Mary El Tarot - Queen of Cups

[Bat Chicken]

http://www.mary-el.com/cups3.html

Water of Water, the Nile itself. When I look at the Mary El Queen of Cups I see the brackish river delta shifting in and out (life and death?) with the lunar tides. The classic symbols of the lotus and crab/crayfish are present. The crustacean offers her pearls, the jewels from the sea’s shifting sands. Jewels of the Unconscious lurking in the mucky waters of a river delta… Eggs to be swallowed?

The lotus to the Egyptians:

Originally Posted by http://www.lotusflowermeaning.net/

…this plant is known to be associated with rebirth. This is a consequence of it supposedly retracting into the water at the night, and emerging a fresh in the Sun the next day. The Egyptians therefore associated the lotus flower with the sun which also disappeared in the night, only to re-emerge in the morning. Therefore the lotus came to symbolize the Sun and the creation. In many hieroglyphics works the lotus is depicted as emerging from Nun (the primordial water) bearing the Sun God.

As something that is associated with rebirth, it is no surprise that the lotus flower is also associated with death, and the famous Egyptian book of the dead is known to include spells that are able to transform a person into a lotus, thus allowing for resurrection.

The Queens are Binah (the third sephiroth), I wonder if the 3 nautilus shells on each side are three for the journey outward and three for the return? The creation and the unraveling? The spiral of life… expansion and contraction, perfect FORM.

I have always loved this Queen. She is one of my favourites. So much there…