By Lalia Wison
Most tarotists associate the four suits with the (western) four elements. Most commonly Pentacles are Earth, Cups are Water, Swords are Air, and Wands are Fire. Did you know that the court cards are also connected to the four elements?
All Kings are expressions of Air, logic and rationality, as applied to their base element which is indicated by their suit. The King of Pentacles (Earth) applies logic and strategy to acquiring and maintaining his possessions. The King of Cups (Water) applies logic and strategy to the world of emotions. The King of Wands (Fire) applies logic and strategy to motivation and enthusiasm. The King of Swords (Air) applies logic and strategy to the mental realm. He is hyper-rational, an intellectual, the extreme of Air as indicated in the tarot. The King of Swords can also be overly identified with his lofty thoughts and oblivious to the realms of earth, water and fire with which most people have some connection.
Similarly, all Queens are expressions of Water, with the Queen of Cups as the most extreme manifestation of water + water. Just like the King of Swords, she can be unaware of the other realms: fire, air, and earth.
All Knights are expressions of Fire. Thus the Knight of Wands is the most fiery of all cards in the minor arcana. He is quick to take action, but also quick to take offense.
Finally the Pages are the most earthy of the court cards. This means that the Page of Pentacles (Earth) is the most here and now card in the minor arcana. The Page/Princess of Earth is right in the present moment connected to his or her senses and wants to move around and physically tackle the world. This card can be someone whose vocation or avocation is some type of craft, like cabinet-making, embroidery, and so on.
The illustrations for this article are from a modern themed deck, the Urban Tarot by Robin Scott. The deck is available as an app from The Fool’s Dog, and may not be currently available as physical cards. In this deck the Kings are called “Princes,” and the Pages are called “Princesses.” I like how the creator of this deck associated the King/Prince of Air with a computer hacker, the Queen of Water as a psychotherapist, the Knight of Fire as a Rock Star, and the Page/Princess of Earth as a Kindergarten teacher. Examine these images closely for more insights into the tarot and the four elements.
Now imagine a family of these four extreme cards. It would be quite dysfunctional. When we have a family that is the four court cards of the same element, such as all Pentacles, they have a commonality to draw upon to build successful relationships and to nurture each other. If instead, we have the four extremes (King of Swords, Queen of Cups, Knight of Wands and Page of Pentacles) all are functional but none is able to be in tune with the others.
How can understanding the court cards help you in your understanding of relationships? How can it help you as a tarot reader? When you look at the court cards as related to the elements, you add to your understanding of the tarot, and the world.