Hi Guys, thoughts to think about,

~ THE COURT CARDS ~

“The Pierpont-Morgan deck is the earliest western tarot known with a "traditional" set of court cards in each suit: a knave, a cavalier, a queen and a king, each one showing their relevant suit sign.
Very likely, the earliest deck of this kind should be considered the Brera-Brambilla tarot, but due to the many lacking cards it is not possible to tell whether its suits too had the same three courts (the only seven ones left are the knave and cavalier of Coins, the knave and cavalier of Cups, the knave, cavalier and queen of Batons).
Instead, the Cary-Yale tarot has not four but six courts per suit: in fact, also female personages matching the male knaves and cavaliers are found

Therefore, in each suit the CYV set contains a female knave, a male knave, a female cavalier, a male cavalier, a queen and a king (S.Kaplan refers to the two unique courts also as "the maid" and "the mounted lady"). This is the only western deck of cards known which features a similar set of courts.
According to this composition, all three traditional ranks typical of Italian and Spanish cards (knave, cavalier, king) in the Cary-Yale tarot have a female counterpart: maid, mounted lady and queen.
The aforesaid 6-part arrangement recalls that of a famous alchemic theory - Renaissance was indeed alchemy's golden age - by which each principle in nature always has two opposite and complementary sides, positive and negative, white and black, light and darkness, or, in other words, male and female.

Due to the increased number of courts, the Cary-Yale tarot did not contain the usual 78 cards. Had the trumps been 22, as in the Pierpont-Morgan version, the total would have been 86, but this is uncertain: we can only be sure about the number of suit cards, 64 instead of the usual 56.
Such a composition was probably an attempt of creating a personalized tarot pattern, in times when the standard of 22 trumps and 56 suit cards had not yet been "officialized".

Among other tarot patterns known, female court personages only appear in two more varieties: the obsolete Minchiate (the suits of Coins and Cups have female knaves, but the ones of Swords and Batons are male, as usual), and the Sicilian tarot (the knaves of all four suits are female).”

With regard to the numeric attributes to the Court Cards, we have the Page as 11, the Knights as 12, the Queen-13 and the King 14. Can we postulate that the Pages are linked to The Magician, the Knights to the High Priestess, the Queens to the Emperor and the Kings to the Hierophant, we consider the Queen and King linked or ruled by the Empress and Emperor.

As a matter of interest, we also have the Court Cards numbered in the Sola-Busca Tarot, on which many images in the RW and Thoth decks have been based. The Sola-Busca may be considered as the forerunner to the RW and Thoth decks.

If we look at the dual meanings or implications of the Court Cards, how are we to dispose of their direct connotation to the Majors Arcanum. In another view, as was said above, the Renaissance period was the “playground” of Alchemy. Eleven is seen as a Cardinal number in Numerology, therefore, is the Page linked to the Cardinal Zodiac, IOW, the King, which, by extension relates to Justice?

Thirteen, the Queen, calculated to four, is linked to the Emperor?
The King—14 Calculated to Five, the Hierophant? Consider that Pope Leo III (800) decreed, all Kings to be “crowned” by a POPE? (see notes on the Hierophant). This may also bear testimony to the Hierophant trumping the Emperor?

I wonder if we could consider the discussions around these implications? I think it would be extremely interesting.

Blessed be.

You well come me to parot(Mysticboard.com)

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and......UH;

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