Finally, we made it to the court cards. I have to say that I greeted them with a real sense of relief- this project, though we were dedicated, took a while to really get off the ground, and though we’ve been pretty diligent about it in the last four months or so, we’ve been working on it for coming up on eight or nine months now, and hitting the court cards made me feel like we might actually have accomplished something. Who knew?

Page of Blades 1.3

I’ve never had a problem with reading court cards; I don’t read them as people, not usually, though occasionally the rest of a spread will indicate that they’re serving that purpose. But for me they represent either points on life’s journey or aspects of one’s self. Thus, in the first way, I read the page as childhood and youth. The suit of swords has to do with intellect and instinct, and so this is “a studious youth” (thanks, dad). The energy of beginning exploration, of intellectual study.

Page of Blades 2.2

Alternatively, I read the pages as Internal/Unconscious. This is the piece of us that we are not consciously aware of, but which resides at the center of our self. It is what we dream and don’t remember, where our untapped talents lie, where our gut responses to our own self reside. The page of blades, in this case, is a deep-seated wariness combined with an unrelenting curiousity. The page holds the blade at the ready, but is unwilling to turn away from the search.

Page of Blades 3.2

This card only produced a few images, both because of lighting challenges, and because it just felt like a very static card to me. I liked the poses we got, and didn’t feel the need for more. It’s a more traditional image than some of the past few, but I think that’s somewhat appropriate. The page of blades is not a risk taker, but a cautious step.

Page of Blades 3.3

Full set can be seen here.