Scorpio in the Court Cards

Last in our exploration of Scorpio on the tarot - but not least - Scorpio 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. 

Prince of Cups (trimmed):

© Thoth Tarot

Following this system, we end up with Fixed Water sign Scorpio being associated with the King of Cups (Air of Water).  The Thoth deck follows this convention, of course, being rooted in the Golden Dawn tradition - although Crowley chose to use Princes rather than Kings, just to add to the confusion! Scorpio – fixed Water: we’re talking about the mastery of emotions and strong passions.

  

I love this image because it really illustrates the idea of Scorpio having to plunge into the depths of the emotional realm in order to get to the bottom of things.  The eagle, another incarnation of Scorpio, pulls the seashell chariot, its wheels bearing the image of a scorpion. It carries the Prince over the surface of the water, ready to dive – but notice it hasn’t yet broken through that barrier, although the serpent (another Scorpio creature) emerging from the cup is looking down towards the water.  This reminds us that we need to recognize our desires, our fears, our cravings – whatever it is that’s driving us; only when we’re truly aware of them should we attempt to master them, otherwise we run the risk of drowning.  The waters appear tranquil, even stagnant perhaps - not yet disturbed by the powerful Prince on his chariot. Calm on the outside, yet powerful within.

Queen of Cups (trimmed):

© Druid Craft Tarot

If you work with a system that assigns Fixed-ness to the Queens, you’re looking at the Queen of Cups.  In the image from the Druid Craft Tarot, we see the Queen with one foot in the water, her throne behind her, a distance away. A serpent, symbol of transformation (and Scorpio) crawls out from behind it.  As the carrier of Scorpio's Fixed Water qualities, the Queen of Cups can be seen as being in control over her emotions and very self-contained – strong Scorpio qualities! She also trusts her instincts and is very intuitive and in touch with the watery world of emotions. Feelings cannot be ignored – or only at your peril.  Other Scorpio traits which could be seen in the Queen are seductiveness and mysteriousness! 

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

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

Pisces in the DruidCraft court cards

Last but not least, by any means – Pisces in the Druidcraft court cards. 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 Pisces is the mutable Water sign, I’m looking for the Cups court card that’s associated with fluctuating emotions and changes within relationships of all kinds – romantic, platonic, familial.

Prince of Cups (trimmed):
DruidCraft Tarot

So what court card does this represent?  If you work with a system that assigns mutability to the Knights, as do most of the Rider-Waite-Smith-based decks, you’re looking at the Knight of Cups.  This Knight will react through his feelings – his heart will rule his head! He’s kind and sympathetic, with an affinity for the underdog.  Not one of the speedy Knights, the image usually depicts the Knight on horseback walking slowly, often beside water – letting things happen in their own time, not pushing or rushing – and that’s exactly what we see in the DruidCraft’s Prince of Cups.   A dreamer, one who longs for an all-encompassing, ideal love.

Knights are often associated with quests: this one will be in search of love, or in pursuit of dreams and ideals, and will be willing to make sacrifices.  Full of good intentions, but with a tendency to lose himself in Piscean idealism or romanticism...

‘Emotional integrity’ is a good phrase for a Piscean court card; could this be the object of the quest?

The shadow side of this Knight/Prince could be a tendency to be moody, or to becoming lost in a dream world – possibly to the point of becoming addicted to something in the quest to lose oneself, to escape the reality of daily life.

DruidCraft Tarot created by Philip Carr-Gomm and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections 2004

Scorpio in the court cards

Last in our exploration of Scorpio on the tarot -but not least - Scorpio 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 Scorpio is the fixed Water sign, I’m looking for the Cups court card that’s associated with ‘fixed’-ness. 

Sharman-Caselli Tarot

So what court card does this represent?  If you work with a system that assigns the Fixed mode to the Queens, you’re looking at the Queen of Cups.  An example of this is the Sharman-Caselli (pictured here), where we have the Queen on her throne, surrounded by water.  Through carrying the fixed qualities, the Queen of Cups can be seen as being in control over her emotions and very self-contained – strong Scorpio qualities! She also trusts her instincts and is very intuitive and in touch with the watery world of emotions. Feelings cannot be ignored – or only at your peril.  Other Scorpio traits which could be seen in the Queen are seductiveness and mysteriousness! 

The Crowley Thoth tarot follows a different system, linking Scorpio to the Prince of Cups, the Princes carrying the fixed qualities in this deck.  Scorpio – fixed Water – so we’re still talking about the mastery of emotions and strong passions.  I love this image because it really illustrates the idea of Scorpio having to plunge into the depths of the emotional realm in order to get to the bottom of things.  The eagle, another incarnation of Scorpio, pulls the seashell chariot, its wheels bearing the image of a scorpion. It carries the Prince over the surface of the water, ready to dive – but notice it hasn’t yet broken through that barrier, although the serpent (another Scorpio creature) emerging from the cup is looking down towards the water.  This reminds us that we need to recognize our desires, our fears, our cravings – whatever it is that’s driving us; only when we’re truly aware of them should we attempt to master them, otherwise we run the risk of drowning.  The waters appear tranquil, even stagnant perhaps (a reference to the Eight of Cups, perhaps?)...not yet disturbed by the powerful Prince on his chariot. Calm on the outside, yet powerful within.

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.