Here I continue the Understanding the Court Cards of the Tarot series with Understanding the Pages of the Tarot. How do we decipher a Page card within a reading? Well, before we look at its position in the spread, we know two things immediately; firstly the energy and traits depicted by the fact that it is a Page (as opposed to any of the other court cards) and secondly, the element and characteristics depicted by the suit, so we know to focus on the emotional, practical etc aspects.
Pages can represent children, but they can also represent a middle aged woman or an elderly man. Before you run off in confusion, look back at what I said in Understanding the Court Cards of the Tarot; when the court cards are not to be taken literally, they refer to where that person is in their life in relation to goals and life lessons. So, when there isn’t a child, they can represent that young energy, eagerness and newness that is connected with children. They can be male or female. What do we know about children? We know that they are generally more fearless than adults and that they have an innocence and energy that we tend to lose the older we get. They also do not have as much experience as older people. They suggest to me the beginnings and the potential of the energy of that suit, very much like the Aces. In my experience, I have found that the Pages very rarely relate to actual children and that may be because my readings very much relate to the person that I am reading for, and their own life lessons and journey. But your readings may work differently and that is fine. Always trust your instincts and intuition; that is the first rule of any tarot reading. When it is a real child, it will be very clear, for example I had one client ask about the problems within her relationship, and it was very obvious from the reading that the man had a child not only because of the presence of a Page but because there were other cards referring to a father figure and paternal feelings. The cards work together as a whole and they will send you in the right direction. But what happens when there is no child? Let’s look at the four Pages separately.
The Page of Cups could be urging you to look at your inner child and ask what is it that will make you happy; it could be showing a young dreamer and asking you to connect with your basic feelings. When we’re children, our emotional development is an important part of our growth. We learn to identify and understand our own feelings and those of others, and then to manage and express them. I’ll share an experience I had with this Page in one of my own readings. I was just getting into a new relationship, my first in over a decade as I had just recovered from serious ill health, but was experiencing the usual feelings of doubts that accompany such a situation. The Page of Cups showed me that I was feeling very much like the Page of Cups; I was eager and innocent and the relationship itself was like this budding child, but I was also feeling inexperienced and unsure, much like a child. So I did what most kids do; I stopped over-thinking the situation and gave myself over to enjoying the new feelings and just allowing myself to feel.
The Page of Pentacles can be a serious, diligent energy, as Pentacles are very practical. Imagine how a child would feel with that kind of energy; they could probably get a lot done with school work and studying, but wouldn’t that get boring after a while? So, this shows a time of hard work and achievement, which may get boring, but it is good to remember it is only temporary as it will be play time again soon. This Page came up in a very interesting reading just last week. Again, a female client was asking about her relationship, and the obstacle was this Page of Pentacles. She was worried about infidelity in the relationship, but there was no sign of any infidelity, instead the Page of Pentacles was showing that the energy had become stale and stagnant. There was an air of boredom and this is where the problems were arising. Yes, they’d recently managed to achieve a lot and were making practical improvements, but they need to reignite the passion and emotions in the relationship.
The Page of Swords is one of my favourite court cards, probably because it shows what I was like as a child (and even now sometimes if I’m honest), so I can really relate. The sword court cards are all great thinkers and very intelligent. They have it in them to fight for their beliefs and their ideas, hence the swords. Children naturally lack inhibition; if they think it, they say it. We learn the sense of tact and caution as to what we say when we start to realise that our words can have repercussions. So, either it is time for the client to be bold and step forward and say what needs to be said, or they need to exercise some tact and caution. I’ve often seen the Page of Swords when clients really want something (a love interest or promotion for example) and they have been pushing and pushing and fighting. The message is often for them to take a step back, count to ten before saying whatever they’re planning to say or just reassess the situation before continuing.
Last, but definitely not least is the Page of Wands, who is the equivalent of that happy, creative, confident child that has boundless energy. I always see a new adventure when this Page shows-up, after all, I imagine he or she is always on the look-out for something new and exciting. So much can be achieved with the energy and creativity of the Page of Wands, but the negative would be that this Page is too irresponsible and about fun which can make him or her a bit of a brat. I’ve seen it as the latter in a reading where a client was asking about making more money and she had this card representing her in the past but more solid Pentacle court cards in the present and the future. The client confirmed that she had been very irresponsible and spoiled in the past. Another client had this card come up with the Ace of Wands in his reading asking about his career. I was very happy to tell him that gone would be the stagnation and boredom he currently felt and that there was a new project or venture coming up that he would be immensely passionate about. He wrote to me a few months after that reading to confirm his dream of starting in a creative field was coming true.
I hope I’ve managed to show you that these Pages can convey a wealth of information in a reading. If you still have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask as I’m happy to answer them. Look out for the next post which will be about the Knights.