Practitioner · 15 min
Reading court cards: who, which part of you, and two together
How to decide whether a court card is a person, a part of you or an approach, and how to read two courts together in a relationship or compatibility question.
In this lesson you will
- Decide from the position and the question whether a court is a person, a part of you or an approach.
- Read two court cards together by comparing rank and suit.
- Frame a compatibility reading around what it asks of you, never as a verdict.
- Place the Golden Dawn element-of-element view as one tradition's lens.
You ask about a new relationship and draw two court cards: Knight of Cups and Queen of Pentacles. It is tempting to say “that is me and that is them” and stop there. This lesson gives you a way to decide what each court is doing in the reading, and to read the two together.
Three readings, one decision
As you saw in The court family, every court card can be a person, a part of you, or an approach. The skill is choosing, and two things decide it: the position and the question.
- An approach, or a part of you to call on, fits Advice positions and questions that ask what to do: act in this card's way.
- A part of you fits positions about you, such as the Situation or the Obstacle in a question about your own life.
- A person fits when a position names someone else, or when the court clearly matches how someone acts in the situation.
Even when a court is a person, read what the card shows of how they act in this situation, as you experience it. A card cannot show what someone thinks or feels in private, so the reading stays with what you can see and what you can do.
This lesson is part of Plus
Plus opens every lesson of the Practitioner, Reader and Advanced tiers, with practice that explains every answer.
What the lesson covers
- Reading two courts together
- Your turn
- Practice
Foundations and the first lesson of every course are free.