Advanced Tarot Techniques, Part 4 - Court Cards

Cross-Post Edition: The Court Cards and Their Elemental Correspondences, and a Blind Tarot Reading Challenge!

Today’s advanced tarot lesson continues our exploration of elements.

Jenna Newell Hiott

from Spirit Connections will be offering her expertise in today’s post.

Together, Jenna and I will offer our own unique interpretations of a 3-card spread with a court card as the central figure.

The elemental method applies a strict structure, so I asked Jenna to give a blind interpretation of our spread employing a softer method. It is my hope that our unique methods will tell a similar, yet distinctly different, interpretation of the same spread.

Please note that this post is too long to appear in its entirely for email. Please read the entire post on Substack.

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Hi, I’m Jenna Newell Hiott, a writer, archetype guide, and the voice behind Spirit Connections, where I explore all things magical, meaningful, and a little bit mysterious. I help people deepen their connection to archetypes, the ancestors, and their own inner wisdom—basically, I like to hang out at the crossroads where the seen and unseen meet.

So when Erica invited me to jump in on this post with her, I was thrilled! Getting to play with the archetypal lens, especially around the court cards, is right up my alley. These cards are packed with personality and layered meaning, and I love teasing out the patterns they hold.

If you’re curious to explore another angle on the court cards, I shared my own take over here—a breezy little overview that lives happily alongside Erica’s elemental approach.

I’m so happy to be part of this tarot adventure with Erica—and I hope you enjoy what we’ve cooked up together!

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The Royal Court Cards Break My Brain

I think it’s fair to say that court cards are difficult for many tarotists. There are 4 in each minor arcana suit. Since there are 4 suits, that means we have 16 court cards in play. Each royal court includes a page, knight, queen, and king.

How can we remember the distinct personality of each royal court member? I find it nearly impossible to memorize each royal’s facets and meaning, even today. I need visual cues and memorization, and used this method for many years. The problem with this method is that I leaned into the memorized facets, which were limited considering their scope, without opening myself to the potential each card held.

In this exploration, are going to break this mystery wide open. It really is not as difficult as it seems when it is approached from an elemental perspective. There are numerous methods to reading the royal court, but I find the elemental method to be clear and structured.

Note: this method does not take into account the physical features of the royal on each card, and I find this too predictive and inconsistent from deck to deck.

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The Royal Tarot Court

Reading the royal court using elements encompasses the action of the card within the structure of the spread. Let’s review the basics!

The elemental correspondences of the minor arcana:

• Swords = Air - Communication and Intellect

• Cups = Water - Feeling and emotion

• Wands = Fire - Spiritual and Inspirational

• Pentacles = Earth - Physicality and Stability

The elemental correspondences of the court cards:

• Kings = Air

• Queens = Water

• Knights = Fire

• Pages = Earth

Something to pay attention to! The page and queen always look left, while the prince and king always look right. When I read a spread, the direction our royal is looking may indicate significant symbolic links between cards.

If our Queen of Pentacles is looking toward the card to the left, a 2 of Cups, we can can ascertain that these cards are positively linked in our interpretation. Conversely, if the 2 of Cups is on the right side of our Queen we see she is looking away, indicating a negative interpretation.

See how that works? Magic . . . 🔮

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The Elemental Court Cards in Action

It takes mental gymnastics to make these associations in your mind, so I’ve created two charts¹ to show you how it works.

*As a bonus, you can also download these charts for your own practice with the link at the foot of each table.

Taking these correspondences together, we can now create a snapshot of the court cards interacting with their elements.

If you read the second table carefully, it all comes down to how the element assigned to each royal position (affinity) interacts with the suit’s natural element (dignity). How these interact with one another creates a multitude of unique pairs. Don’t worry, there’s no test! This is not easy to master.

The objective is to figure out the relationship between the spread of cards by analyzing the elemental dignities from my prior lesson. This chart is a cheat sheet to help conquer the mighty Royal Court - download it before you move onto the example! Or you can geek out on this short lesson.

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Example Court Card Elemental Interaction

The Knight of Cups corresponds to water because it belongs to the minor arcana suit of cups (dignity). In addition to the natural water element, knights are universally associated with air (affinity).

The dignity is our standard-level element, but our affinity takes it deep giving it action and purpose when they interact, as we see in our cheat sheet.

The elements for our knight tell us the water element focuses on emotions and intuitiveness, and air brings us direct action as a pioneer. It is no surprise that this card depicts a knight on a horse embarking on a quest of the heart. I tend to liken him to the “prince charming” of the knights. He bears the element of air with the wings on his helmet and approaches a river representing our water element.

More magic . . .🔮

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Blind Challenge: Interpreting Court Cards in a Spread

Jenna and I selected the cards by shuffling our deck, then pulling cards in the order they were stacked on top. The first two cards were on top, and will flank our center court card (first card on the right, second card on the left). We then pulled cards in sequence until we encountered the first court card. We are using the standard Rider Waite Smith deck.

Here’s the spread Jenna and I agreed on, and we will present our interpretations in the following way:

• Erica: using purely elemental interactions between the cards as a basis for interpretation. Methods from prior lessons will be employed.

• Jenna: using an additional “helper” archetype card to act as an ally to the court card, illuminating its deeper purpose within the spread and offering insight into how it can express its full potential.

Erica’s Interpretation

Before I jump into my card interpretation, the elemental dignities and affinities must be analyzed. Its easier than it looks using the Bridge Method.

9 of Cups (Water) - Page of Swords (Earth of Air) - 8 of Swords (Air)

The dignities relationships are pretty clearcut. The Page of Swords’ dignity element is Air, and so that will be the basis for this analysis.

• Page of Swords (Air) - 9 of Cups (Water): a neutral pairing (somewhat dignified) . This action should be considered, its not a negative energy interaction.

• Page of Swords (Air) - 8 of Swords (Air): two of the same element are a dominant (dignified) pairing which intensifies the effect of the 8 of Swords upon our Page of Swords. This action will be a dominant energy for our Page.

Pretty clear so far! Let’s look at how our Page of Swords’ affinity element of Earth interacts with the flanking cards as direct action for our Page, the deeper aspect we must recognize.

• Page of Swords (Earth affinity) - 9 of Cups (Water): this pair strengthens (dignified) one another. This action should be pursued.

• Page of Swords (Earth affinity) - 8 of Swords (Air): this pairs weakens (ill-dignified) one another. This action should be avoided.

This is our blueprint for determining what is going on for our Page of Swords. Remember that the affinity represents action, so we should use this for our pages’ action plan. Let’s pull it all together:

• Page of Swords (Earth of Air) - 9 of Cups (Water): as a combined pairing, the 9 of Cups holds a neutral (dignified) influence, but a strengthened (dignified affinity) with Earth. Its looking good for this pairing as a direct action.

• Page of Swords (Earth of Air) - 8 of Swords (Air): as a combined pairing, the 8 of Swords holds a dominant energy (both are Air), but a weakened (ill-dignified) energy as an action with Earth. Its not looking good for direct action, despite its strong, intensified interaction in its natural element’s energy. Action is not a recommendation for the 8 of Swords.

Now that we have this logic out of the way, let’s do the card spread interpretation! Time to get deep with it.

Our Page of Swords represents someone who is a quick-witted and agile. The swords, being sharp, reflects in our Air element’s intellect and aggressive pursuits. This person could be a student learning a new language, writing, research, etc. Anything that requires a cunning mind. Perhaps a new project that isn’t quite off the ground yet, but a plan is hatched for its launch. Either way, its a “seize the moment” kind of thinking with mental agility.

Our Page looks towards the 9 of Cups on the right, the “wish” card. Happiness and emotional well-being are present in one’s heart. The 9’s represent completion, so the cups at the table are the sum totality of one’s desires and so our Page can now sit back and slow down after working so hard to fill the 9 cups (wishes) on the table. I always thought of this card as King Arthur sitting at his “Round Table” - cups filled and ready for his Knights to arrive so they can feast together. Our elemental affinity of the Page versus the 9 of Cups tells us that this action is supported - one should be secure about pursue the work/study/project as it will likely have a happy and satisfying outcome.

It is a different story with the Page in relation to the 8 of Swords. Our dignities showed us that this is a dominant energy, but not a viable action plan. Looking at the placement of the Page’s sword, it seems to be defending against the threat of the 8 of Swords on the right. The 8 of Swords, also an Air element, shows a person blinded and bound within a loose ring of swords. The path out is clear, however, it is not seen because our Page is experiencing mental distress, the mind in a state of self-imposed sabotage and criticism. Essentially, our Page is tripping all over themself in a state of stress and cloudy thoughts. Our dominant air energy from the dignities tells us that this is a strong presence in our Page’s reality, despite it being all in their head. This kind of thinking is not conducive to a clear path of positive action - it will only hinder any plans made and make it worse.

Taking all of this together, our Page seems to be experiencing mental anguish regarding their plans and projects. Self-doubt is heavy in their mind, and so they find themselves blinded and bound with cloudy judgement. One thing the Page has as defense is the placement of the sword on his shoulder leaning towards the 8 of Swords, seeming to defend against such thinking, while he is instead looking at the 9 of Cups “wish” card. Instead of falling prey to negative thinking, they are making an active decision to choose happiness. While the negative thought patterns are there, they must acknowledge its presence and seek to overcome them when it becomes burdensome. Because our 8 of Swords is an active energy, rather than an action, our Page must concentrate on the positive fruits of his 9 cups as a direct action in life.

Jenna’s Interpretation:

At the heart of this spread, we’ve got the Page of Swords—a curious, sharp-minded figure who’s just starting to learn the ropes of intellect and discernment. In a way, the Page is like a student who’s just figured out how powerful thinking can be…and is now eager (maybe a little too eager) to figure everything out.

Looking to the left, the Page’s gaze lands on the Nine of Cups—a card of deep emotional fulfillment, satisfaction, and that dreamy “wish come true” energy. It feels, to me, like a genie has just appeared, offering the Page a chance to name its heart’s desire. At first, the Page is thrilled—“Oh wow, YES, this is what I’ve been waiting for!”

But here’s where things get tricky. When it’s time to actually speak the wish, the Page freezes. All that mental energy kicks in: Wait… what do I really want? Is this the right thing to ask for? What if I choose wrong? What if it’s not what I expected? The Page’s thoughts spiral, and instead of stepping confidently into that Nine of Cups blessing, it starts second-guessing everything.

Enter the Eight of Swords on the right—a card that perfectly captures that stuck, tangled-up feeling. The Page’s once-excited curiosity has now turned into overthinking and indecision, creating a kind of mental trap. The genie’s still standing there, ready to grant the wish…but the Page is too tied up in its own thoughts to give a clear answer.

To me, this spread is a beautiful (and very human) story about how we can sometimes get in our own way. A true desire arises, the universe is ready to meet it—but instead of trusting it, we let our thoughts muddy the waters. The Page of Swords reminds us that curiosity and questioning are important, but there’s a point where we have to get out of our heads and let our hearts lead the way.

Fortunately, the Page doesn’t have to navigate this moment alone—that’s where our helper archetype comes in.

Turning to one of my archetypes card decks, I drew a card to act as an ally for our Page and got...The Judge. I actually can't think of a more perfect ally for a Page who’s just learning how to think clearly and make good decisions. Where the Page is full of questions and curiosity (sometimes too full, to the point of overthinking), The Judge steps in with a calm, grounded kind of wisdom. This archetype knows that it’s not enough to ask questions—we also have to weigh the answers and, when the time comes, make a choice.

The Judge brings a powerful message here: Discernment doesn’t mean getting stuck in endless mental loops. It means balancing clarity with compassion and then moving forward with integrity. In the context of this reading, where the Page is staring at that Nine of Cups “genie” moment but getting tangled up in the Eight of Swords, The Judge offers exactly the kind of support we need to break free.

So how does this help in a real, practical sense? The Judge reminds us to pause and check in: What do I know to be true about my desires? What feels fair and aligned—not just in my head, but in my whole being? Instead of spiraling into “what ifs” and worst-case scenarios, The Judge helps us simplify, sift through the noise, and name what we actually want. Even if the full picture isn’t clear yet, The Judge encourages us to make the next best choice, trusting that right action, done with fairness and heart, is enough to keep the wish moving forward.

In other words: The Judge helps the Page grow up a bit—bringing in a steady, mature energy that says, “You don’t have to have it all figured out perfectly. You just have to stay honest, fair, and willing to act.”

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Erica’s Thoughts: Jenna, your beautiful prose while exploring our Page’s situation is inspiring. I wrote mine before reading yours, and I am almost sad that I had a more dry, logical method. Our interpretations certainly line up well! And that archetype element! Perfect perfect perfect. What amazed me is how the logical dignities “bridge” method told the same story you told using only elemental relationships. There is something to this dignities method, and so far it has not failed me. I think I would have given the same interpretation without the dignities methodology, however seeing the map of relationships form before my eyes as I worked through it step by step helped me tell the story in a clear way. Great job, Jenna! 👏

Jenna’s Thoughts: Oh my gosh, Erica, I learned SO much from you on this one. Seeing how the elements of the cards in a spread can actually strengthen or weaken each other was such a lightbulb moment for me—it adds a whole new layer of insight I hadn’t worked with before. I loved how your dignities method gave structure to what I was intuiting through the archetypes, and I’m definitely going to be using this approach in my readings going forward. It feels like a powerful tool for clarity, and one I’m genuinely excited to play with more. Thank you so much for sharing and teaching it so generously.

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Thank you for reading! Jenna and I had so much fun putting this lesson together and playing with our blind reading challenge.

• Give these methods a try and let us know how it goes!

• Is there a topic you’d like to see covered in this series? Let us know in the comments.

Much love to you all ❤️

Erica and Jenna

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Catch up on this series!

1. “Holistic Tarot” by Benebell Wen, pgs 268-9.