Court Cards: Queen of Swords

The Queens of the tarot: Pentacles, Wands, Cups and Swords, are the feminine embodiment of their respective suits. They nurture the positive values of each suit and, at the same time, all the negative aspects too. They are all-powerful in their own way—just as powerful as Kings.

Queens portray the inner life, whereas Kings are focused on the world around them. Queens tend towards the spiritual, while Kings are concerned with social issues and order. Kings are the ultimate rulers by appearances, but don't discount the behind-the-scenes power of the Queens.

Court cards represent concepts and ideas, but in a reading, they also can be real people or aspects of individuals' personalities.

This article will focus on the Queen of Swords, a lady who you would not want as a mother-in-law!

Description

In the Rider-Waite deck, designed by the occultist, A.E Waite and created by the artist, Pamela Colman-Smith, we see the Queen of Swords in profile, unlike the Kings, who gaze straight towards us out of the card. This sideways aspect emphasizes the idea that the Queens are not concerned with direct influence, their power is more subtle. She wears gray robes embroidered with white clouds. She sits upon a carved stone throne, which is decorated with a winged cherub and a butterfly. In her right hand, she holds an upright sword. Her left hand is raised, almost in welcome. On her left wrist is a tasselled cord. She looks stern and unsmiling as she observes her domain from her elevated viewpoint. A bank of gray clouds rises behind her, but the sky is clear and blue. A single bird flies high above.

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The appearance of the Queen of Swords in a reading usually indicates the presence of a straight-talking, acerbic, but honest, woman in the seeker's life. She may even represent the seeker themselves. However, it might be that the seeker needs to take on some of the characteristics of this perceptive Queen in order to deal with the situation at hand.

If the Queen appears reversed, or in a certain place in the spread, it may indicate unfaithfulness, gossip, deception, unkindness or even cruelty.

She is an enigma; she is direct, forthright and truthful. She is also highly intelligent, charming, witty and deeply spiritual. She can be impatient, spiky and irritable, and will never tolerate stupidity, ignorance or immaturity in others. People either love her or hate her.

Do not try to deceive or sidetrack her, she will see through you immediately. Never give excuses or waffle, she will cut you with a glance. Silence is preferable to meaningless twaddle. She does not enjoy small talk . . . and if she appears to be doing so, it is only to extract information from you.

Intimidating, she may be, but if you are seeking fairness and justice, this is the woman you want on your side. She won't give you sympathy or bake you a cake, but she will strive to help you if she thinks your cause is worthwhile.

This Queen understands the pain of mental anguish; she has been through it all. Rachel Pollack in her book, Seventy-eight Degrees of Wisdom, pointed out that the cord on her left wrist could be the remnant of the cords that bind the woman in the Eight of Swords—in other words, she's been there, dealt with the anguish, and is a now a confident and authoritative woman. In some ways, she appears unfeeling, because she has decided that emotions are not her strong point. Her forte is analysis, attention to detail and cutting through bovine excrement. She would rather complete a challenging crossword than read the Dear Abby page.

Reversed

The reversed Queen of Swords is all the above taken to extremes. She is brutal, bullying, manipulative and untrustworthy. All shreds of empathy have disappeared. Her loyalty is only to herself. She schemes and plots—her motivation is not financial, but power. She has no boundaries in what she will do to achieve her dubious ambitions. Cruella de Ville on steroids.

The Queen of Swords makes courtship a minefield for her potential suitor. Her standards are so high that only the most suitable are considered. She wants someone who is her equal. She may not need him to be an academic but he must be true to his ideals; be able to challenge and stimulate her, conversationally speaking. That doesn't mean she lacks passion, indeed, she sees sex as another arena to excel in, however, it is not all-consuming and she'd probably rather enjoy a spirited debate.

Once married, she will either focus on her own career or she will make her husband's career hers. She is efficient in everything she does—she will make a perfect meal because perfection is what she does, but she is unlikely to enjoy creativity unless it's her chosen path.

She can have difficult relationships with her children, especially if they turn out to be the dreamy, artistic type. Her lack of patience makes for less-than-ideal childhoods for her offspring. Once they are adults, everything changes. She is fiercely proud of their achievements and supportive of their causes . . . unless they become estranged, and they often do. If they are canny, then they will have learned to understand their prickly parent and know how to deal with her. Indeed, she loves it when they develop a keen sense of humor and is usually happy to be the butt of their jokes—don't let anyone else try it though, not even her spouse is allowed to poke fun at this Queen.

As I mentioned earlier, money is not a driving force with this Queen; power is the thing she wants, whether it be in her own household or as the CEO of a large corporation. Her abilities are formidable. She is competitive although mainly with herself. She knows she is the best and assumes she will get to the top. Don't get in her way.