Royalty cards
These are 16 cards in the Minor Arcana of the Tarot. They generally are considered to represent people, or aspects of people. They are also called court cards. In traditional fortune telling as taught by Arthur Edward Waite and others, each Royalty card described a person of defined appearance and character. Today, they are usually interpredted less formally. They may represent persons in two different functions: to show traits and attitudes of the client, he reader, or the person about whom the question is asked. The other possibillity is that they mean third person that may play a role in the events. In the latter case, it may make sense to use the tradiitional, formal interpretions.
The (usual) Royalty Cards
Page
The page is someone with a child like approach to the suit in question, or an apprentice / learner / seeker of some kind. For example the page of swords might be someone who enjoys learning stuff.
When they designate an actual person, they often refer to a child or young teen, up to about 16, of either gender. But this is more about mental age than actual one.
For more information see Page.
Knight
The knight is someone who takes that suit to the extreme. He is an explorer and someone who gets things done. For example, the knight of cups may be a very emotional and intuitive person. They may make great music but don't put them in charge of a fighter squadron.
When they refer to an actual person, they designate a man or woman in their late teens or early adulthood. That's not so much about age as about attitude to life. Someone who is married or otherwise firmly settled down will rarely appear as a knight (expect the knight points to specific traits or attitudes of that person).
For more information see Knight.
Queen
The Queen is a person who embodies that suit, applying it to themselves.
When the queen means a specific woman (as opposed to traits and attitudes of a person), she shows a woman over 30, or one who is married and/or successful in her career.
For more information see Queen.
King
The King is a person who applies and brings that suit to the world.
When seen as an actual person, the King represents men over 30, or those that are already married and settled down successfully in career and private life.
For more information see King.
Correspondences
The most usual correspondences of the Royalty Cards are elemental; Arthur Edward Waite gives them as follows:
In the original Golden Dawn tradition Knights are seen as Fire and Kings as Air.
Combined with the elemental correspondences of the suits, that makes for interesting possibilities of interpretation, especially when the correspondences of the elements are considered either.
| King | Queen | Knight | Page
| |
| Wands | Fire behaving as fire | Water behaving as fire | Air behaving as fire | Earth behaving as fire
|
| Cups | Fire behaving as water | Water behaving as water | Air behaving as water | Earth behaving as water
|
| Swords | Fire behaving as Air | Water behaving as Air | Air behaving as Air | Earth behaving as Air
|
| Pentacles | Fire behaving as earth | Water behaving as earth | Air behaving as earth | Earth behaving as earth
|
Variations
Some decks do not have the King, Queen, Knight, Page royalty, but others. The attribution to elements varies, too.
Rider Waite Deck - Page, Knight, Queen, King
Golden Dawn Deck - Princess, King, Queen, Prince
Thoth Deck - Princess, Knight, Queen, Prince