DruidCraft Study Group - Queen of Cups

Through this window we get to see the Queen of Cups performing a ritual. She is sumptuously attired in a hooded robe
that morphs from an emerald green to a blue-ish green to a reddish brown with a bit of red at the front. Her undergarment is
a check of brown & green - very nurturing and grounded. She wears about her shoulders a beautiful shawl decorated with
golden Celtic knotwork with red & blue, which is also adorned with a tassel at the back similiar to the tassel at the end of
the Princess of Cups tassel at the end of her beaded cord.
The Queen has her hair in two braids & I think that, along with the hood, was done to reduce distractions. Braiding
her hair may have been a way of helping to get centered.
This Queen has mastered entering her emotional & spiritual depths. The Princess of Cups looked like she was just
starting to discover those realms. The Queen has evolved to a place where she's comfortable & centered in her own power.
I love how the Moon floats above the Queen's cup. I think she's charging the water in the cup with her energy and
that of the Moon. She's the only "elder" member of the courts that's standing. She has her toes in the water. She
obviously wanted direct contact with the water. I think that's a reminder that you shouldn't be in your head all the time.
The physical world & it's sensations feed the soul as well & experiencing it can help you with your inner development. Don't
get lost in your head all the time.

This Queen is one of my favourite Queens. With one foot in the water she really seems connected to her element. You can see a redness in the sky and I wonder if its early dusk or dawn? I haven't read what it says about this card in the book yet.

The beetle on the rock is a beetle that lives by water - I've forgotten the name of it but it has big front claws and is black and large - they are getting rare here in the UK now but I saw one a few years back - its going to plague me now, I'll have to find the name out lol.

Edited to add:-

I think its a male Stag Beetle - and they don't just live by water but in woods, hedgerows - they are very rare according to the sites I've just been to and are the UK's largest beetle, they only live around 3 months as an adult, to breed, unless they find a good place to try and hibernate though the winter.

Wonder what the significance of having this beetle on the Cup Queen's card is?

She's my favourite Queen too...

I think it's a Scarab Beetle [the stag is probably the same family?] sacred in Egypt.... it was believed that it carried the Sun across the sky on its back legs.

In Wicca/Druidism I think? it is a symbol of transformation and earth's fertility.

To Celts places of natural beauty were thought to be the habitat of the gods. And she is standing in a beautiful place... I see her as a druidess full of knowledge and wisdom, yet she seems calm, gentle, even romantic she seems to asorb and reflect her surroundings.

I don't see water in her cup I think it's holds the deepest and most emotional parts of our personality. This Queen tells it's safe to reach inside and see things as they are and to love and be happy with ourselves.


irisa

Yes, I think the beetle and the snake were included to stress the transformational aspect of the Queen of Cups. Like the beetle going through metamorphosis & the snake shedding it's skin throughout its life, it takes a lot of life experience to figure out who you are, to embrace it, & figure out how to balance your strengths & weaknesses. You really have to "break" yourself down to come to that understanding of yourself. The Queen of Cups is a woman who has gone through that process & is an inspiration to those still in the process. She's so confident and comfortable in her skin that she easily stands on her own two feet - metaphorically and physically. Unlike the other Queens & Kings she doesn't need a "prop" like the thrown in the background. She can take it or leave it, because she knows her strength comes from within.

TygrEyes said:

I love how the Moon floats above the Queen's cup. I think she's charging the water in the cup with her energy and that of the Moon.

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Yes I think it is part of an Esbat (full moon celebration) ritual. A ritual where you

Catch the Moon's reflection in your cup and raise it up to salute her, drink in her essence and feel the presence of the God and Goddess.

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I also like the queen is standing and has a foot in the water, being in touch with her element.

The snake:
According to the Animal Druid Oracle, the adder or snake stands for: transformation, healing and life energy.
But snakes were also guardians of wells that were sacred to the Goddess, and would curl up in them at night.

They were sacred to Brighid, goddess of wells, water and fire, and even when she became Christianized as St.Bride, the Gaelic hymns retained this connection:

Early on Bride's morn
Shall the serpent come from the hole,
I will not harm the serpent,
Nor will the serpent harm me.

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I don't know exactly what the stag beetle represents; I think they were considered quite mysterious (well, still are actually), they have a life cycle of seven years but once they reach the adult stage, it is still not quite clear what they live on, some think they live of tree saps.

I'm getting off topic, but here are more interesting (well, for me ) facts about the stag beetle: http://www.royalparks.gov.uk/parks/richmond_park/stag_beetles/about.cfm

Sorry if I repeat what others have said.

Some notes from my journal:

I've laid out all of the court cards so that I can look for similarities and differences. I'm struck by how much like real families they look; these people actually look related - I really like that.

Cups are representative of the water element so naturally there is water in every card.

The skies in the Cups court cards are extremely beautiful. All look as if they depict either dawn or dusk. I think this lnks well to the psychic, intuitive qualities that the members of this family show: Dawn and dusk are times when the 'viel between worlds' is thinnest - good times for spiritual or magical work.

Each member of the Cups family also appears at the shoreline which is another place where the viel is meant to be thin. Shorelines are places where communication with other realms or planes of reality would be possible.

This queen has left her throne (the only one to do so) and is seen in profile performing a ritual. She looks to me as if she's charging or blessing the contents of her chalice with the powers of the moon.

She has one foot in the water - she's in tune with her subconcious and her emotions: The awakening psychic or intuitive powers we saw in the princess have reached maturity in the queen.

The snake near her throne is a symbol of the Goddess; the Divine feminine principal - makes me think of the Hindu serpent goddess Kundalini who sleeps curled at the base chakra and is a symbol of awakening and enlightenment as well as rebirth and transformation.

Not sure about the beetle. I think you're right Emily, it does look like a stag beetle. I like the fact that the animals used in this deck are native to the British Isles.
Beetles may be linked to the element of water because they tend to come out after rainfall.
Beetles are armoured - maybe this has some significance too.

Her robes are very rich looking and she has her hood up, giving an air of mystery and the unknown. The dress she wears under the robe has a tattered hem; in fact all of the Cup courts apart from the Princess have some degree of raggedness to their clothes. Maybe showing them to be more spiritual than practical.
The square pattern on her dress could indicate that she's well grounded.
The green of this card symbolises fertility.

Well that's what I've got in my journal. She's definately my favorite queen.

Love

Sulis xx

I see the connection with draing down the moon as others have posted but it also seems as if the Moon is born from her chalice as well. She is on an archetypal level the primordial mother from whom all feminine mysteries spring forth.

Hmm I like what people have said abot the beetle, it helps, now if I could ony figure that snail on th e9 of Pentacles in the RWS.

In “Pictures From the Heart” Sandra A. Thompson says that snails are a lunar symbol and represent not only feminine energy but also the cycle of death and rebirth. And also that the shell is linked to the spiral and self sufficiency.

The other thing is snails are slow... email vs snail mail maybe there's something in that too

irisa

I've been tinking a lot abut that snake. In different branches of paganism the snake is associated alterntively with water and with fire. Jaq D. Hawkin's elemental spirits series she discusses the ways in which many creatures ride the line between water and fire, notably dragons.

When teh snake is in its water aspect I think it is linked with the primordial aspect of the goddess, the progenetrix, and the deep unconcious.

I've bought a lot of decks as of late, but the Druidcraft is by far my favorite. I just found this thread, and this, in particular, has stuck a serious chord right now:

TygrEyes said:

Yes, I think the beetle and the snake were included to stress the transformational aspect of the Queen of Cups. Like the beetle going through metamorphosis & the snake shedding it's skin throughout its life, it takes a lot of life experience to figure out who you are, to embrace it, & figure out how to balance your strengths & weaknesses. You really have to "break" yourself down to come to that understanding of yourself. The Queen of Cups is a woman who has gone through that process & is an inspiration to those still in the process. She's so confident and comfortable in her skin that she easily stands on her own two feet - metaphorically and physically. Unlike the other Queens & Kings she doesn't need a "prop" like the thrown in the background. She can take it or leave it, because she knows her strength comes from within.

Click to expand...

Feels like I'm constantly in the state of exactly this. And wouldn't you know, I identify very strongly with the Queen of Cups. This is a new interpretation of the card for me. Very helpful.

Is there a thread with all Druidcraft threads around here somewhere? I'll look, but if anyone can find it easily and post it, I'd appreciate it muchly.