queen of swords

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 Jun 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

martyn_uk	02 Jun 2005
how does everyone else interpret the queen? i find her to be a bit moody or aloof?

WhiteRaven	02 Jun 2005
martyn_uk wrote: how does everyone else interpret the queen? i find her to be a bit moody or aloof? I agree with your interp....I also apply the Queen as a Crone.....a wise Crone. Someone that you can seek advice from. Someone that is able to cut through the crap and shed light.

MercyMe	02 Jun 2005
She's a woman of deep thinking and hence the sorrows that come with kind of analytical mind. Simpson's fans here, help me out...Lisa Simpson once said something about how the smarter a person is the more unhappy they are? Something like that. The Queen of Swords has a superb bullsh*t detector and a really sharp wit. She has a way with words, both positively and negatively. You probably won't win an argument with her. ~Mercy

ros	02 Jun 2005
I find this Queen very direct and clear with her words. Sometimes she will take the other side of the conversation just to bring a balance to an issue. She can see both sides of any issue. Very intelligent & sometimes too blunt! Nice company if you don't take words too personally. Just some thoughts.

gareth.	02 Jun 2005
but yes intolerant and judgemental.An indication of somehow not fitting in. A matter sometimes of words before warmth.

TarotGirlJess	02 Jun 2005
a very smart, crafty, manipulative woman. it's all about her and HER feelings, opinions, ect. she can lie without blinking and is absicly a not nice person.. or is nice as long asshe gets her way

Ace	02 Jun 2005
Basically I see her as as person who cuts through the crap. Tells it like it REALLY is. Painfully direct sometimes. But not necessarily a bad person. Just sharp tongued. Ace

Moongold	02 Jun 2005
It depends on your question and the other cards which surround her. Context is criticial. All of the cards have many dimensions and it would be a shame to limit yourself to just a few - which would probably be your own projections or someone else's prejudices to start with. :) The Queens hold the instinctive nature of femininity - of nature, creativity, heart and soul. As well, they each enact charactistics of their suit. Queens have elemental associations with water and Swords with air. So the Queen is water of air. The Queen of Swords could be the mistress of intellectual creativity. She could be a poet, writer, painer, composer, teacher, journalist. There are other dimensions to her as well, as with everyone! Her words can be cutting, her thinking negative. It very much depends on your context, question and surrounding cards. :)

stella01904	02 Jun 2005
MM ~ Neighboring cards, neighboring cards! Favorable cards nearby, she's an unbeatable ally, sees through schemes, no b.s., etc. Unfavorable cards beside her, she's The B*tch in your world, watch your back. Tarot is subjective, just as people are. The same Queen through different eyes. BB, Stella

Alice23	02 Jun 2005
Hi Martyn. I had this card constantly come up for me last and this year...and the person it concerned was definetely a reversed Queen of Swords!- Manipulative, cutting with her words, also quite selfish in some ways and very clever - not somebody to cross, get on the wrong side of or get into an argument with - because she would always win. Also somebody who was quite competitive. Alice x

Red Emma	02 Jun 2005
MercyMe wrote: She's a woman of deep thinking and hence the sorrows that come with kind of analytical mind. Simpson's fans here, help me out...Lisa Simpson once said something about how the smarter a person is the more unhappy they are? ~Mercy Okay, I'm kind of cranky today, lost a bit of sleep last night, but where on earth did you find these ideas? Neither one of them are across-the-board true. In fact, I would suspect that they would apply to only the smallest percentage of the group. I wonder if there's any respectable academic research on the happiness quotient of different personality types. I'd like to see it before making up my mind. Actually, the QS is a very smart lady, one who has her life all lined up. She runs a business, writes a novel, and cooks up a special formula for a cranky baby. All before lunch. Which she's smart enough to tell her husband to either eat down town, or fix his own. Maybe make a sandwich for her while he's about it. She's also a registered lobbyist for save the earth causes, and she has to talk to a couple of state senators before this afternoon's vote on legislation to remedy shrinking water tables. Actually, the QS is one of my heroines. Or did you all ready figure that out?

MercyMe	02 Jun 2005
First off, let me say I love the Queen of Swords and she frequently comes up as my significator and as representing me in spreads. I vacillate between her and the Queen of Wands, depending. Actually, Red Emma, I've read several sources that say the Queen of Swords is traditionally representative of a widow or divorced woman who has suffered deep grief and sorrows. I also see her has exceedingly intelligent and sharp, and I have found that highly intelligent people do tend to think more deeply about things which can lead to a kind of sadness because of one's limitations to do much about, say, world hunger, war, predjudice, etc. In the Bruegel tarot, for example, she is portrayed a woman of sadness and tears, brokenhearted. In the Victoria Regina tarot the Queen of Swords is represented by a mourning Queen Victoria. In Mary Greer's Understanding the Tarot Court the Queen of Swords is described thusly: "Typical Roles, Masks, Subpersonalities: Mature feminine; mother; widow ;single mom; forsaken ;intellectual; thinker; writer; researcher; disciplinarian; wicked stepmother; ice queen." Personality Styles and values: Sad ; demanding and aloof, with a penetrating mind; austere; honesty; integrity; frank; severe; reserved; detached; clinical; cool; absorbed in problem-solving; discerning; discriminating; precise; skeptical; ingenious; alert; keen; sharp; self-reliant autonomy and independence, thinks independently; impartial; better at organizing concepts and ideas than people; logical; abundance of ideas; open-minded; values competence; easily detects flaws; develops strategies; directs; anticipates problems, generates solutions; delegates well; process oriented rather than product oriented..." (and so on, bold mine) Stresses, Problems, Weaknesses: Hypercritical, fault-finding, finicky, belittling, demeaning, disparaging; demands accountings; severs when necessary; unyielding; dominating; hairsplitting arguments; dismisses the illogical; sharp-tongued; hurtful; calculating coolness;...sterility; insensitive to others' emotions; vindictive; chastises; punishes; judgmental. Traditional Meanings: Widowhood; sadness; sorrow; want; absence; scarcity; barrenness; indigence; poverty;misfortune; empty; vacant; unfilled; unoccupied; idel; dormant; free; loss ; the plotter; forsaken woman ; malice; Joan of Arc; fascinating, if cruel; subtle; quick; intensely perceptive; sterility; mourning ; keen observation; confident, evil wishing; a female enemy. (And these are not the reversed meanings, they are even less flattering) So, she is a complex figure and has a long history of meanings, some of which do reflect intense sadness with high intelligence, she's certainly learned life's lessons experientially as well as through intellectual pursuits. ~Mercy

Tabby	02 Jun 2005
Here lately when I have been using the Quest Tarot(Mother of Swords) I've been getting a reversed queen of swords. And it is in regard to someone and it is usually telling me to not pursue the matter any farther. Or I use it a significator of someone who is kinda close to me and I see it as someone who doesn't allow anyone to get too close. Someone who doesn't allow anyone near their private sanctuary. It's like you can only get so close and they hide. And that is how I see the Queen of Swords. It has an air of mystery and you can't get close. If that makes any sense.

autumn star	02 Jun 2005
Thanks for that MercyMe, I often think of the Queen of Swords as my signifactor card too, but in some ways she is not like me at all. I associate with her because of my background in writing and literature. I definately associate her with intellectuality. I use the Morgan Greer deck and I don't see her as a widow/divorced woman type of figure - she looks out of the card with penetrating and questioning eyes. So there are two views of the Queen of Swords- one that associates her with intellectualism and thoughts and one that associates her with sadness, widowhood and an ice queen persona. The way that she could be interpreted in a spread would depend on the surrounding cards and on what deck you used :)

Emeraldgirl	03 Jun 2005
I find her to be a manipulator yes but also bluntly, brutally honest(and a bit of contridiction). She has the sharpness of wit to mainpulate situations to her advantage but she also seems not to have time to mince words and make nice soothing noises she will just say it as it is and if it hurts well tough. I find her to be a bit cold and aloof as well.

psychic sue	03 Jun 2005
Traditionally she is seen as a "wise woman of sadness" - a widower or a divorcee. I think it's a bit too limiting to put her in that box only. She is wise yes, and has experienced life's ups and downs, but for me, the main thing about her is that she is ruled by her head and not her heart. Her intellect and reasoning take precedent over any emotion she may feel. She usually shows up when you NEED to let your reasoning take over OR when you need to lighten up a little - dependent upon her position in the spread. Of course, as with all court cards, it can merely be a description of someone's character (or your own). Sue x

Kiama	03 Jun 2005
I intensely dislike the idea of attaching marital status to any Court Cards. It implies that a widow or divorced woman can only have the personality of the Queen of Swords - which assumes so many things which may be wrong. It also strikes me that the one Queen in the Tarot who tells the truth, who questions everything, who has a clear and logical approach and doesn't accept traditional ideas, is the one that was labelled as the B*tch, the Widow, the sad woman, the divorcee... After all, how could such a woman expect to hold down a husband for very long? The one Queen who doesn't bend over backwards to accept traditional ideas that are placed upon her is demonised and made into something negative. For me, the Queen of Swords is neutral until the surrounding cards suggest otherwise - but even then I don't apply a negative-positive judgement to HER, only to the way the thoughts and intellect she represents are being used by the querent. For me, the Queen of Swords is the philosopher (as opposed to the Logician and War General for the King of Swords), the teacher, but above all the Communicator - she is Water and Air, Water being a carrier and nurturer, and Air being thoughts and intellect. The Queen of Swords communicates ideas and intellect to others in an effective manner. Effective, yes that's another word I'd apply to this card. She is focussed and knows what she wants, and she is very effective at getting there. I'm a great fan of the intellect, and a Philosopher myself - it saddens me that the intellect (usually assigned to the Court Cards) is given such a bad Rep. in the Tarot. Right. Rant over. Red Emma isn't the only one who sees the Queen of Swords as her heroine! ;) Kiama

WhiteRaven	03 Jun 2005
I recently had a reading done where both the reader and I concluded that she represented a "Judge"......female Judge... :)

Esme	03 Jun 2005
I see her has the sword with most flexibility. She cuts the crap, but she can bend. If she chooses to do so of course. Someone who is looking for the future and wants to shape it, but is still aware of present. No useless moves.

firemaiden	03 Jun 2005
I see the Queen of Swords as one who has a gift to see through bouleshite, with vision as clear as a laser beam, she can cut through all the murk.

MercyMe	03 Jun 2005
Just like all the other people in tarot, she is multi-dimensional and which of her qualities come to the fore will depend on the reading and who or what she is representing in that reading. None of the courts (or the cards, for that matter) are all positive. I hear what you're saying Kiama about how the strongest, most intellectual and sharp woman gets painted as a woman who "can't keep a man." Well, if she's a widow, that doesn't really apply, and who knows? If she's divorced, maybe it's because she wouldn't take her husband's crap. I don't think even that meaning has to be negative. But I do agree there is quite a bit of sexism in some of these traditional meanings and that sucks. I've experienced many of the things the Queen of Swords is said to have experienced -- I am intelligent, honest, forthright, sometimes blunt, deep thinker, and I have suffered loss, betrayal, abuse, divorce, single parenthood, and so on. I do carry the weight of these losses and sadness with me, they are incredible teachers. Sometimes, because of the past hurts as well as my own personality, I can come across as cold and aloof, reserved. So, gee, if I disparage the Queen of Swords for being a bit detached, then I disparage myself and I really don't think it's a bad thing. And truth be told, because I have a mastery over language, I know my strengths, and I have used my words as a weapon at times. I can verbally shred someone if I'm inclined. I can be so inwardly focused that I dismiss and disregard others around me. Frankly, I can be a b*tch. (And I don't say that like it's a bad thing) People are such complex creatures, so I really like that these court cards have so many dimensions and facets that can come to the fore depending on the reading. Of course she doesn't *always* represent a divorced or widowed woman. There are many women who have never been married that are Queen of Sword types. She doesn't *always* represent any one of her qualities. In fact, she doesn't always represent a woman. It's just imagery to help some people get a picture in their head of the type of person she could be. When we describe people as "types" we're bound to cross that line into stereotypes, but I think that's what the court cards are: stereotypes. Their individuality only comes out through the various readings. ~Ginny

stella01904	03 Jun 2005
Kiama wrote: The one Queen who doesn't bend over backwards to accept traditional ideas that are placed upon her is demonised and made into something negative. MM ~ There are also a lot of negative connotations around the Cups people - unstable, unreliable, impractical, etc. Coins can be thought to be plodding and dull. Even the Wands can be thought to have an air of irresponsibility around them. They all have their downside. But it is not just the Queen of the Swords suit that people don't like to see. The King might toss you in jail, the Knight and Valet could be spies. RWS is at its general gloomiest with the Swords pips. TdM and regular cartomancy, with its spades, are only slightly better, and even that is arguable. BB, Stella

Red Emma	03 Jun 2005
Kiama wrote: I intensely dislike the idea of attaching marital status to any Court Cards. It also strikes me that the one Queen in the Tarot who tells the truth, who questions everything, who has a clear and logical approach and doesn't accept traditional ideas, is the one that was labelled as the B*tch, the Widow, the sad woman, the divorcee... The one Queen who doesn't bend over backwards to accept traditional ideas that are placed upon her is demonised and made into something negative. Kiama Yeah Kiama! Further Kiama quote: "After all how could such a woman expect to hold down a husband for very long?" Actually, Guys, (Yes I'm still kind of cranky) The QS is the one who knows she can make her own way in the world, who's not shackled by the traditional need to 'hold on to a husband' so she can pay the rent and put food on the table. And she can buy her own diamond rings! If she wants a diamond ring. Maybe she'd prefer her own cabin on the shore, or ... whatever her heart desires. She's got the ability and the moxy to deal with life on her own terms. Yeah, Kiama! Yeah QS!

Lady Maria	04 Jun 2005
This was my card of the day. Actually, twice, because after I picked it from my deck, my husband was holding his deck, and the bottom card was slanted towards me, and the Queen of swords from his deck was also staring at me! I love this card. I think her energy is very straight forward, to the point and clear. Unlike some of views here, I get the feeling that she's non- judgemental- she can clearly see problems with people, but also understands why they are the way they are. Also, I think she has a sense of humor, is witty, and intelligent. She isn't into small talk, and doesn't dance around issues that need addressing. I think her energy is very empowering! Blessings, Maria

osami2717	04 Jun 2005
I AM the Queen of Swords in both her upright and reversed forms...depending on what kind of mood I'm in. I will often speak up, sometimes quite vehemently, when watching tv or listening to talk radio...especially if it is a topic I feel passionately about. My husband will listen to my rant and then say in his loving sarcasm "Honey, why don't you tell me what you Really think." I have a tendency to be opinionated and at times blunt. Mama always says I need more tact [to avoid causing trouble]and yet she comes to me for readings because she knows I won't pussyfoot around, I'll call it as I see it, whatever the problem is. However I can be a bit of a bitch. I have a terrible temper and sometimes I find it difficult to deal with emotions, especially when dealing with the emotions of others. I'm like the ineffectual he-man type who can't take it when a woman cries. I find myself awkwardly patting them on the back and saying "There there" I realize I need to work on being more empathic. I was also alone for a long time. I didn't seriously begin to date until late in my twenties and didn't marry until I was 30. I was and still am a strong, independent woman who doesn't need a man around to feel complete. I can pay the rent and the bill by myself and feel confident enough to go out to eat and the movies by myself. I also associate myself with the Nine of Pentacles, another stong female portrayal... Since I'm currently considering divorce I may be more like the QS than ever before. I love my husband, [he's the king of cups] but lately we've developed problems with trust. And trust is the MOST important thing in a relationship. I like being the Queen of Swords...good and bad attributes alike. I also identify with other strong women like Sigourney Weaver [aliens], Lucy Lawless [xena], and Jodie Foster [silence of the lambs]. I had the QS reversed as my card of the day last friday and boy was that a day from hell... it was like Friday the 13th only worse. And I didn't always react as calmly and cooly as I could have. Maybe reversed signified that I was going to have a bad day or maybe that I SHOULD have handled things a little better. Now if I would have drawn my card in the morning instead of the evening maybe I could have mentally prepared myself for the upcoming ordeal. Note to self: Try to remember to draw cards in the early morning. :D Well begun is half done...like they always say.

Lady Maria	04 Jun 2005
osami2717 wrote: I AM the Queen of Swords in both her upright and reversed forms...depending on what kind of mood I'm in. osami2717,. my sister is very much like you, and, though some find her harsh and become timid around her (mostly because she's so obviously confident in herself and her opinions) I find it absolutely refreshing to be around her- as long as she's not in the reversal postition! I appreciate the honesty as unedited as it is. She's a Gemini, and I'm wondering, because of the air connection, if anyone else sees this card indicating that astrological sign? Blessings, Maria ps, osami2717, all the best with your relationship, I agree that trust is the foundation of any relationship. Hope all goes well.

mingbop	04 Jun 2005
osami, I'm q of swds too. But married for 38 years ...and never manipulating . But I think she has a sad heart as opposed to a light, carefree one...and people come to me when they want to cut through the frills and see it how it is. -- so if they dont want the truth they better stay away ! mary.... aka the evil scheming,manipulating,wise,sad, old crone of the hills !

The queen of swords thread was originally posted on 02 Jun 2005 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.