In the hierarchy of the Tarot Court Cards, the Pages are the youngest in line. In many Tarot card decks, the Pages are also called Princesses. Pages often represent the very beginning of the development of the personality, and have a child-like quality about them. The energy of the Pages is often very child-like, young / immature, and feminine.

Today, lets get to know the different Pages in our Tarot card deck.

The Many Faces of The Pages

As with any other card, the Pages are not limited by the different associations that create myriad interpretations. Some of the common interpretations of the Pages include:

• Pages are young and represent the beginning of the developing personality of a person. Hence, they are often come up in readings to represent children.
• Pages also come up in a reading when the client is experimenting with the beginning stages of any ideas or feelings or energies or projects.
• In the King’s Court, the Pages used to serve the Knights and often used to carry messages for them. Hence, Pages are also interpreted as messages.
• Pages are linked to the element of Earth, which is a very tangible, ‘real’ element, something you can touch and feel — Pages need / want that sort of stability and therefore are a great representation of that energy.

Overall, Pages are those Court Cards that signify beginnings.

Now, lets look at each Page in more detail.

Page of Wands

Personality

A Page of Wands represents the combination Earth of Fire. Because he is the beginning surge of Fire energy, he is passionate, energetic, zealous, and playful. He is outgoing, talented and definitely likes to show off. He is very trusting and can often stand for the pure, innocent truth.

Dress

Looking at the picture of the Page of Wands in the Universal-Waite Deck, you can also notice on his dress that the Salamanders form incomplete circles while trying to eat their own tails. Salamanders represent the elementals of Fire. The process of eating your own tail refers to the symbolic depiction of the fact that this fire energy can create a complete cycle of birth and rebirth. However, with the incomplete circles, we can see that the development of the potential of this fire energy has in fact just begun.

Also, notice his cute hat and the way he holds his wand – almost as if he is standing on a stage and singing a song! And the Page of Wands sure does love to show off any and all talents that he has!

Surrounding

Notice also the desert dunes in the background. Since the Suit of Wands represents the Fire element, we see a warm / hot environment around him. What better than a desert, eh?

Now lets look at the different interpretations we can come up with for the Page of Wands in a reading.

Upright Interpretation

When a Page of Wands comes up upright in a reading, it may represent:

• Someone with the personality traits mentioned above, who is influencing the situation.
• In the surrounding situation, the person behaves like the person described above.
• A very smart, talented child.
• Someone who is energetic and passionate.
• Good news about something to do with areas such as work, profession and love.

Reversed Interpretation

However, when the Page of Wands comes up reversed, these personality traits may turn negative, or might get exaggerated or aggravated. Lets see how the interpretations for the reversed Page of Wands comes up in a reading:

• Someone who is spoiled, moody, impatient, hyperactive or selfish.
• Someone who is reacting in a moody and impatient manner to the situation around him.
• Talent that is going wasted, or isn’t being cultivated due to impatience.
• Too much energy that leads to someone who can get easily frustrated.
• Bad / Negative news / Delays in news about work, profession or love.

Page of Swords

Personality

The Page of Swords is the Earth of Air – and does he live and breathe it! He has thoughts that come and go at speeds likened to the gusts of wind you see around him. He comes up with all kinds of ideas that are taken up and discarded constantly. He has ideas, logic and thought as his companion – and since he is a Page, he doesn’t have much control over the ebb and flow of this energy.

The Page of Swords is witty, clever, alert and inquisitive. He doesn’t have much of an attention span though, and can drift from thought to thought all the time. He loves mental challenges (like puzzles) and can often be found trying to figure out how things work. If he is a more hands-on-type of a person, he will probably be breaking apart his toys just to see how they work.

The Page of Swords represents pure thought.

Dress

Look at how the Page is standing on top of the little hillock – notice the way his little ponytail flies in the wind? He holds his sword in one direction and looks into another direction.

The Page of Swords can often get easily distracted. He is the kind of person who, if trained properly, can develop into a serious multi-tasker too!

Surrounding

Look at the way the clouds bunch up all around in the sky. To me, clouds always represent cloudy thoughts. And as such, the Page with his unstoppable flow of thoughts and immaturity towards being able to handle them, can often represent how these constant thoughts can turn regular thinking into a confused muddle.

Notice the birds in the sky? See how they fly all over the place in every direction. To me, those birds are the thoughts that fly about in the air / mind of the Page of Swords.

Also check out the tree in the background. All of these little nuances in the drawing essentially show the speed of the thoughts flowing in his mind.

Now, lets look at the interpretation of the Page of Swords.

Upright Interpretation

When the Page of Swords comes up upright in a reading, it might represent:

• A person having such personality traits as described above, who is influencing the situation.
• In a given situation, the person behaves with the personality traits mentioned above.
• A very intelligent and logical child.
• A multitude of thoughts but no firm direction of thinking energy.
• Messages via the air – can represent phone calls or text messages or e-mails or internet chats etc.

Reversed Interpretation

However, when the Page of Swords comes up reversed in a reading, the card can talk about:

• A person having the traits of described above – but now those traits become negative: too much confusion / confused thoughts, destructive thoughts, and hyper-activity.
• Someone who behaves in a confused or distracted or destructive manner.
• Too much intelligence can often cause aloofness.
• Can turn vindictive or cunning.
• Bad news / Delays in the news coming via air (like phone calls or e-mails).

Page of Cups

Personality

The Page of Cups is the Earth of Water. He is full of feelings, emotions and creative energy that flows, flows and flows around him. He is softhearted and imaginative. He is also very sensitive. He can be a dreamer, a gracious personality, and someone who values relationships a lot.

The Page of Cups can also represent a person who is very creative and emotionally vulnerable. He is can also be someone who is very caring, nurturing – very much in touch with the feminine aspect of his psyche. Naturally, all of this is also coupled with child-like and / or the immature / beginning stages of the development of the personality.

Dress

See all the lotus flowers on his dress! He also has a fish popping out of his cup. While the lotus flowers are symbols of divinity and spiritual connection, the symbol of the fish is often connected via the story of Jesus Christ to creativity, happiness, fertility and knowledge. Thus, we can see that the Page of Cups is surrounded by many divine and creative energies and is the recipient of many ideas and thoughts from the intuitive realm.

Surrounding

Behind the Page of Cups, we can see the undulating waves of the ocean or the sea. Water bodies often represent the subconscious mind. They also stand for the flow of emotions all around us.

So while this Page stands there getting all inspired and emotional, he is actually receiving these messages from his subconscious mind and swaying to the ebb and flow of emotional energies.

Upright Interpretation

When the Page of Cups comes up upright in a reading, it usually means:

• A person who has the personality traits mentioned above.
• Someone is using these above-mentioned qualities to handle or deal with the surrounding situation.
• A creative, intuitive, vulnerable and sensitive person.
• An idea that is born out of emotions and intuition.
• A message related to feelings, emotions, love.

Reversed Interpretation

However, when the Page of Cups comes up reversed in a reading, it may signify:

• A person who is overly sensitive or emotional. Someone very touchy-feely and sentimental.
• A person who is exploiting the emotional aspects of a situation. He is abusing the feelings and sensitive sides of himself or others in the situation.
• Someone going through a period of lack of creativity.
• Someone going through a bad luck period.
• Bad news / delay in the news related to a creative project or love.

Page of Pentacles

Personality

The Page of Pentacles is the Earth of Earth. As such, this is one guy who does have both his feet on the ground while he is at it. ?  He tends to be sincere and studious, hardworking and diligent. He likes to examine and consider things deeply and has a very curious approach towards all things. He likes to touch and feel things for himself before taking any decision.

In his purest form, the Page of Pentacles gives off a very sincere and serious vibe – a totally intense person.

Dress

If you see his dress, you will notice that he wears the earthy colors of red, orange and green – signifying passion, enthusiasm and a love of nature, respectively.

Plus look at the way he holds the pentacle – so delicately! And observe how he intently observes that pentacle! This is one fellow who cherishes what he has and takes a lot of care with it.

Surrounding

He stands in a grassy meadow surrounded by a field and a grove of trees. Fruitfulness and the bounty of nature abound around him. He loves being around trees and flowers – always appreciating the beauty of the world around him.

Upright Interpretation

When the Page of Pentacles comes up upright in a reading, it usually means:

• A person having the qualities mentioned above.
• Someone behaving in the manner mentioned above in the surrounding situation.
• A student. A studious, careful person.
• Someone very intense and deeply inquisitive and curious.
• Someone who loves nature.
• A positive message related to practical or studious matters.
• A small income.
• The person might be joining a short course for learning something new.

Reversed Interpretation

However, when the Page of Pentacles comes up reversed in a reading, it can mean:

• Someone who is too intense and too deep – the exaggerated version of all the qualities mentioned above.
• Someone behaving with the exaggerated version of the personality mentioned above, in the surrounding situation.
• Too much study – not much play. Need for balance between work and play.
• A small expense.
• A negative message / delay in the news related to practical, studious or money matters.
• Not paying attention to what one is learning.

Thus, you can see how the energies of the Pages have manifested across the different suits and elements. Overall, the Pages depict the beginning of the development of the personality or a very child-like / immature approach towards situations surrounding a person.

Your Turn…

Have you encountered such personalities in your life? What kind of Pages have you met? Are there any particular qualities or traits about them that stayed with you? Or are you a Page yourself?

Are there any particular qualities or interpretations that I have missed out on?

Do share your thoughts in the comments section below.