if it bears no relevance to the actual universally accepted meanings. Your first impression will probably prove right. The meanings given in the Tarot must most certainly be taken on board but not to the extent that your own intuitive and psychic input suffers. Otherwise your readings will become mechanical, repetitive and robotic in nature.
I urge you to continue with your own personal development on both a spiritual and psychic level, to flex your intuitive muscle as much as possible and to become more aware of your own person and how you influence the world around you. In doing so, you will become not just a good Tarot Reader but a unique and gifted one too, steeped in wisdom and understanding.
May I wish you the best of luck in your studies and look forward to working with you again as we progress further into the realms of the Tarot and explore the journey of The Fool in The Major Arcana.
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