This is such an interesting card. Thanks to all above for such great reading and insight. As I thaw out from another harsh New England January's day, I found this a great card to begin my pondering of this wonderful deck.
Karen, I know I told you when I purchased my first deck how much it meant to me, but the more I look into the cards and see the layers of complexity evolving from something which on the surface looks so simple ........
This card seems to be so simple on the surface. A woman holding a baby in a snowstorm in front of an opulent church. However, two things stand out to me which have already been mentioned. The contorted face of the woman and the body language between herself and the baby. When I first got the deck, the face really bothered me. I couldn't say why, but it really gnawed away at me. I really believe this is the card of total self-doubt in the wake of making a tough decision.
It is so much more powerful than the RWS version. I find that to be a sad card, not a powerful one (pardon my comparisons, but the RWS is so entrenched in my brain that I ultimately have to compare). For so many years, I saw the RWS as a woman with her child passing a church. As I take out the Universal RW and look at it closer, I am not so sure anymore that this is a child. In fact, a hint of a beard is showing, telling me the person is more mature. Furthermore, the woman seems to be ignoring the beauty of the stained glass while the younger person seems to be drawn to it. One last comparison made me REALLY think of this card - I recently purchased the Tarot of the New Vision which shows the "other side" of the view shown in the RWS. This made me wonder about the woman's decision to pass by the church - how do WE know that what is inside is actually better than where she is going? All we see is the outside of the church. We assume that the comfort of keeping warm in a house of God is the better choice, but do we know for sure? Perhaps she is confident that around the corner is a sanctuary that will be better for her, or more importantly, her child.
Yes, I see the tortured look on her face that a decision has been made and that the child is resisting. She still has doubts that her decision is the right one, but she has turned her head to hide these doubts. Ultimately, it may not work out, but something powerful made this woman make this decision and she is gambling the life of her and her baby on it. In a reading, I would probably interpret this as a caution to someone to really think through any major decisions because the repercussions will not only affect them, but others as well.