Arthurian/Hallowquest: Stone Maiden, Huh?!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 16 Oct 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

augursWell	16 Oct 2003
I recently pulled my Arthurian(Hallowquest by the Matthews) deck out of "moth balls" and realized how much I love the artwork for this deck. I remember leaving it on the shelf way back because the symbolism was too vague at the time for what I wanted. I pulled the Stone Maiden(Page of Pentacles) in a reading and it turned out to be very appropriate(I have a boss who seems to enjoy handing his underlings their head on a platter. Note to self: *NEVER* be a boss like this.) However when I look at the card it doesn't really make sense to me as a meaning. The book refers to Peredur's vision of a maiden with a tray containing the head of a beheaded man and gives a meaning; "she is a wise and discerning student of the mysteries; capable and supremely practical, she listens to the voice of the earth." Huh!? How does that fit with a head on a platter? Anybody use this deck a lot?

Aoife	17 Oct 2003
I don't have the deck nor have ever seen the card, so based solely on your description, here are my ramblings: Maiden suggests innocence, purity. Dispassionately handling a severed head - suggests a sadist or scientist. You mention no imagery or symbolism suggesting sadist - so I would presume scientist. The head and brain as seat of the intellect, neural pathways, co-ordinator or physical/emotional responses etc. The maiden, seeking to understand the unknown in physical form. No emotional responses or flights of fantasy here, but as the book says, discerning and practical.

firemaiden	17 Oct 2003
Are stones in this deck rather associated with Swords than pentacles? I know you said earth.... but, are they associating swords with earth or something? The image for the Queen of Swords in Thoth shows her holding the newly severed head of a bearded man in her hand. The Sword Queen is sometimes thought of as a "castrating" type of woman. (Especially by intellectually insecure males who think woman are to feel and not think... grrr..grr...grrr .... DOWN GIRL!!)

Dark_angel	17 Oct 2003
Perhaps the imagery is to do with the period in which the deck's theme is set? Religion and science were very closely bound, in many respects being the same thing, and sacrifice, even human sacrifice, was an accepted part of this. Maybe the woman is being shown to have sacrificed a part of herself (her 'masculine' side) in pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, or perhaps she has sacrificed a lover or a man who was important to her so that she can show her devotion to her god and her chosen path. Or it could show that the pursuit of knowledge, if it is not reined in by ethics, can lead to great tragedy?

raeanne	17 Oct 2003
Hi all, My first thought on this is that the Stone Maiden has the ability to separate the head from the heart. Being able to think clearly and logically even in an emotional situation gives the maiden a distinct advantage. This makes her extremely practical. When everyone else is running around with their head cut off, she calmly and gently solves the problems.

catlin	17 Oct 2003
The head was also considered as the seat of bravery and the soul according to the Celts and some other tribes so maybe carrying the head in front of her breast may also suggest a kind of protection/spiritual "force field". I know, this is no common explanation but maybe another idea.

augursWell	18 Oct 2003
Well, I was up late last night so it was a bit of a quick post. Here's some more detail... Stones in this deck are what normally is pentacles. There is also a swords suit so they are not reversing these suits. It is very Celtic and the stone on this card is a single standing stone about the same size as the figure. She is walking in snow in front of the stone and there are some drops of blood in front of her on the snow from the platter. There is a beautiful landscape behind and a crow flying over the standing stone. The image certainly, to my mind, does not suggest revenge or cruelty on the part of the maiden unless it is a totally dispassionate kind. I think one has to know more about the Arthurian legends, which I don't, to understand the symbolism of the head on the platter. I think the platter is actually a "platten" which is symbolic in the Arthurian legends but I don't remember the specifics. I can connect with the ideas suggested about Science and the head as the seat of the soul. Calmly handling problems. I think personal sacrifice for the sake of a cause was an important theme of the Arthurian legends. It does make a little more sense now.

augursWell	18 Oct 2003
By the way, Solandia has some of the images for this deck here on Aeclectic: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/arthurian/index.html For some reason this deck speaks to me right now, maybe because Winter is coming on here in the States. :)

firemaiden	18 Oct 2003
That was a very evocative description Augurswell, and this was a fascinating discussion. I confess, I have an interest in the severed heads myth because of their association with Salome. (Did a whole thread on Salome in your readings once). Anyhow, thanks for bringing up this very interesting card.

The Arthurian/Hallowquest: Stone Maiden, Huh?! thread was originally posted on 16 Oct 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.