The Tarot Court and Symbolic Sight
Exploring Tarot's Minor Arcana, Part Two
Dearest readers,
This week, my wish for you is to feel confident in the wisdom you carry and the paths you are walking. May you see the beauty in your journey, trusting the insights that come to you and embracing the courage to explore them deeply. May your hearts be filled with inspiration, clarity, and joy. 💖💖
Seeing the Bigger Picture: Exploring Symbolic Sight and the Court Cards
A few weeks back, I wrote part one of this series, exploring the minor arcana through the framework of the three levels of relating: literal, inner, and symbolic sight. (You can revisit that article here). In it, I shared how the Aces through Sevens guide us through the literal level of experience, while the Eights through Tens plunge us into the inner level.
Today, I want to dive into the court cards and how they represent the level of symbolic sight—an entirely new way of seeing and relating to the world.
For those who might be new to this framework, I also want to share a previous article, My Easy Peasy Overview of the Court Cards, that introduces the foundational lens I still use to understand these cards. What follows here is a deeper layer to that earlier work, one that roots the court cards more fully in the practice of symbolic sight.
What Is Symbolic Sight?
To me, symbolic sight is the ability to see beyond the surface of things into their deeper essence. It’s a way of perceiving the world that allows us to recognize patterns, uncover meaning, and see the connections that weave through all things. Part of this is the ability to hold paradox—to see how seemingly opposing things or ideas can, in reality, be complementary. Through symbolic sight, we see the relationship between the poles and can even allow ourselves to become that relationship.
When we have symbolic sight, we come to learn the language of Divinity by seeing the messages in everything within and around us. In short, symbolic sight is true wisdom.
Caroline Myss, who created the framework of the three levels, often uses the metaphor of a five-story building. In the literal level, we’re on the ground floor, so deeply immersed in the drama of life that we only see what’s right in front of us. At the inner level, we ascend a floor or two—but these floors have no windows. They’re inward-focused, asking us to engage with our shadows, patterns, and motivations.
Then, there’s the fifth floor, the penthouse, the top of the castle, the realm of symbolic sight. From this vantage point, we finally get the bigger picture: we see the street below and the surrounding neighborhoods. We notice how everything is interconnected and layered with meaning. Symbolism, deeper meaning, bigger patterns, and connections emerge, offering us a relational way of seeing life as a whole.
It’s important to note that these levels are not hierarchical. We’re constantly moving between them in cycles. Reaching the “fifth floor” isn’t a goal, but rather a natural part of the journey.
The Court Cards: Guides to Symbolic Sight
If the minor arcana lead us through the literal and inner levels, the court cards invite us to explore the symbolic. Each member of the court approaches symbolic sight in their own unique way, offering us insights into how to engage with this expanded awareness.
The Pages: Awakened to Possibility
The Pages are awakening to the gift of symbolic sight. Having just stepped off the elevator onto the fifth floor, they are seeing the view from this new vantage point for the first time. This awakening is exciting and humbling. They’re not yet experts, but they’re deeply dedicated to honing their new ability to see meaning and connection. (I love how all but one of the Pages is looking intently at the tool of their suit as though seeing it with this new symbolic sight for the first time.)
The Pages remind us of the Aces of their respective suits, but with the added layer of this blossoming into symbolic sight. They invite us to see that there is some way we’ve been making meaning that needs to change. When a Page comes up in a reading, I believe the call is simply to ask ourselves if we can look at the situation through a more expanded view (even if we don’t yet know what that expanded view is).
To me, Mark Nepo’s words in The Book of Awakening beautifully echo this call:
This wisdom speaks to the Pages’ process of awakening. The suit of Cups might ask us to perceive pain as a lake rather than a cup. For Wands, the invitation could be to view chaos through a new lens. For Swords, it might mean seeing beyond the loops of our mind and communication struggles. And for Pentacles, it could be about building a new foundation of meaning upon which to stand.
The Pages don’t demand answers. Instead, they guide us to hold space for the possibility of a new perspective.
The Knights: Testing the Vision
Once the Pages have begun to trust their symbolic sight, they transform into Knights, ready to venture out into the world and test their insights. Leaping onto their winged steeds, they fly out the open window, revisiting the stories of the Twos through Sevens from a higher vantage point. The Knights are fearless in their approach, unafraid to experiment or make mistakes. They develop symbolic sight by engaging with the world and practicing it in real time.
No longer hooked into the story (as they were on the literal/street level), the Knights can now perceive the bigger patterns, the web of causes and effects. They begin to hear the messages hidden within experiences and discern the wisdom they carry.
The call of the Knights is to quickly connect with the symbolic meaning of a situation, even if it’s not quite right. Think of it like a word association exercise: simply articulate the first layer of deeper wisdom that arises.
For example:
Cups: What patterns in my emotional responses or relationships are asking to be understood or healed?
Wands: How do my passions and motivations reveal the plot points of the story of my life?
Swords: How do my thoughts and words trace the patterns of my evolving truth?
Pentacles: What consistent actions or habits in my daily life are building—or undermining—the foundation for my long-term goals?
The Queens: Deepening the Understanding
The Queens embody intimacy with symbolic sight. After the Knights’ adventurous testing, they return to the penthouse and become Queens. They take their journals and photo albums of their adventures into their cozy inner sanctums and sit with what has been discovered, turning it over in their minds, hands and hearts. They ask questions, linger, and get to the deepest possible understanding of the essence of what has been learned.
When a Queen appears in a reading, the call is to go deep and get intimate with the symbolism, deeper meaning, and patterns of your life. What is the message underneath my every experience?
For example:
Cups: What hidden wisdom lies beneath the surface of my emotions, and how can I nurture this insight?
Wands: How do my creative impulses reflect the deeper story I am here to live?
Swords: How do the thoughts I cling to reveal the underlying beliefs that shape my worldview?
Pentacles: What patterns in my daily routines or relationship with abundance reveal my connection to the larger cycles of life?
The Kings: Sharing the Wisdom
Finally, the Kings—or what I call the Council of Elders—are the stewards of symbolic sight. Once the Queens have distilled the deepest meaning, they go up to roof of the castle and join the Council of Elders, becoming a King. The Kings share their wisdom with the community, helping the people find their own way to the penthouse. They offer guidance, courage, and connection, ensuring that what has been learned serves the collective.
When a King appears in a reading, the call is to trust that we already have the wisdom that is needed in the situation and to offer the gifts of symbolic sight to the community, however we might define it (and sometimes, our community is the collective of self). How can the symbolism, patterns and deeper meaning of the situation help us to foster things like empathy, courage, vision and prosperity?
For example:
Cups: How can the emotional patterns and deeper meaning of this situation foster empathy and emotional connection within myself or my community?
Wands: How can the symbolic meaning of this situation inspire courage in myself or others to take bold, purposeful action?
Swords: How can the mental clarity and symbolic insights of this situation help me or others see the bigger picture and create a clear, aligned vision?
Pentacles: How can the symbolic patterns and lessons of this situation help me or others create a foundation of stability and prosperity?
The court cards remind us that symbolic sight isn’t something we master all at once. It’s a process—a journey of awakening, exploring, deepening, and sharing. Each member of the court offers us a different way to practice seeing the world with new eyes, and together they guide us toward a life rich with meaning, connection, and purpose.
I’ve had so much fun exploring this marriage of the three levels of relating with the tarot! I definitely think I’ll continue to deepen my understanding of this framework going forward.
I’d love to know your thoughts too! When the court cards come up in your readings, what do you think they are asking of you? Do you feel like they’re guiding you towards symbolic sight to help transform your understanding of yourself and the world around you?
Love love love 💕 it is broken down so simple!
Thank you for sharing this! Several things stood out, they seem to be a recurring thing for me recently. I’m excited to see how this unfolds.