Libra in the court cards

I’m taking a break from the Minor Arcana today. Instead, I’m looking at Libra in the court cards. But which one – or ones?  Different traditions have different astrological correspondences when it comes to the Court Cards. For instance, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn chose to assign cardinal attributes (initiating things) to the Queens, fixed (maintaining order) to the Kings, and mutable (being able to adapt and transform) to the Knights.  Each court card is also linked to the elements, with Pages with Earth, Knights being associated with Fire, Queens with Water, and Kings with Air. 

Queen of Swords (trimmed):

© Secret Tarot

Following this system, we end up with Cardinal Air sign Libra being associated with the Queen of Swords (Water of Air). What qualities do we associate with this Queen? Extremely perceptive and observant, quick-witted, confident. She’s often seen as a figure who’s been touched by sorrow, who’s learned to accept and assimilate her experiences with grace and dignity – a fine balancing act, bring that Venusian ruling of Libra into play.  The peacemaker, perhaps?

Queen of Swords (trimmed):

© Shadowscapes Tarot

The Shadowscapes’ Queen of Swords holds two (duality and balance again) curved swords to cut through deception, to see the issue clearly.  The white chrysanthemums symbolize purity, clarity and honesty; the purple lilies inner strength (so says the deck’s creators in the accompanying book; details below).

Queen of Swords (trimmed):

© Thoth Tarot

The Thoth deck follows the Golden Dawn convention. Here we have the Queen, sword in hand, having cut away the mask to reveal the reality – or to see more clearly.  Her sword liberates, allowing us to move out of the clouds and into a clear, open sky.  There’s a sense of the balance of Libra, too, I think, in the way she sits on her throne – a bit like the figures seen in Justice cards in other decks, perhaps?

King of Swords (trimmed):

© Sharman-Burke/Caselli Tarot

If you work with a system that assigns cardinality to the Kings, you’re looking at the King of Swords.  In the image from Juliet Sharman-Burke’s Beginner's Guide to the Tarot, we see the King on his throne, wearing blue (Air) and purple (wisdom). Two birds fly above his head; the number ‘two’ reminds us of the Libran theme of balance and choice, as well as the Air-like quality of the mind being able to rise above things.  The King of Swords is sometimes associated with the legal profession, particularly in terms of truth and social justice.  As in the Adjustment card of the Thoth deck, we’re always having to make adjustments in order to keep things in balance.  This King appears calm and in charge of things – everything’s in balance, in order.  As Libra is an Air sign, that balance and order is likely to be maintained by words, rather than by physical force.  The pen may be mightier than the sword, but here I think the sword represents the pen!   I could certainly see him as a mediator.

If you’ve enjoyed this post, you might be interested in my e-book, Astrology in Tarot, now available from Amazon.

Beginner’s Guide to the Tarot created by Juliet Sharman-Burke, illustrated by Giovanni Caselli, published by Connections

Secret Tarot created by Marco Nizzoli, published by Lo Scarabeo, 2004

Shadowscapes Tarot created by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and Barbara Moore, published by Llewellyn

Thoth Tarot created by Aleister Crowley, illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

Big sky… Margarete Petersen’s Father of Feathers

Father of Feathers (trimmed): ©Margarete Petersen Tarot

Margarete Petersen’s Father of Feathers image contains no figures (as far as I can see), much like the Mother of Flames. I tend to mix this card up with the World or the Wheel, even though the sphere has been present in every other Feathers card! This time it contains a vista that reminds me of the badlands or Grand Canyon country. Sky and cloud are reflected everywhere, though, which helps to bring me back to the realm of Air and Feathers/Swords!

I do feel the sense of intellectual freedom here, the wide-ranging ideas that I associated with the King, as well as the ability to DO something with them, to communicate them clearly (sky is mostly clear of cloud). The high cliffs suggest (to me) the high moral codes and rules that he would hold – the moral high ground, as it were.

Ideas abound -

Rules in place, yet free to think,

See the big picture.

And that's it for the suit of Feathers - stay tuned for the Coins next!

Margarete Petersen Tarot, AGM-URANIA, 2004

 

Libra in the Druidcraft’s court cards

I’m taking a break from the Minor Arcana today. Instead, I’m looking at Libra in the court cards. But which one – or ones?  Different traditions have different astrological correspondences when it comes to the Court Cards.  Generally  (but not always!) these correspondences depend on how cardinality, fixity and mutability have been assigned.  As Libra is the cardinal Air sign, I’m looking for the Swords court card that’s associated with cardinality. 

Druidcraft Tarot (trimmed)

So what court card does this represent?  If you work with a system that assigns cardinality to the Kings, you’re looking at the King of Swords.  Although the Druidcraft was not created with astrology in mind, I want to look at the King of Swords in this deck to see if I can see any Libran qualities at work.

Here we have the King on his throne, wearing various shades of blue, a colour often linked to the intellect and to the element of Air. He wields a double-edged sword, which could be seen as a Libran symbol, a reminder of the Libran theme of having to cut a way through any tangles in order to make a decision.  As an Air sign, Libra is more interested in maintaining balance and order through words, rather than by physical force.  The pen may be mightier than the sword, but here I think the sword represents the pen!   I could certainly see him as a mediator, able to rise above and see the issues clearly and without prejudice.

The King of Swords is sometimes associated with the legal profession, particularly in terms of truth and social justice.  This King appears calm and in charge of things – everything’s in balance, in order.  

Druidcraft Tarot created by Philip Carr-Gomm and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections

Aquarius in the court cards

Today I'll finish off our exploration of Aquarius in the tarot by looking at the court cards. But which one – or ones?  Different traditions have different astrological correspondences when it comes to the courts.  Generally  (but not always!) these correspondences depend on how cardinality, fixity and mutability have been assigned.  As Aquarius is the fixed Air sign, I’m looking for the Swords court card that’s associated with ‘fixed’-ness. 

Shadowscapes Tarot

So what court card does this represent?  If you work with a system (e.g. the Book-T system: www.tarot.org.il/Library/Mathers/Book-T.html) that assigns the Fixed mode to the Kings, as do most of the Rider-Waite-Smith-based decks, you’re looking at the King of Swords.   The Book-T calls the King of Swords the ‘Prince of the Chariot of the Winds’, and sees him as being full of ideas and thoughts.

The Shadowscapes’ King of Swords shows this beautifully, I think – especially with the inclusion of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man in the bottom right corner.  Da Vinci’s drawing is based on the correlations of ideal human proportions, using geometry described by Vitruvius, a Roman architect. Design, structure, ideals...not to mention architecture – a very Aquarian occupation! – it all fits in so well with the King of Swords.

Thoth Tarot

In the Thoth's Prince of Swords (confusing because Crowley chose not to use Kings but Princes), we see him slaying whatever stands in his way. Fast but also careful, he’s discriminating in what he chooses to remove in order to create something new and innovative.

Sharman-Caselli Tarot

Not all decks assign “fixedness” to the Kings, though. An example of this is the Sharman-Caselli deck, whose creator Juliet Sharman-Burke has chosen to attribute this triplicity to the Queens. Here we see the Queen on her throne, which is decorated with butterflies (symbolizing the element of Air) and an eagle’s head (the form that Zeus took in order to transport Ganymede to Mount Olympus to become the cup-bearer of the gods, taking his place in the sky as Aquarius).  The single bird in the clear sky, above the storm clouds on the horizon, represents clarity; this queen can see past obstacles and keep her mind on the objective.  The upright sword represents justice and equality – high ideals – and all strong Aquarian qualities.  Detachment, another Aquarian quality, allows the Queen of Swords to remain dignified even though she’s known loss and pain – she won’t wear her heart on her sleeve, but bears sorrow with fortitude and courage. 

Shadowscapes Tarot created by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and Barbara Moore, published by Llewellyn

Sharman-Caselli Tarot created by Juliet Sharman-Burke, illustrated by Giovanni Caselli, published by Connections

Thoth Tarot created by Aleister Crowley, illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris, published by US Games Systems, Inc.