By Sarah Taylor
For a couple of weeks now, I have had the Thoth Tarot gently but insistently calling my name. I thought that, given I have been doing a weekly reading with the Rider-Waite Smith deck for near-on two years, it might be time to try something different and see what comes of it.
Today’s three cards speak of a balancing of two approaches — or, perhaps, a choice between two different people, situations or qualities — as represented by the Knight of Disks and the Knight of Swords.
In the Thoth Tarot, the Knights are the equivalent of the Rider-Waite Smith’s Kings. They are the masculine rulers of the court, counterparts to the Queens who embody the feminine. While Aces represent the limitless potential of the qualities of their suit, this limitlessness is not possible in the physical world, which is subject to the ebb and flow of constant change, and where the dual nature of existence prevents something from existing in pure form for any significant length of time: life is a series of cycles where nothing stands still and everything strives for balance.
Both the Kings and the Queens hold the highest potential that we can be as people; their positive qualities are what we exhibit when we are willing to become fully ourselves, accepting responsibility for our lives, understanding that we are unique and have a right to express ourselves as such, and yet also understanding that we are connected with everyone and everything else. Everything we feel, think, say, and do has both seen and unseen consequences. The shadow aspects of the court cards come into play when we resist the call to step into our lives as adults. When this happens, what we have learned along the way can become tools for (self-)deception, manipulation and control — which is just another way of saying that we choose power over wisdom.
In this reading, the Knights of Disks and Swords flank The Fool in the centre. There is a sense of moving from the safety of a known routine or a familiar situation and stepping into the unknown. The Fool is what we are when we embark on something, but with little or no cognizance of the journey or the outcome. It requires taking a risk, and it is only by drawing on the childlike wonder and care-freeness of The Fool that we are able to do this — to step out into a new environment and start putting one foot in front of the other. And yet there are resources that The Fool can draw from. He might be inexperienced in the ways of this particular brave new world, but he is not without equipment: what the Knights bring to the reading.
The Knight of Disks, when in his light aspect, is solid, stable and grounded — earthy too, which prevents him from becoming a stick-in-the-mud. Beneath the air of repose, he exudes a sensuality that radiates off his shield like the rays of the Sun. The Knight of Disks rules the physical world. In this way, he is a master manifestor, able to put into action things that might otherwise remain passing impulses, feelings, thoughts.
The Knight of Swords is an ideas man. His rapier-like thought processes make him airy; his is a realm of flight, of swift changes of direction, of Mercurial energy. If the Knight of Disks is a master manifestor, the Knight of Swords is a master intellect. And yet, when in his light aspect, this skill is exercised with diligence: no-one is side-swiped unjustifiably by his sword of reasoning.
Together, the Knights form what I would see as a formidable partnership: the physical and the mental. One possible interpretation of their presence together in this reading is that we cannot rely on theory alone; ideas need to be translated into action. When we step out onto the road of the Fool’s Journey, we can benefit from this partnership in myriad ways. Take Professor Higgs, for example. He theorised with others the existence of the Higgs boson — a ‘boson’ being a type of sub-atomic particle named after physicist Satyendra Nath Bose, and the Higgs boson being the ‘God Particle’ that can potentially explain the content of dark matter. It took them nearly 50 years to derive tangible results from that theory, but this week saw the announcement that the Higgs boson has been found at the CERN laboratory. A Fool’s Journey incorporating the practical application of an idea if ever there were one.
If, however, what you are facing is more akin to a choice between the qualities that the two Knights represent than a synthesis of the two, then know that, either way, an adventure of the spirit beckons. Both have their light and shadow aspects, both are equals in terms of rank and experience. Each offers something different, and they offer two paths that are transformative in their own ways. Therefore, if you have to choose, remember that you have access to two additional resources embodied by the two Knights that are not present here, which offer a greater degree of objectivity (because you are not directly involved with them). These are your intuition (Wands), and your heart (Cups). Listen to the promptings and messages from both, and you will know what to do when the time comes.
If you want to experiment with tarot cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator using the Celtic Wings spread, which is based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article explains how to use the spread.
This spread, which meant so little to me as I read it two days ago is actually the exact picture of my situation. How do I know? Because I have decided to just accept it, change my attitude and follow my heart and intuition each day with each person and situation. There is no need for choice, only Presence.
Big Hug, Beloved Tarot Spreader.
Of course Crowley is doing his usual obfuscation. I looked up his exact words why the Knight instead of the King, it’s “because the doctrine involved, which is extraordinarily complex and difficult, demands it. The Father is “Knight” because he is represented as riding on a horse.” He is apparently trying to avoid dealing with his qabalistic argument that Knight/Kings represent the character Yod, which makes the Knights the fiery spirit of each suit. And then he talks about attributions of the court to Decans, and I can follow along, but I don’t care to follow it too far. LOL.
You know how Crowley liked to play the old switcheroo. He usually asserts that his esoteric cards reveal secrets that Waite deliberately concealed. Or is Crowley concealing secrets that Waite revealed? There are differences of opinion on this question.
But anyway, I have been thinking of your three cards. Earth and Air are antagonists, and the Fool can bridge the gap. He is the Wise Fool who can get the Earth Knight to rise out of being stuck in the mud, and he can get the Air Knight sufficiently grounded to keep him from flitting about aimlessly. Your dark matter metaphor is powerful. It is an idea that is as intangible as air, but may represent most of the matter of the universe. And we have no way to detect its influence without our technological experiment at CERN, turning a theory into physical results.
So, I totally saw the knight of swords as a honeybee. I wonder what this can symbolize?
What an interesting debate! I love how The Fool is connected with the Knights, which makes it a reading about relating and relationship (self and other) more than anything else, imo.
I’m not sure that Crowley’s explanation of Knight being on horseback is really the one that fits, given that a King can equally be on horseback, and frequently was when it came to campaigning – so being active is not the exclusive realm of the Knight. From a purely personal perspective, the Knight feels like an outsider in the court cards, the rest being family. And to me that feels like the describing of a partnership (Queen and Knight) where there is substantive difference, and yet it still works. They are not mirror images; there is that sense of things not quite matching up, the potential for friction, a contradiction. Maybe there’s something to be said about being able to co-exist with contradiction in both ourselves and those we love.
Ok, thank you for your research re conversation. Crowley’s, “it’s complicated” i agree, is a bit weak. So is he suggesting her, (or one’s) maximum potential is passivity? Surely, it’s got to reach for and aspire to more. Wondering if date and place of this deck origination may be relevant? I thought the article mentioned there was no King, and Knight took his place? Then what is he suggesting with what you found on the Fool? Maybe Fool’s Journey could be viewed as action/pursuit “of” un-manifest, as Kingdom-hood??
Hmm.. a little research shows Crowley made them Knights because he wanted to depict them on horseback, as an active character rather than seated on a throne passively. He also says the Knight, Queen, Prince, and Princess are the usual family lineage, Father, Mother, Son, Daughter. And then he weasels out and says “it’s complicated” and doesn’t explain why he really did this. Typical Crowley. I think this is the Knight actively implementing the qualities of his suit, out in his kingdom.
But I also found one interesting comment he made about The Fool, he is the wanderer who wins the King’s daughter above all other suitors, and becomes the King’s successor.
Charles: interesting comment, got me to return to my ongoing thinking of physics this (every week) in contemplating the question of matter. Both Kings are of the manifest world, whereas the Queen as you offer, has reached her full potential and thus found in the un-manifest ‘realm’. Thank you for sharing exoring would love to hear more…
I never could quite understand what Crowley meant by making the Knight the highest male court card. That makes the top pair the Knight and Queen. In a way, she outranks him. The Knight has not reached his maximum potential, but the Queen has. I suppose this was Crowley’s way to emphasize the feminine polarity. Earlier decks like RWS seemed very balanced, the Kings and Queens seemed equally authoritative.
I will have to consider this again, and research it.
Dear Sarah,
Thank you for this! Once again you’re writing and insight amazes me.
“…an adventure of the spirit beckons. Both have their light and shadow aspects, both are equals in terms of rank and experience. Each offers something different, and they offer two paths that are transformative in their own ways. Therefore, if you have to choose, remember that you have access to two additional resources embodied by the two Knights that are not present here, which offer a greater degree of objectivity (because you are not directly involved with them). These are your intuition (Wands), and your heart (Cups). Listen to the promptings and messages from both, and you will know what to do when the time comes.”
With the strength and intuition of the Knight and courage of the Swords –will go forth and embrace the fool in the middle.
Gratefully,
ps