Tarot of the Old Path - Study Group - Queen of Swords

huredriel

Well thought I'd put down some of my thoughts about my most favourite court card, one I think gets a really bad press - the lovely Queen of Swords.

Here we have our Queen looking to the front of the card, whilst her body is slightly angled, it feels as if she moving from past to present. Her face looks rather stern, haughty almost and I suppose some would say a sneer on her face. This to me is a face of someone who has undergone a lot in life, knows her own worth and will stand up for herself.

She has upon her head a white veil, which is moving with the wind, flowing as though towards the future - the white veils always make me think of intuition - so this to me would be intuition, experience and knowledge flowing through our Queen's mind. Securing this is her crown, yellow as denoted by the colour of the suit. It has sharp prongs around the front, with the middle 3 being the tallest. This makes me think of protectiveness, as if she is presenting a front to others, appearing strong and authoritarian, whilst keeping the inner softness hidden. Also gives a sense of a dangerous/edgy feeling around her ....... try to bite and you will no doubt feel her sting. Her brown hair is bound by yellow netting making me think of all the thoughts and mental processes being kept inside, hidden. She is wearing yellow earrings, again of a spiky variety, making me think that her sense of hearing is also sharp.

Her cloak and dress are yellow, again befitting the suit. The cloak is held together by a clasp of yellow rope and 2 buttons which look to me to be flowers, perhaps denoting the inner softness that she has.

She is clasping a very very sharp sword in her right hand, it is plain apart from a red handle, denoting truth, clarity of thought and honesty. She wears 3 bands around her wrist, one blue, one silver (or white) and one red. Not sure what they are supposed to relate to, perhaps Kabballah, but I always think of chakras when I see them, root (red), throat (blue) and crown(clear/silver). She is also holding lavender in her hand, 8 stalks are visible. This is to me denotes a need for healing, and from pulling from her inner hidden strength to do so.

Don't use books so will be interested to see what it says although I am very biased about this Queen as I always choose her as my significator LOL :)
 

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Emily

Hi Huredriel,

I too was a little disappointed in the LWB description of the Sword Queen - Quote 'A woman who is always on guard, a widow, separation, a sad woman. Unquote.

I don't see the Sword Queen like this, yes she can be hard as nails - its part of who she is but she is very intellectual, someone you would want on your side - a lady with a quick mind. The qualities of this Queen come in handy when dealing with certain types of people. Also to me the lavender shows her softer side.
 

Rhiamon

I'm gonna find my book and see what more it has on this lovely lady. This is my mom's significator, and I agree, I think she has a softer side too.
 

Rhiamon

ok, the book says that the 3 points on her crown stand for the 3 phases of the Goddess. Maiden, Mother, crone...the red, white, and blue bracelets are for the Goddess too...her cloak stands for dignity, and the lavender represents distrust...hmmm, that one loses me.
 

Emily

Hi Rhiamon,

Thats a new one on me too lol - I don't see the lavender meaning that either but maybe the distrust is one of her attributes, it might even be showing her shadow side - which is a side of the Sword Queen I wouldn't want to get on.

I haven't got the book yet, still waiting for it and hoping that it may come tomorrow but I'll read through it, take in what I agree with and forget the rest. :)
 

huredriel

"Distrust" - that's very interesting ...... because if you take it that there is a healing aspect needed ........ it would be only natural to feel distrust in view of past pain surely?

Yes I can see how dignity plays in, although I think for those who don't know her, it can come across as aloofness instead.
 

Emily

Well it took me a little longer to get the book but I do have two decks now as well as the book (lesson learned:- always check ISBN's)

And I'm pleased to see that the book doesn't just focus on the negative attributes of this very intelligent Queen. I'm also glad that now I won't just have the LWB to go at with this deck. I like the cloak of dignity around her shoulders.