Review by Bonnie Cehovet
The Tarot Court Cards: Archetypal Patterns of Relationship in the Minor Arcana
One of the most difficult areas of
Tarot has to do with the sixteen court cards - the King,
Queen, Knight and Page of each respective suit. How do we
place them when using numerological dignities? Are they
specific people in our lives, or are they parts of our
inner selves? When more than one court card appears in a
reading, can they be interpreted differently - one court
card a person in the Seeker's life, another court card
an inner aspect of the Seeker? What about the systems
that use no Knights, or the systems that switch the
King and the Knight?
I have never before seen an
entire book devoted to the court cards, although most
books do devote quite hefty sections to their
interpretation. I was attracted to this book partially because of
the theme (it never hurts to study how another person
interprets the Tarot), and partially because of the cover -
which pictures the King and Queen of Pentacles in
lovely, vibrant colors. Who would not want to know these
people!
Before I go on, I must state the theme of this book. If
you are not interested in the theme, then you may want
to spend your reading time elsewhere. Kate
Warwick-Smith is a counseling professional. Although she began
studying and writing about the Tarot court cards before she
entered the counseling profession, the basis of this book
is in looking at the court cards as archetypal
patterns of relationship. Using the Kabbalah, she gifts
each of the court cards with specific roles -
supporters, detractors, resources and challenges in the
Seeker's inner and outer life. Through understanding these
roles, the Seeker is enabled to focus their efforts in
their own lives.
Warwick-Smith does a credible job of
presenting the background and early history of Tarot in
general (although I do not agree with her) and the use of
the court cards as the Royal Family in particular,
with emphasis placed on family as the basic unit of our
lives for community and group relationships. In
discussing the court cards, she presents the following as the
four traditional ways in which the court cards have
been interpreted:
* As an environmental influence
* As a person (other than the Querant) identified by personality type, physique, sex, occupation or age
* As relating to Spirituality: the Qabala, astrology, I Ching and other spiritual traditions
* As the Querant's inner potential and talents, capacities, psychological state
From there she moves on to discussing the
relation between the Qabala and the suits/court cards. I
love to have all of my ducks in a row, and am very
drawn to authors who make best use of charts and graphs.
Warwick-Smith has used a template of "Tell them what you are
going to tell them, Tell Them, Tell them what you just
told them". The latter is often done through the use of
charts and graphs - well done, to the point, concise and
packed with information! The chart for the four suits and
the Qabala has the suits across the top, and the
following information for each suit under it: direction,
season, element, body part, Jungian function, Alchemical
stage, astrology sign, Qabalistic world and
characteristics/realms of influence. Quite fascinating!
Warwick-Smith
goes on with a brief introduction of each court card,
moving into the core of the book:
* Understanding the roles others play in our lives: supporters
* Recognizing unsupportive behavior in others: detractors
* Discovering our inner strengths: resources
* Recognizing limiting behavior in ourselves: challenges
A chart is provided for
each of the four roles (supporter, detractor, resource
and challenge) for each of the court cards. These are
well done charts that show how these people appear in
our lives. This is good, usable information. The next
two charts were made to be filled in and used by the
Querant/Seeker, and are used to identify the supports and
detractors in the Querant/Seeker's life. I personally found
this troubling for two reasons - I feel that any one
person can fill either role in our lives at different
times (life is not a static thing); the Querant/Seeker
may feel that their work is done when they have
arbitrarily placed "ID's" on the people in their life. They
will always see these people in this manner, and close
off avenues for growth and healing in these
relationships and in other areas of their life.
Warwick-Smith
devotes a chapter to each of the suits and their court
cards. She discusses the supporter, detractor, resource
and challenge within each card, as well as questions
the Querant/Seeker may want to ask themselves about
this person and questions that the reader may want to
pose to the Querant/Seeker. She then has each of the
cards speak for themselves - tell a small story about
who they are.
The last few chapters of the book deal
with performing a reading and implementing the tools
presented within the book. A one card spread, several three
card support spreads, a Tree of Life spread and an
Astrological Spread give excellent tools for support and
growth.
My favorite spread was one that dealt with the Shadow
side of the court cards. It is a four card spread that
deals with working through shadow issues and bringing
about a healing.
Last, but not least, was a small
section on the court cards and meditation - techniques for
"stepping into" the cards. Oh ... one more thing! There is a
"tear out" chart on the court cards, and the four roles
that each card may represent in a reading!
This is a
well researched, lucidly written book. While a reader
may not wish to implement the process presented here
in their readings, this book is an excellent resource
in that it presents another part of the picture
regarding the court cards. Take from it what you will - this
is a book worth investing in.
Bonnie Cehovet is Certified Tarot Grand Master, a professional Tarot reader with over ten years experience, a Reiki Master/Teacher and a writer. Bonnie has served in various capacities with the American Tarot Association, is co-founder of the World Tarot Network, and Vice President (as well as Director of Certification) for the American Board For Tarot Certification. She has had articles appear in the 2004 and 2005 Llewellyn Tarot Reader.
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