I picked three of my decks at random, and had a look at the Queen of Swords from each:
GENERAL:
The sword is an ancient symbol of male power, representing the warriors of antiquity and the knights and kings of the middle ages. Not only male power, but elite male power. You have to be special to have a sword. Against this cultural backdrop, the image of a sword-bearing woman was an unsettling one. Have we outgrown the stereotypes? Ask a mixed group about Lorena Bobbit and find out. In turn-of-the-century tarot reading traditions, the Queen of Swords was taken to represent a divorced woman, that most threatening of creatures, unspeakable assault on proper Victorian society.
So this lady carries a lot of bad press with her, some still to be found in tarot books. She must have some problems with her love life, to be carrying around a big sword like that . . .
ROBIN WOOD:
This is probably one of the most cheerful Queen of Swords images you're likely to find. I like it a lot. She stands on the hilltop, her sword glinting in the sunlight that streams out from behind the clouds. She's decked out in air symbolism: clouds, birds, butterflies, stars . . . Her expression and gesture show discernment, pride, and objectivity, but also lots of creativity: she seems to be a fountainhead of new ideas waiting to be shared. The enormous fluid expanse of her blue cape suggests water, the other element in her makeup. Her brilliant insights will ultimately find expression in human affairs--she will make a difference in real lives. Her intelligence is tempered with compassion and a gentle understanding of human nature. In a reading, I would take this card to represent a person who is insightful but diplomatic, perhaps a mentor or counselor with both acuity and sensitivity; the card is a challenge to find these qualities in oneself.
COSMIC TAROT:
We're into something a bit more intense now. It's remarkable, though, that she bears an uncanny resemblance in physical appearance to the woman in the Robin Wood card; they might almost be the same model posed and drawn by different artists. Norbert Loesche's courts are very evocative; he comes in close to the faces and gives them a lot of personality. They tend to be dressed in such a way that they might be contemporary royalty. She has a wonderful look of determination, mastery, and alert confidence; if she has a vulnerability somewhere, it's going to take work to find it. Outside her palace window in the garden are the couple from the Lovers card. The queen distances herself from romance, without denying it or running from it. Her mind allows her to rise above and put emotions in perspective. She wears the astrological sign of Gemini, suggesting not only good communication skills, but perhaps some tendency toward cynicism. On her thrown is the sign of Mercury, ruler of Gemini. The detail that always draws me is the crystal earring, almost matching the sword she holds. Both are symbols of precision in thought. Not quite as joyously creative as Robin Wood's queen, she is probably more ready to deal with challenges and conflicts. This lady knows how to work her way through a difficult negotiation and come out with her own objectives met. She's shrewd, tremendously intelligent, and understands both tactics and strategies. In readings, the card almost always suggests to me the power of the mind to ride out and rise above emotional difficulties.
NUOVE MINCHIATE:
This card is from a deck made recently in Italy as part of a combination board game / card game / fortune-telling game; the cards are based on the 97-card minchiate deck, a variant of the tarot pack originating in Florence and widely popular in the 18th century. The artist used a very crude woodblock style. I'm not sure whether he intended to evoke the style of the old tarot decks, or if this is just his preferred technique. In any case, the Queen of Swords is here reduced to the barest essentials of symbolism. There's just a few rough lines, but she has personality, doesn't she? The folded hand at her hip signals defiance and challenge; the stiffly erect sword shows strength and personal power. She doesn't seem to need the glamor of the other two queens, with their hair styles and jewelry. If you have a theory that women are uncomfortable and incompetent around weapons, I don't advise you to test it out on her! In a reading, I would take this card to stand for a vast personal capacity to defend what is important to you; she's the lioness within.
COMMON THREAD:
I could prattle on at length about "water of air" and what it means, the role of queens and the mental attributes of the suit of swords. But looking at these three together, one phrase spings to mind, pretty much unanalyzed--
Pride of purpose.
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Copyright © 1999 Tom Tadfor Little