The 4 Aces and the 16 Court Cards

4 Aces and 16 Court Cards

"Four pentagrams, representing the ace and four court cards of each suit, are placed upon the extremities of the Rose Cross of Manifestation." -Duquette, Thoth Tarot, 50 The combination of the elements are represented by the colors of the pentagrams on the arms of the cross. Duquette states on pages 50 and 51 (Thoth Tarot):

• The pentagram representing the ace and courts cards of fire (on the left arm) is colored green, (the combination of air-yellow and water-blue)
• The pentagram representing the ace and court cards of water (on the right arm) is colored orange, (the combination of air-yellow and fire-red)
• The pentagram representing the ace and court cards of air (on the top arm) is colored purple, (the combination of the fire-red and water blue)

I would also like to point out that the color of the pentagrams on these arms are complementary to the extremities on which they exist.

The earth element is treated differently because the Princess, the earthy aspect of each suit, doesn't rule the 30 degrees of the zodiacal year, unlike the Knight, Queen, and Prince. On page 89 of the Book of Thoth, Crowley states, "the climax of the Descent into Matter is the signal for the redintegration (restoration to a former state) by Spirit."
Duquette further elaborates: "On the Hermetic Rose Cross, the earth pentagram is pure white, but the entire lower extremity of the cross, upon which it sits, is divded into four sections colored black, citrine (a mixture of blue, red, and yellow but with a predominance of yellow), olive (a mixture of the same colors but w/ a predominance of blue), and russet (the same but with a predominance of red)."