Will all royalty please leave the deck?

I never thought of doing that either - they are IN the deck for a reason, if we were meant to take them out they wouldn't be put in in the first place, would they?

I am interpreting them as I do with every other card: I look at the picture and see if some detail attracts my attention that is particularly interesting or relevant for the reading at hand...

This being said, I once made up a spread (the Genealogy Spread) where I first decided to use only majors and courts. Then during playing around with the spread to experiment it, one day I discovered after the feat that I had "forgotten" to separate the deck - and it proved *very* interesting as I would have run out of pentacles cards for this particular reading if I had taken them out...

So no, I don't separate my cards any more as usually all cards have something to say.

Thanks for the interesting question though!

I always read with a full deck and never omit any of the cards.

Having said that, if you are having trouble with the courts, it may be an idea to seperate them from the deck and work with them on their own for purpose of exercise. I think they are very much needed in the pack - like a steering wheel is needed and part of a car - the majors being the engine and the wheels being the minors. They all help you to get to the place you need as a combination.

There are some good books to help you get your head around your particular court. Mary K Greer and Tom Little's book 'Understanding The Tarot Court' was very instrumnetal in my understanding the courts, but failing that, just work with them yourself. Maybe draw with them daily - ask 'who is going to help me today and have a positive/negative influence?' and reflect in the evenings about the people you have met and come into contact with. Ask 'what part of my personality would be most useful to hone into today?'. Look at the courts - think about their elements, their hiarachy, the direction they face - what are they wearing, what do they 'say' to you?

LB

tyrentboy said:

To be honest with you being new to this i reallyu dont know how to iread a spread when there is a court card in a position where a persons personality doesnt fit.

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Hi tyrentboy.

Have you considered a deck that has illustrations on the court cards that contain things other than people??? The Osho Zen Tarot deck is one that comes to mind. It might help you to gain an understanding of the card's meaning......just a thought.....traditional tarot readers will shoot me down for saying it......but I'm more an Oracle than Tarot reader anyhow.....now, there's a thought, get yoursElf an Oracle deck!

with love
purple_scorp

Greetings, Tyrentboy!

Court cards don't always just refer to personality types or people. They can refer to events, to qualities one might emulate in a given situation, or to strategies to use. For example, in my readings, the Knight of Swords sometimes comes up to indicate the sitter has abandonment issues that are affecting their current situation. I don't know of a non-court card that says this as well.

I, too, used to think, "Oh, no!" when one or more court cards appeared in my spreads, but I feel the way to get over this is to keep them in the deck and deal with them as they show up. You might start by simply describing the qualities of the person depicted, then just see where that takes you. Then you can always throw a clarifier to see if you are on the right track.

Blessings,
Amanda

Ok that makes more sense. I have had a hard time finding meanings for the court other than them representing individual people. What is an Oracle deck anyways?

Coatl said:

in my readings, the Knight of Swords sometimes comes up to indicate the sitter has abandonment issues that are affecting their current situation. I don't know of a non-court card that says this as well.

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That's interesting! How did you come to that conclusion?

tyrentboy said:

What is an Oracle deck anyways?

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Hi tyrentboy,

I've never had to define an Oracle deck as such before but in its simplest terms, an Oracle deck is a series of cards that you can use like Tarot cards. The number of cards in an Oracle deck can vary as they are not based on a traditional theme of 22 Major, 16 Court and 40 Pips.

They can cover a wide variety of subjects - there are Angel decks, and Love decks, Soul decks, Tao decks, fortune decks, I-Ching decks, gosh - the list is unlimited.

Best way to explain them is for you to go to ATF's card section where you can see hundreds of deck reviews. And, there's an entire section at the bottom of this board, dedicated to Oracles. Drop by and read some threads there.

with love
purple_scorp

I always read with all of the cards - never take any out.

There is a deck out there without court cards - The Oracle Tarot by Lucy Cavendish - here's a link to some images and a review on Aeclectic: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/oracle-tarot/

Love

Sulis xx

When a court card comes up in a spread, I have been known to say to mysekf "Awww, not again..." I don't like the court cards in most decks, and When I first began to read they meant less than nothing to me. Now, I have gotten the hang of it, but they are still the cards I like the least when I read. But I have never thought of taking them out. The are an integral part of the deck, just like any of the other cards, and they have their importance.

I know there is a very good book about reading the court cards;"Understanding the Tarot Court" by Mary K. Greer and Tom Little.I sadly lost mine,but am buying a new,as I find these cards difficult too.