Zodiac signs and court cards tarot quiz
Queens, Kings, Knights and Pages: test how the Golden Dawn scheme links the court to the signs, and why a court card is not the sign of a person.
- 5 questions
- ≈ 2 min
- +5 bronze keys for a flawless run
Do the court cards have zodiac signs?
This quiz tests how the court cards of tarot are linked to the zodiac. An honest caveat first: this is where schools disagree the most. That is why Tayna gives the court cards only the element of their suit, Fire for Wands, Water for Cups, Air for Swords and Earth for Pentacles, and assigns them no signs. The quiz covers the best-known scheme, which goes back to the Golden Dawn, and how to use it with care.
In that scheme each court card except the Page spans about thirty degrees of the circle, from the twentieth degree of one sign to the twentieth degree of the next. Most of that arc falls in one sign, which is the sign the card is usually named after. Pages get no sign: in the Golden Dawn they rule quarters of the sky around the pole rather than stretches of the zodiac.
How can you remember which figure goes with which sign?
Queens go with the cardinal signs that open a season: the Queen of Wands is Aries, Cups is Cancer, Swords is Libra and Pentacles is Capricorn. Kings in the familiar Waite-style deck go with the fixed signs of mid-season: the King of Wands is Leo, Cups is Scorpio, Swords is Aquarius and Pentacles is Taurus. Knights take the mutable signs: the Knight of Wands is Sagittarius, Cups is Pisces, Swords is Gemini and Pentacles is Virgo.
Remember that a court card in a reading need not mean a person of that sign. It can describe a role, a manner or your own approach to a task. The Queen of Pentacles might be a caring colleague born under Aries, and the Knight of Swords might be your own haste.
How the quiz works
Each round draws five of twelve questions. Tayna keys go to a flawless round, with unlimited replays. Treat these links as one tradition among several, not as the only right answer.
The questions are built so you can rebuild the scheme by logic rather than memory. Two rules are enough: the suit gives the element of the sign, and the figure gives its place in the season. The Queen opens a season, the King holds its middle and the Knight leads to the turn.
All questions and answers
Open after you play: the full question set with right answers and explanations.
1. What does Tayna take from astrology for the court cards?
Right answer: Only the suit's element
Schools assign signs to the court in different ways, so the site lists only the element of the suit.
2. Which queen goes with Cancer in the Golden Dawn scheme?
Right answer: Queen of Cups
Cancer is the cardinal water sign, and Queens take the cardinal signs. Water is the suit of Cups.
3. Every school of tarot links the court cards to the signs the same way.
Right answer: Myth
This is where schools differ most. The Golden Dawn scheme is the best known, but not the only one.
4. Which signs are the Queens linked to in this scheme?
Right answer: The cardinal signs
Queens take the signs that open a season: Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.
5. Which king goes with Leo in the Golden Dawn scheme?
Right answer: King of Wands
Leo is the fixed fire sign. Kings take the fixed signs, and Fire is the suit of Wands.
6. Your sign is Gemini and you draw the Knight of Swords. How might you read it?
Right answer: As your own quick mind
In this scheme the Knight of Swords is Gemini. He may describe your own speed of thought, not someone else.
7. Which court cards get no sign in this scheme?
Right answer: Pages
In the Golden Dawn the Pages rule quarters of the sky around the pole, not stretches of the zodiac.
8. Which knight goes with Sagittarius in the Golden Dawn scheme?
Right answer: Knight of Wands
Sagittarius is the mutable fire sign, and Knights take the mutable signs. Fire is the suit of Wands.
9. Which signs are the Knights linked to in this scheme?
Right answer: The mutable signs
Knights are in motion, like the mutable signs where seasons turn: Sagittarius, Pisces, Gemini, Virgo.
10. How wide an arc of the zodiac does one court card cover in this scheme?
Right answer: About 30 degrees
From the 20th degree of one sign to the 20th of the next. Most of the arc lies in a single sign.
11. Which king goes with Aquarius in the Golden Dawn scheme?
Right answer: King of Swords
Aquarius is the fixed air sign. Kings take the fixed signs, and Air is the suit of Swords.
12. The Queen of Pentacles in a reading always means a Capricorn.
Right answer: Myth
A court card can be a person of any sign, a role, or your own way of handling things.