Editor’s Note: If you want to experiment with tarot cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator using the Celtic Wings spread, which is based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article explains how to use the spread. You can visit Sarah’s website here. –efc
By Sarah Taylor
After a period of austerity, a richer and more involved life beckons. The trick here is to keep things in balance.
I often find, when looking at the Queen of Swords, that she strikes a rather solitary figure. Not lonely as much as alone — emphasised by the wind-blasted trees in the background behind her, the clouds seeming to loom and scud in the sky. I can almost feel the bird being taken by the wind currents, even as the Queen herself sits there, wise, implacable. And yet, it is as if she is acknowledging the two figures in the next card — presenting them, almost. “Here they are.” More of that a little later.
The Queen of Swords is wise, and she is her own person. In a past article, I have referred to her resemblance to Queen Elizabeth I, who ruled England with authority, dedication and passion. She sits side-on, her profile strong against the blue sky. The clouds on her red- and yellow-edged cloak seem to be a visual continuation of the clouds surrounding her; a crown of gold butterflies perches on her head. She is of the air — of thoughts and intellect. Her robe is grey like her throne: her head might be in the sky, but she is firmly grounded. And she has broken free of something: has she cut through the red wristbands with her sword, her once-cuffed hands now free to work for her? (It might be interesting to look back at the comments on an article on the Queen some months ago to see the discussions on the significance these bands.)
For as much as the Queen is wise, sober, focused, she is also associated with beauty and flight (rather than flightiness). Butterflies are often a symbol of freedom and beauty revealed. If we are to take our cue from this idea, then perhaps the beauty that is her birthright is unfolding in the scene next to her.