Four palaces,
one turning cycle.
In The Way of Tarot, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Marianne Costa suggest putting the court cards on stage around a palace for each suit, with the Ace as the palace itself (pp. 52–53). The Page stands at the door, unsure whether to go in. Once inside he becomes the Queen, wholly absorbed in her suit. The King has mastered it and looks out from the roof at the kingdoms beyond. The Knight carries what the other three built out into the world.
The palaces sit where the card of The World places their suits: Cups with the angel and Swords with the eagle above, Pentacles with the flesh-coloured animal and Wands with the lion below (pp. 47–49).
The suits also turn into one another. Each Ten, or Knight, already carries the seed of the next Ace, so the energy circulates counterclockwise: Swords to Cups, Cups to Pentacles, Pentacles to Wands, and Wands back to Swords (pp. 74–78). Switch on “The cycle” to see the cards that show it.
Who lives in each palace
- Swords · the intellect: thoughts
- At the door, sword half raised: “To be or not to be?” Inside, her sword held close, at home in her thoughts. On the roof, sword in hand, looking out past his own borders. Rides out on a pale horse, his sword grown almost into a lance.
- Cups · the emotional centre: feelings
- At the door with his cup and its lid in two hands: “To love or not to love?” Inside, gazing at her closed cup, absorbed in what she feels. On the roof, his cup open, his eyes on the horizon. Rides out holding the cup up on his open hand, like a Grail.
- Pentacles · the material centre: needs
- At the door, looking at the coin in his hand, while another lies hidden in the ground: “Keep or spend?” Inside, lifting a larger coin in front of her. On the roof, a coin in his lap. The book also sees a second, floating coin here; the CBD King has only one. Rides out under a coin as big as a sun, and carries a green rod: the Wand to come.
- Wands · the sexual and creative centre: desires
- At the door, leaning on a rough stick: “To do or not to do?” Inside, her carved club resting against her, a hand on her belly. On the roof with the largest, most finely worked wand of the suit. Rides out turning his horse with his knee, where a small flower grows.
How each suit turns into the next
- Swords to Cups
- In the Ten of Swords a second sword appears for the first time: someone else, and with them, feeling.
- Cups to Pentacles
- In the Ten of Cups the top cup lies on its side, and a flower in a circle, like a coin, opens at its mouth.
- Pentacles to Wands
- The Knight of Pentacles already carries a green rod: the Ace of Wands is on its way.
- Wands to Swords
- In the Ten of Wands a pale line runs down the middle wand, and the Knight’s knee flower echoes the crown on the Ace of Swords.
Want to see the whole deck as one structure? The Tarot mandala lays out all 78 cards, courts and suits included, as one pattern, and Two rows sets out the Major Arcana.
These notes are summaries, checked against the CBD Tarot de Marseille by Dr. Yoav Ben-Dov (www.cbdtarot.com, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0), which differs from the book’s deck in places.