The barbaric Queen of Swords

[firemaiden]

Severed head notwithstanding, the character description Crowley gives for the Queen of Swords is, of all the court cards, the most kind:

The person symbolized by this card should be intensely perceptive, a keen observer, a subtle interpreter, an intense individualist, swift and accurate at recording ideas; in action confident, in spirit gracious and just. Her movements will be graceful, and her ability in dancing and balancing exceptional.

In my spoof reading A scourge of gnomes I used only one card -- the Thoth Queen of Swords. Playing a very long time with the images on the card, I eventually came to see therein an association with the mandrake plant, especially when the card is reversed.

Now this was meant initially as a volontarily preposterous but humourous camel-through-the-eye-of-a-needle series of associations with the card imagery, however, in the process, I fairly convinced myself that there was some correlation of the card to the mandrake.

I began to see the green geometric shapes above her head as leaves, and the baby's head rising above hers, as a the mandrake fruit. The rays of light emanating from her, began to look like the pullies used to uproot the mandrake.

In the Thoth-based Tarot of the Hidden Folk, the Queen of Swords is directly inspired by Crowley's - a queen with a severed head on her lap, she is crowned by a crescent of white flowers, identical to those of the mandrake in this famous engraving

Whether or not any correlation of the Queen of Swords to the Mandrake was intended, it makes a marvelous joke with his flattering character analysis of the card. I think it has been said that he considered himself to be a queen of swords --

The mandrake however, is mythologically a foul-smelling poisonous plant which screams when uprooted so terribly that it drives the hearer insane if it does not kill him, and can only be harvested by black dogs .

A supreme joke, if this describes what Crowley truly thought of the Queen of Swords - as a poisonous bitter woman whose constant shrieking will to drive you insanity ...

[Imagemaker]

Before I signed on, I did the daily spread where you draw one major, one court, and one minor for things to be aware of through the day (lesson, person, situation).

I drew the Queen of Swords as today's person I should be aware of. Then I sign on and read your post! I will watch for a poisonous, screaming person! Or possibly a human mandrake. I am forewarned, thanks, Firemaiden!

(And the lesson card was Death and the situation card was 5 of Wands--yikes! going forth with trepidation, antidote and ear plugs)

[firemaiden]

Too funny, Imagemaker!! So... how was your day?

[Kath]

Wow, that is a really interesting association! I love it. So the Queen of Swords can indicate the Queen of the Harpies, or a nagging old shrew! I always knew she had a bitter side to her

[tmgrl2]

Very interesting associaton, firemaiden. I did some reading in the Enclopedias of Tarot (Stuart Kaplan). There are many allusions to the mandrake. I had quoted it and lost the post (probably just as well)...but not only did the mandrake if pulled up cause insanity, the juice of the mandrake was also a cure for insanity..and it was believed, as well, to be an aphrodisiac and a fertility herb/root....(that really opens up "mandrake doors" in the Tarot)
The dogs you allude to were supposedly lured to the mandrake with meat and then tied to the mandrake and the dogs pulled it up to get at the prized roots. Another reference talks about the mandrake on the Hanged Man...a man hanged unjustly, will cause a mandrake to spring up from his.. remains...actually it was more graphic than that.

Still another theory is that the Dog accompanying the Fool is for that purpose...brings the dog to pull up the mandrakes along the way...? In another deck(Tarot of Morettii)...the Moon shines on mandrake plants, whose roots were imagined to have the forms of man and woman. So, back to the Queen of Swords...even a reversed RW, Mary Greer describes as a wicked, ill-natured spiteful woman with the upright Queen of Swords as intelligent and discriminating but an ice-queen. Of course, there are many other associations with QSwords, but after reading these few things about the mandrake and its appearance in other decks and other cards, your interpretation certainly could be one possibility.....BTW, in the same Moretti Deck, the Hanged Man looks as though his head is coming out of a mandrake...so mandrake, itself, can have positive and dark qualities...

Get the Tarot Police after me if you need on this one...I just wanted to support the fact that the mandrake thread is there ....

terri

[Imagemaker]

Too funny, Imagemaker!! So... how was your day?

Well, I have to say that I didn't have huge dramatic of a lesson in transformation or ending (Death) and the one conversation I could claim was with a Queen of Swords was rather mild. So I think I got off lucky. The mock battle (5 wands) was also rather tame, so I'm breathing a sigh of relief and will head for bed.

Unless the phone rings between now and midnight, I'm safe! Tomorrow is another spread . . .