Crystal Visions Tarot - By:Jennifer Galasso

[rwcarter]

In the companion book does she talk about the symbolism in the cards or give a description of what's being depicted in the cards? Like the infamous butterfly in the Queen Swords? Does she give any indication of why she put it there or what it means?

[Penthasilia]

Originally Posted by rwcarter

In the companion book does she talk about the symbolism in the cards or give a description of what's being depicted in the cards? Like the infamous butterfly in the Queen Swords? Does she give any indication of why she put it there or what it means?

Well- not directly. But here is what I found, and how I put it together.

In the deck, there are only 2 sword cards that hold butterflies, the ace and queen. Under the Ace- the butterflies are written as a symbol of transition and air. Moving to the queen, the book has "In one hand she holds a sword drawn, in the other a butterfly lights gently on her finger. She's ready for battle when necessary, though she prefers to keep matters civilized. The clouds of conflict part, illuminating the Queen of Swords with the light of hope which rests on the horizon."

Which, let me to thinking a great deal about the suit of swords in general, and the queen in specific. The suit of swords is typically wrought with conflict- though the element of air can bring intellect and communication. The queen, being water of air, may be ruled more by thought than emotion, but she holds the ability to be tempered by her emotions, which is lacking in the other court cards of this suit.

It reminds me of the write up in Pollack's 78 Degrees of Wisdom- that the queen symbolizes experiences of both sorrow and wisdom, and the connection between the two. She has experienced pain and suffering, faced it with courage and through it has found wisdom and understanding. Her sword is the sword of Justice and the Ace of Sword- standing upright with wisdom and the clarity of truth. Although she can be harsh, her lessons have tempered her force and authority- allowing her the ability to retain compassion and avoid maliciousness.

So, in the end, what I had originally thought of as WTF??? has now become very clear. Those butterflies represent what the others have failed to see, and is only present in the Ace and Queen- that the intellect alone cannot rule, and though the swords represent thought and air, thanks to the queen, we have an element of compassion and strength that can help us through the times when the trials of the swords come into our lives.

That is my take anyway- and other thoughts are appreciated.

[Elendil]

The Robin Wood Queen of Swords wears a robe decorated with butterflies. In the book that accompanies the deck Robin Wood points out that they represent the transformative power of knowledge. If we accept that the Sword Queen is the most intellectual Queen then the symbol of the butterfly makes sense. A multi-coloured butterfly would represent the transformative power of knowledge in many areas...

Hope this might be of some help...

[frac_ture]

Originally Posted by Penthasilia

So- the book itself is soft back, with 117 pages, so not that long. However, it is filled with some nice extras and signed by the artist- which is a very nice touch!

The chapters are as follows:
Intoduction; About the Tarot; Minor arcana (overview); Card numbers and basic meanings; Court cards; Reversals; Suit of cups; Suit of Swords; Suit of wands; Suit of Pentacles; Aces; Twos; Threes; Fours; Fives; Sixes; Sevens; Eights; Nines; Tens; Pages; Knights; Queens; Kings; Major arcana; The blank card; Tarot spreads; About the artist; Credits.

The introductory chapters about the tarot, minor arcana, card numbers, court cards, and reversals are pretty short and sweet- set up with the beginner in mind. Good info, but not really applicable to the seasoned tarot user. The suits are similarly given one page of compact beginner information-and then if followed by the meanings of each individual card.

Card meanings: you will find a one page listing for each card with upright and reversal meanings as well as a description of the card- very similar to the LWB. The pages themselves have a B&W image of the card available to view. The text is much larger and easier to read than the LWB. In all honesty- there is only a slight bit added to the regular book that is not in the LWB as far as meanings. Let me give you an example from the reading I did yesterday: Judgment

Judgment represents absolution, atonement and rebirth. With this card, the Fool has reached a significant stage in his journey. It is time now to leave the past behind, along with any guilt and grievances, make amends and move forward. The card can indicate the need to make a tough decision, or a judgment call, making a fresh start or opening up to new circumstances. The card depicts an angel with a trumpet of judgment standing in a field of lilies while spirits fly above. As always, though death comes new life, and a higher calling.

Reversed: When Judgment appears reversed in a spread, it can indicate a lack of atonement for one's sins. Negative karma may be attached to the person in question for not seeing the error of their ways and not feeling guilt for past doings. One will only be absolved if they repent and ask for forgiveness.

*As you can see, there is not a great deal of additional information added to the information already present in the LWB. This listing is pretty consistent with the information change listed in the other cards.

The are you typical spreads listed in the book- Celtic cross, 5 and 3 card spread- and there are new ones such as a mirror spread, 2 fates spread and the months of the year spread. She does list a recommendation for timing with the cards, with cups=days, wands=weeks, pentacles=months, swords=undetermined and aces-10s being 1-10, pages=11, knights=12, kings and queens=undetermined and major arcana=now. (The idea of the timing for the majors is different than I am accustomed to, but good to know that this was her intention while making the deck- so one I will probably follow it here.) Seasons/Directions of the suits---Cups=west/spring, wands=south/summer, pentacles=north/autumn, swords=east/winter.

So, in all- for me I am glad I purchased the book. True, the slight nuances that are added from the LWB are minor, but to me- details count. Also, the text is so much easier to read and the book has a better flow to me than the LWB. There are some interesting spreads that I am interested in practicing and I always enjoy a true book as opposed to a LWB because it is less likely to crushed, torn or eaten by one of the dogs/cats

For you, you would probably feel it is not worth the shipping costs- unless there are a few folks out there that want it and you order a few and split the difference. I hope this helps out. As much as I enjoy the book, I would hate for you to order it and feel that you had wasted time and money on something that did not add anything to your practice. I added the example so that you could determine how much that extra bit adds versus your shipping costs. Hope this helps!

I've now looked the book over a bit more, and I can only say that Penthasilia has just provided an outstanding and truly accurate summary of the companion book here.

Most of the expansion that you'll find in moving from the LWB to the companion book does not occur in the area of card meanings -- any added material about those meanings is honestly more on the level of cosmetic additions than anything else (which is kind of sad, as I always like to know what a deck creator was thinking, but it is what it is here).

The additional material that does enliven the companion book is more in terms of the artist laying out some of her own underlying general Tarot beliefs, summarizing the meanings of the suits and Minor Arcana numbers (which, as Penthasilia said, may not seem to be of critical importance to the more seasoned Tarot enthusiast), and in outlining a pretty generous helping of possible spreads to attempt.

If getting the book would involve prohibitive shipping costs, then it's true, it should probably be considered very carefully, since I think most people buy these books to get beefed up sections about the creation and meanings of the individual cards, which you won't get too much of here...but personally, I'm still glad I got it, and I do like having the information in a more attractive and durable book form, and the added materials it does include are helpful for me to have as reference.

[frac_ture]

Originally Posted by Penthasilia

Well- not directly. But here is what I found, and how I put it together.

In the deck, there are only 2 sword cards that hold butterflies, the ace and queen. Under the Ace- the butterflies are written as a symbol of transition and air. Moving to the queen, the book has "In one hand she holds a sword drawn, in the other a butterfly lights gently on her finger. She's ready for battle when necessary, though she prefers to keep matters civilized. The clouds of conflict part, illuminating the Queen of Swords with the light of hope which rests on the horizon."

Which, let me to thinking a great deal about the suit of swords in general, and the queen in specific. The suit of swords is typically wrought with conflict- though the element of air can bring intellect and communication. The queen, being water of air, may be ruled more by thought than emotion, but she holds the ability to be tempered by her emotions, which is lacking in the other court cards of this suit.

It reminds me of the write up in Pollack's 78 Degrees of Wisdom- that the queen symbolizes experiences of both sorrow and wisdom, and the connection between the two. She has experienced pain and suffering, faced it with courage and through it has found wisdom and understanding. Her sword is the sword of Justice and the Ace of Sword- standing upright with wisdom and the clarity of truth. Although she can be harsh, her lessons have tempered her force and authority- allowing her the ability to retain compassion and avoid maliciousness.

So, in the end, what I had originally thought of as WTF??? has now become very clear. Those butterflies represent what the others have failed to see, and is only present in the Ace and Queen- that the intellect alone cannot rule, and though the swords represent thought and air, thanks to the queen, we have an element of compassion and strength that can help us through the times when the trials of the swords come into our lives.

That is my take anyway- and other thoughts are appreciated.

Wow, this is some fantastic analysis! I love -- and now agree with -- the way you referenced the Ace (and Justice, too), and correctly cited the presence of butterflies in only those two cards out of the suit (something I hadn't noticed or taken into account at all!), which thus links them together. I also now agree that you're totally onto something as far as the butterflies in the Queen card not representing some artistic lapse or odd choice that "weakens" the Queen, but rather as a deliberate effort to showcase her uniqueness even among the rest of her native suit. My original take was "Why would the Page be more fierce and bad-ass than the Queen...??!"...but I think you're right: the Queen isn't more frail or fluffy at all; she just has evolved to the point where she doesn't need to rely solely on cutting into things with her sword. She can still do that, too, sure -- possibly better than the Page and the Knight if pressed to do so! -- but it's not the only avenue open to her. She's more versatile than that.

Having said all that, maybe a raven or two in addition to the butterflies still wouldn't have been a horrible thing...?

[Penthasilia]

Originally Posted by frac_ture

Having said all that, maybe a raven or two in addition to the butterflies still wouldn't have been a horrible thing...?

They would have eaten the butterflies

[Starlily]

Anyone else ever see the Queen of Swords as a quick-witted, excellent communicator kind of figure? I don't always see her entirely in this way but I do think that she can have this aspect. Like Elizabeth Bennett from "Pride and Prejudice. Witty, clever, and strong-willed. Or Beatrice from Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." This particular card also makes me think of a character from a Rossini opera "The Barber of Seville" named Rosina. She runs the show and one critic described her as a "steel butterfly."

The other way I view her is probably the more traditional interpretation of a woman who has become wise (or if ill-dignified hardened and perhaps cruel) through sorrow or hardship.

[frac_ture]

Originally Posted by Penthasilia

They would have eaten the butterflies

You know, you're probably right...um, please disregard my suggestion...

Originally Posted by Starlily

Anyone else ever see the Queen of Swords as a quick-witted, excellent communicator kind of figure? I don't always see her entirely in this way but I do think that she can have this aspect. Like Elizabeth Bennett from "Pride and Prejudice. Witty, clever, and strong-willed. Or Beatrice from Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." This particular card also makes me think of a character from a Rossini opera "The Barber of Seville" named Rosina. She runs the show and one critic described her as a "steel butterfly."

The other way I view her is probably the more traditional interpretation of a woman who has become wise (or in ill dignified hardened and perhaps cruel) through sorrow or hardship.

I think your first possibility works just fine, Starlily -- I don't personally feel like there absolutely must be an element of sorrow/hardship informing the Queen. I do think she represents someone who relates to the world through intellect first and emotion later, but not necessarily because emotional pain in the past made her that way. Some people and forces are just more intellectual by nature. Just my own take...

[Essjay]

Thank you so much Penthasilia - I really appreciate all the detail you've gone into. I must admit that it's those little extras and insights that you've mentioned that I like and I probably would like the book. I think it's one to put on my wish-list to consider if I get the spare cash.

I agree with your take on the Q of Swords too - it makes sense

Thank you again

[Essjay]

Okay - I officially love this deck. I've just done a reading for this month's circle and they are such great cards. I got so much out of them and I really didn't expect that. I see myself getting that book in the future