The Pages: Modern RWS Tarot Card Meanings
Pages: RWS Court Ranks explained
Pages are the young "messengers" and "students" of the tarot court. They represent new and exploratory phases of their respective Suit. Pages as a Rank carry the energy of youth, curiosity, inexperience, and boundless potential.
Historically, they are the young children who carry messages and news (the specific sort depends on the suit). Finally, the Pages are enthusiastic students but possess little actual skill.
How to Read the RWS Pages in a Tarot Reading
As People (Querent or Others)
When a Page appears in a reading representing a person, it often points to a young individual, such as a child or a young adult, who is full of curiosity and just beginning their journey. However, this card is not limited by age and can just as easily represent an adult who is embodying a "beginner's mind."
This is the apprentice who is eager but inexperienced, the intern on their first day, or a friend who has just picked up a new passion and is filled with a raw, untrained enthusiasm. This person is inquisitive, excited, and open to learning, but they may also be naive, restless, or lack the discipline and follow-through that comes with experience. They are the eternal student, defined by their potential rather than their accomplishments.
As Situations or Events
More often than not, the Pages arrive in a reading to signal an event or a specific message, rather than a person. They are the harbingers of new information and the very first phase of a new cycle. The Page of Wands, for example, might manifest as an exciting invitation to travel, a sudden burst of creative inspiration, or the official start of a new passion project. The Page of Cups often signals a romantic overture, a heartfelt apology that clears the air, or happy news related to family and emotions, such as a birth announcement. The Page of Swords brings clarifying news, a challenging new idea, or even gossip, while the Page of Pentacles is the most tangible, representing a new job offer, a scholarship, or a promising financial opportunity.
As Traits To Embody
When a Page appears in the advice position, the message is almost always a clear and enthusiastic 'yes' to a new beginning. The universe is encouraging you to embrace your curiosity and dive into something new, even if you do not feel you are an expert. The advice is to be willing to be a beginner, to ask questions, and to embrace the learning process with an open mind. It is a call to start that new project, enroll in that class, or pursue that new hobby you have been considering. This card asks you to set aside cynicism or the fear of failure and to approach the situation with the same fresh-eyed wonder and enthusiasm as the Page. Be open to the messages that are coming your way and greet new opportunities with the excitement they deserve.
Page Cards RWS Meanings
Click on a Page card to learn about it’s Rider Waite Smith meanings (upright and reversed) in depth.
Additional Notes: RWS Page Rank
Waite's Divinatory Page Rank Meanings
A.E. Waite, in his 1911 text The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, did not provide a single unified meaning for the "Page" rank. Instead, he described them individually, with a clear running theme of them being messengers and young people. For the Page of Wands, he states: "A dark young man, faithful, a lover, an envoy, a postman... Has the chief qualities of his suit." For the Page of Cups: "A fair young man, one given to study, reflective; a quiet messenger. Brings good tidings..." For the Page of Swords: "A sprightly youth, active and dexterous... an indiscreet person, a spy..." And for the Page of Pentacles: "A dark young man, a scholar... application, study, scholarship... A messenger bearing news and explanations..." Collectively, Waite's interpretations cast the Pages as envoys, postmen, and scholars, whose personalities and messages are defined by their suit.
Astrological Correspondences: Golden Dawn vs Popular-Modern
The astrological associations for the court cards are complex, with two primary systems in use.
In the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, from which the RWS deck derives, the Pages (or Knaves) were elementally associated with Earth. They represented the "earthly part" of their suit's element. Thus, the Page of Wands was "Earth of Fire," the Page of Cups was "Earth of Water," the Page of Swords was "Earth of Air," and the Page of Pentacles was "Earth of Earth." This system positions the Pages as the most grounded, tangible, and manifest expression of their element's energy.
A more popular modern system, however, often links the Pages to the four mutable signs of the zodiac, which reflects their energy of change, curiosity, and new beginnings. In this common modern interpretation, the Page of Wands is linked to Sagittarius, the Page of Cups to Pisces, the Page of Swords to Gemini, and the Page of Pentacles to Virgo.
The individual Pages, like the rest of the Tarot Court cards, also have their own astrological correspondences, discussed in their respective articles.
