AUTHOR’S NOTE: Once again in the tarot literature, I’ve come across the old assumption that the Pages can represent “messages” for the querent when they appear in a spread. At other times I’ve seen the Knights described as “messengers” entering the situation. I thought it would be worthwhile to examine the differences between the two since there seems to be some confusion. I believe Waite was relying on “type-casting” of his Pages as court couriers based on historical precedent in the Tarot de Marseille and other early packs, while the Knights convey movement in general.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, in establishing what might be called a “power grid” for the four ranks of the tarot court, described the Princesses (aka Pages) as “The Power of Reception and Transmission.” This implies a “pass-through” function: the Princesses don’t originate the content, they just facilitate its in-house delivery, much like a Medieval herald or page. The Knights, as “Power in Action,” could be considered the “postmen,” perhaps between neighboring principalities in their endless overland questing.

In another place the Golden Dawn determined that the mounted figures (originally Kings but later Knights) represent someone or something (which could be information) “entering” the matter when they face into the flow of the spread (i.e. looking upstream in anticipation) or “leaving” the matter when they face with the flow (i.e. looking downstream toward the exit). The keynote is their mobility.

Because the Pages in RWS-style decks are usually shown as standing still while the Knights exhibit various degrees of locomotion, I tend to see the latter as evidence of dawning awareness regardless of which way they’re facing. Something about the matter is “on the move,” implying that the querent will be informed of its intentions in the near future. The Pages, on the other hand, are still thinking about it.

When they appear in the present or future of a reading, I typically see all of the cards as offering advice of some kind, so it seems unnecessary to have a specific “message” or “messenger” card. However, I can certainly appreciate that one of the more energetic Knights can place greater emphasis on the prompt uptake of any such guidance. I don’t find the same need for haste with the Pages since they are more restrained in their role. They might be lively in their youthfulness but they can’t match the dynamic intensity of the Knights when the latter are on a mission to “spread the word.”