Minor Arcana: Court Cards

The Court Cards in the Tarot

In each Suit (Wands, Swords, Cups, Pentacles), there are four Court Cards (Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings) that are associated with different character ranks, ages, and types when they appear in a spread. Traditionally, court cards were interpreted as either male or female, but tarot is more inclusive now. These days, Court Cards are often read primarily by their type, energy, and traits to represent the people in a story, including gender-neutral and queer characters.

For writers, the 16 Court Cards represent archetypes associated with particular character traits that relate to narrative tropes in literature. Recognizing these types, energies, and patterns allows a writer to use tarot as a tool to prompt and generate ideas, explore character dynamics, or develop narrative structure.

​

The table below describes some archetypal traits, literary types, and narrative roles that are typical of Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings.