The Court Card Costume Change: Why Tarot's People Switched Identities Across Decks

Today's Lesson Here's something that trips up beginners and experienced readers alike: the court card titles aren't consistent across tarot traditions. In the Rider-Waite-Smith and similar decks, you'll find Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings. But pull out a Tarot de Marseille or other traditional deck, and suddenly you're looking at Knaves, Knights, Queens, and Kings—or sometimes Valets instead of Knaves. Some modern decks swap the whole system out entirely, using Seekers, Explorers, Guardians, and Elders, or other creative hierarchies. This isn't just about vocabulary—when you're learning card meanings from multiple sources, you might be reading about a 'Page' in one book and a 'Valet' in another, not realizing they're the same card position. This matters more than it seems. When you understand that these are structural positions rather than fixed identities, you can translate between systems without losing meaning. The youngest court member (whether called Page, Knave, Valet, or Princess in some decks) still represents that energy of beginning, learning, and messages—regardless of the name on the tin. The key is recognizing the pattern: most systems use four levels representing stages of mastery or engagement with their suit's element. Once you grasp that framework, you can pick up nearly any…