By Greyhound

Many of us that use the Thoth deck have different perceptions about which element/energy is associated with each card. This is something I've meant to write for awhile that illustrates how I perceive the elemental associations and the progression through the elements. Your mileage will almost CERTAINLY vary... which is what I consider one of the finest things about the study of Tarot.

The Thoth Courts - A Bedtime Story

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there was an aging King. He was an airy sort... Air of Earth, to be precise... He'd been feeling his age lately. He'd recently married a lovely young lady. Ah, she did have a way of making him feel young again. Creative and fiery... "She'd put the spring in any man's step", he thought to himself. But back to business... there had been rumors of an uprising in the hills where a young ruffian had amassed a group of followers and was challenging the old King's authority...

Suddenly, he heard shouts from the courtyard... "Come now and face your doom!" a young voice rang out... he ran to the window and mounted on a fabulous black steed with fire for a mane and tail was the Black Knight he'd dreaded. "My quarrel is with you, Your Highness... your people will be safe if you come out and face me!" the voice continued to shout. Turning from the window and sighing deeply, the old King plodded toward his sword and armor. Somehow, he'd known this day would come.

When he reached the courtyard, the young Knight dispatched him fairly quickly... it was really no contest... he with all the vigor of youth. The young Knight went directly from the courtyard to the Queen's chambers... it was, after all, she that he had come for. The young Knight was crowned King and he and the Queen were wed and she bore him two children... the Prince and Princess. They were so like their parents with that fiery nature...

After a time, the young Knight crowned King was no longer young. Laying on his bed near the end of his life on earth, he bade the Prince come to him and he took his hand and charged him with care of the kingdom and of the royal family. "Take care that your sister finds a good mate", the King said. "She will need someone special to balance her fire."

The Prince was shortly thereafter crowned King. He ruled alongside his sister, who, as she aged took on more of the watery qualities that had lain latent in her character. She was still beautiful but seemed to love quiet and peace after the passion of her youth had been spent. She often looked sad. The King's promise to find her a good mate was quickly forgotten.

It was after several years of ruling as a team that word came to the King of a young upstart in the hills... emotional and passive. How could this be a threat to him, this Airy part of Fire? In fact, he thought to himself... why wait? I should take care of this threat here and now. And so, the King ordered that a band of soldiers be made ready and he would ride out and take care of this young man once and for all. The King did not realize he was riding into a trap.

The young Knight of Cups was not one to challenge the old King, but he did have an interest in ruling. He had heard about the Princess and her beauty... he could get completely enthused when imagining himself in the castle with her, but just didn't want to have to fight a huge battle to get there. So... when hearing about the old King putting together a small army to take care of him, he devised a plan. He would parlay with the King and at this meeting, see that he met his death.

The old King arrived at the place of parlay in his chariot, which was quite heavy. He was in his armor and as the parlay agreement had specified, left his sword in camp. He wasn't worried as his well-armed troops were with him and the young Knight appeared alone. He rode out on his white charger to greet him. Suddenly, his fine black fiery horse started sinking and his chariot with it! They were sinking in a massive quicksand and with his armor he could hardly move. His friends tried to no avail to throw him a rope or to reach for his arms, but both he and his chariot were hopelessly lost. As the Knight approached, grinning with his victory, the old King said through tearful eyes... "Take care of my sister..."

The Knight's companions came out from behind the trees and rocks that had hidden them and took the old King's party captive. They were marched back to the castle in shackles. The Knight quickly had himself crowned King and married the former Princess... hereafter to be known as the Queen of Cups.

This new King was different than the old... the old man might have been fiery and boastful, but he was always honest. This Knight/King seemed to go very much by feelings and when work needed to be done, he was quick to assign it to someone else. The Queen however, did find that his emotional makeup was a good match for her own. Her brother always wanted noise and activity around him, which made him difficult to live with. It seemed her new husband enjoyed the quiet as much as she did. The two were happy together and soon had two children, the Prince and Princess.

After a time, the new King became old and in typical passive fashion, neglected his duties and the kingdom fell into disrepair. The people became restless and soon began to demand improvements. The Prince took advantage of this opportunity to garner the love of the people. He orchestrated the downfall of his father and the people demanded that he be crowned in his father's stead. His father and mother were exiled to a lovely island off the coast. He and his sister ruled the kingdom together.

The sister, the Princess of Cups was famous in her youth for her gift of dance. At celebrations, it was always a matter of some wagering to see whom she would choose as her partner. She dated several young men of good family, but grew quickly bored with them. She left a trail of broken hearts throughout the kingdom. She was like a muse, that inspired others and cavorted in the ecstasy of life. As she aged, she grew more interested in books and learning. So what if there had never been an educated woman in the kingdom! It became her new passion... Soon, she was known as the Queen of Swords as no one had ever been able to touch her heart.

Her brother the King, wanted to find for his sister a fitting mate. It appeared that she would never do so if left to her own devices, and so... he hatched a plan that would require no war or bloodshed, as he was a pacifist. He announced that a festival would be held in order to honor the accomplishments of the people of the kingdom. They would hold a tournament at this festival and the prize for winning would be his sister's hand in marriage. After that, he planned to retire and should the young man be fitting, allow him to rule after him. Since he himself had never married, he felt ready to retire and seek a mate of his own.

The tourney was announced and many Knights gathered from across the land... even from outside their borders and neighboring kingdoms. Knight after Knight was dehorsed and humiliated. The Queen/Princess watched with her immovable face. On occasion, a flicker of interest would cross it. The Prince/King watched carefully to see if she favored one of the young men over the others... There was one. A Knight mounted on a golden steed with wings on his helm. A Knight that fought fiercely... yet at the same time remained cool. His horse and he both had fire in their eyes, but reined in their passion to be an extremely effective team. He was a master with the sword and dispatched challenger after challenger. After the tourney ended and the victor was announced, he rode up to the box where the Queen was watching, grabbed her about the waist and threw her over the pommel on his saddle. Angry and kicking, he rode off with her. The King watched in amusement as no other man had managed to even get this much response out of his sister...

About 3 weeks later, the Queen and her new husband arrived back at the castle. She sought out her brother and told him about the wonderfully passionate honeymoon they had in the mountains. The air was clean and crisp and she loved it there. The kingdom of her new husband was one of learning and scholarly pursuits. She announced her plans to leave their ancestral home and go live with him. This change did throw a monkey wrench into his retirement plans, but no matter... his sister was well matched and this made him happy. The Queen went away with the Knight/King to his land in the mountains and they had two children, the Prince and Princess.

The old King of Cups had trouble getting out of bed these days... he had never gotten around to finding a replacement or having children or marrying. He knew procrastination was one of his failures. He occasionally got very depressed about that... His sister the Queen remembered her brother in his old age and sent her son... the Prince of Swords to him. She said he needed to learn about kingdom management and who better to learn from than her dear brother. Her brother the King was overjoyed... finally he could have the time off he so wanted! After a short time, he happily turned over the reins to his nephew...

After many years had passed, news came to the nephew/King that his father, the King of Swords had passed on. He longed to see his mother again and take care of her in her old age, so he asked that she be brought to stay in his castle. It had been many years since she'd seen the land of her youth and the doctors said it might be good for her health to be where the sun was warmer and the summers were long. His sister, a warrior in her own right as women were valued as equals in the mountain kingdom, was appointed to rule in her father's place. As she aged, her earthy nature began to become more prominent. Always a student of learning and science, she slowed down to just listen... to the breezes and to the thrumming of the earth. She knew all about the outer, now she seemed to want to go inward and learn about what could be gleaned from silence and meditation. One of her favorite pastimes was her garden.

She became known as a holy woman... Always a wise ruler, Spirit moved through her as well as intellect. Often she was called upon to judge conflicts between citizens of her kingdom. She was known as wise and fair, earthy and generous. One day, a man came to call upon her. He was from a neighboring kingdom and had heard of her wisdom. He was dependable and generous. He approached her about uniting their kingdoms with a marriage between them. He said that he was not a man given to great passion, but he knew they would love each other in time. It was a practical solution to both their kingdoms and she accepted. He had been right. They did grow to love one another and she had two children with him, a Prince and a Princess...

The End/Beginning