Understanding the Tarot Court

by Mary Greer and Tom Little

Reviewed by Solaris, CPTR

In Understanding the Tarot Court (ISBN 0738702862), tarot readers now have a cover-to-cover resource on just the court cards. Mary Greer and Tom Little share spreads, history, interpretations,and charts that make court cards easy to understand and use. In the same manner of Greer's other tarot books, the exercises presented in this book are playful and thought provoking. The reader may discover the court cards as humans, instead of symbols, that have their own individual personalities and how each card contributes to the deck as a whole thereby gaining a deeper understanding of who the court cards are as a person, aspect, relationship, or event.

Spreads cover several topics most commonly asked such as who am I, career, and relationships. Growing Up traces childhood issues and choices you made that got you where you are now. Career Destiny represents professions and career choices. Relationship Spread shows each person's conscious and emotional contributions to the relationship.

Exercises include crafting your own set of personal key words, contacting an inner teacher court card and going to a tarot beach party meditation. Greer and Little show us what is possible when multiple, combinations or no court cards show up in a reading. Some deck creators change the order and rank of kings and knights so the history of how Golden Dawn and Crowley's Thoth made these changes is included.

Reversals are mentioned briefly and some of the ways to interpret them are unappreciated, lacking, acting out, or unfaithful.” This book has charts on Elemental Dignities, Decantes and zodiac correspondences that give further depth to the court cards and make them easier to understand. These charts make this book a must-have reference guide. Other charts include: Court Card Comparisons, Myers Briggs Type Indicators, Golden Dawn Correspondences, and Designing Your Own Courts.

One of the things that make readers balk at court cards is how to interpret them... Greer and Little suggest what information to look for in 65 pages devoted to interpretations. This section could be a LWB (little white book) on its own. It has eight categories for each card to help a reader see new ways of perceiving the court card based on how the character pictured in the card would act in these situations. Once you have decided how to interpret a court card, there is a worksheet is provided to help you design your own courts. The appendices have readily useable charts for comparisons, correspondences, Myers Briggs, and important terms. The comparison chart shows how the energies of Kings, Queens, Knights and Pages function and compare to each other. For example, A king is a master of the outside/public, deals with fixed ideas, is in the stage of completion/letting go, and is the time for resolute, outer action.

Greer and Little have written Understanding the Tarot Court in such a way that if you do the exercises and use the spreads, the court cards will become second nature. Tarot is sometimes referred to as being the royal road. The courts enhance the journey along it, so treat yourself like royalty and use the information in this book discover the king or queen in you as you develop a relationship with the court cards.

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