AUTHOR’S NOTE: In my recent readings I’ve been interpreting the Page of Swords as being “impatient for an answer.” Today, while reading about the Page of Wands in Benebell Wens Holistic Tarot, I realized that this mild form of agitation can be applied to the Pages of all four suits. Because of their immaturity, aversion to delay could be said to come with the territory. They are perhaps over-eager for the kind of experience promised by their element, but the time is not yet right and they have much to learn before it is.

While exploring the observable “posture” of the sixteen court cards, whether sitting, standing or moving, I once noted that the Pages stand erect as if they are about to take a step forward, but they are hesitant to commit due to the twin disincentives of insecurity and unpreparedness. All of the urgency they can summon won’t be sufficient to make it happen if they aren’t poised to optimize the potential. In The Way of Tarot, Alejandro Jodorowsky surmised that the Pages are hanging around outside the palace gate, waiting to be invited in by the other “royals.”

The Pages have been assigned the definition of “messages,” most likely due to their role in the Medieval court as a runner who carried sealed missives between the nobles but wasn’t permitted to read them (if couriers were even literate in that day and age). In tarot terms, the contents of such messages would be divulged by the other cards, the Pages just herald their imminent arrival.

The superficial milieu of social media seems to be tailor-made for the Pages because it exemplifies Marshal McLuhan’s premise that “the medium is the message:” electronic engagement has become the modern norm, replacing the fine art art of face-to-face conversation. It also speaks eloquently of the “instant gratification” culture, another manifestation of the impatience that is symptomatic of the Pages.

The Pages symbolize the desire to connect and communicate, but their circumstances in a reading don’t always encourage it, particularly if they turn up reversed; this could lead to denied access and frustrated intentions. If we don’t think too deeply about it, they are certainly curious and naturally uninhibited, but they may not enjoy the freedom or the wherewithal to make good on the inclination They might be freshly scrubbed and primed for that first date, but opportunity won’t necessarily come knocking.

In the Golden Dawn’s “hierarchy of power,” the Pages (the GD’s “Princesses”) were accorded the function of “reception and transmission;” in short, just a “go-between” with no active role to play other than conveying intent. It was the mounted members of the court, the Kings who later became Knights, that signified events and people entering or leaving a situation. The Pages have much in common with the Aces and the Fool in that they are in a preparatory state of quiescence.

Getting down to specifics, the Page of Wands suggests being “impatient for action;” the Page of Cups “impatient for empathy” (or human caring); the Page of Swords “impatient for relevant information;” and the Page of Pentacles “impatient for satisfaction of physical needs.” When stymied, the Page of Wands succumbs to thwarted ambitions; Cups to unrequited feelings; Swords to stranded ideas; and Pentacles to unfulfilled expectations.

None of them is prone to reflection that might lead to a more reasoned perspective. Like Veruca Salt, the nasty little girl in the original Willy Wonka movie, they “want it now!!!” although they haven’t quite figured out how to get it so all they can do is wring their hands and bemoan their plight (once again I’ll flex the old Paul Masson slogan and say that the Pages at their worst can deliver an impotent “whine before its time”). We can only hope that cooler heads will prevail.