Learn the tarot court cards is one of the areas where most people struggle. What’s the difference between the Knight and the Kings? How do I know if the card is supposed to be a person in my life, a role I need to play, or is it just a general message?
It seems confusing on the surface, but with a little bit of time and a simple tarot system, it’s actually pretty easy to tell them apart and read them. And that is what this four part tarot court card series will do. Today, in the fourth and final video of the series, we’re talking about the four Kings.
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If you want to take your understanding even deeper, pull out the four King cards from your favorite Rider-Waite-Smith based tarot deck so you can follow along with this video.
The King Court Cards
When it comes to the tarot, the four Kings are masters of their domain. They are leaders who have proven themselves on the battlefield of life. Their energy is active, assertive, and commanding.
Compared to the Queens, who have a more internal, behind-the-scenes, and receptive energy, Kings will be out there in the public eye, standing tall with confidence and strength. They carry more than the average amount of responsibility and expectations on their shoulders, but it never seems as if they struggle.
If the King is someone in your life, it will be a man or woman who is at the top of their game. They make decisive and final decisions, delegate everything but their responsibility, and will directly affect the outcome of any situation they get involved in.
Kings are sometimes inaccessible. They need your understanding and respect about the many demands on their time and energy. But they ARE willing to help if they can. They are able to offer solutions, connections, and answers.
The way I like to think about it, the Kings are “masters of…” their particular domain.
Kings + Cups = a master of relationships and community connections
Kings + Pentacles = a master of health and material success
Kings + Swords = a master of rational decision-making
Kings + Wands = a master of creativity and power
We’ll dive deeper into each card in just a minute, but first, think of the Kings in your own life. Who has the masterful, active energy, strength, and responsibility of a King?
Match each King to their respective area or realm. Are they a Cups? A Sword? Combine the energy of the King with the energy of the four Suits to find out which card they are.
But now let’s take this even deeper, and learn about the nuanced differences between each of the four Kings.
Detailed Tarot Card Meanings for the King Court Cards
For more detailed information about each of the King tarot cards, click on the card image below.
The King Court Cards in Your Life
I hope that helps you understand each of the King cards in more detail. Take a few minutes to determine who the Kings are in YOUR life. This process should take you less than 10 minutes, but will make it so much easier to read these court cards when they show up in a tarot reading.
Go through each of the four Kings and see if you can map them to a person or multiple people in your life, using the Court Card Map. Some relationships to consider include your parents, caregivers, siblings, extended family, lovers, crushes, friends, frenemies, enemies, co-workers, clients, bosses, mentors, teachers, ex-anythings, children, and in-laws. The Court Cards will be people who have a direct influence over your own life, so public figures, politicians, and famous people will not be on this list (unless you actually know them in real life).
Remember that the King can be anyone – male, female, or otherwise – and they can be any age, although for the Kings they do tend to skew a little older. You need time to learn wisdom and grow in confidence after all.
It is not unusual to have multiple people who match to a single King. This is okay. During a tarot reading, you’ll just be able to choose which person seems to make the most sense for the situation and question asked.
You will have one or more Kings where nobody in your life is a good match. This is okay, too. If you come across one of these cards during a tarot reading, you’ll know the card doesn’t match a person in your life, so you can then read the card as a role you need to play, advice you need to take, or as a message.
And, because people are complicated, some people seem to fit multiple cards. They may be a Page in one area of their life and a King in a different area. If you can, choose the card that seems to fit the best, but make a note that they have other characteristics.
Need more help remembering the tarot card meanings?
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