Return of the Queen, ...careful with that...

My perennial card in readings.  She is Penelope in the Mythic Tarot, associated with the Air sign of Aquarius.

The card in the position of 'finding' me.  Crossed by the Page of Swords, a messenger.

Used to be, one would try to 'find' oneself.  The Dhamma says one should create oneself.  Selves, rather,  bearing in mind anicca -impermanence- following creation.  Arising, persisting, ending of aspects of the self.

So the message of the tarot is for me to become the Queen of Swords.  To embrace her qualities and learn her ways.  Its the old story of looking everywhere for something that is already found.

I just have to realise it.  My goodness, I appear to be carrying a sword.  Furthermore I have a certain regal bearing now that I think of it.  Just as well.  I really must be... careful with that...

Tarot reading practical

The deck is Robin Wood, in the tradition of Rider-Waite-Smith.

The layout used is the Celtic cross, with an extra card as significator at top left.

The suit of Swords is predominant, with four cards.  The entire vertical axis of the cross, in fact.  Since this axis shows the present time, then the person (the querant) is busy with intellect and communication.

Of note is the heart transfixed by three swords - quite a graphic image.  Often interpreted as a loss, the card is more about resolution.  

There are two cards from the Major Arcana:  the pregnant Empress and the High Priestess; the female spirit guide.  In Greek myth they are the mother and daughter - Demeter and Persephone.

The Submersible Dali

...In reference to the photo of Salvador Dali wearing a diving suit while sitting amongst a group of people in street clothes. Dali said this was because he explored the depths of human consciousness, but I think he was trying to get attention. And I forgive him, the crazy brilliant master painter.

This is actually about the Tarot, which also plumbs the psychic depths.

I was writing about the face cards before. The king, queen, knight, and page of each suit. The three adults fit into the three sets of star signs. Kings are the cardinal signs, Queens the fixed, and Knights are the mutable. The four elements of water, fire, air, and earth that are common to both Astrology and Tarot mean that there is a knight, queen, and king for each element.

The king of fire (suit of wands) is Aries, the ram. The queen of water (cups) is Scorpio. And my own sun sign, Gemini, is the knight of swords.

At first sight the gender roles are apparent. Queens are female and Kings are male. But the elements are also female (water and earth) and male (fire and air). So our queen of fire and our king of water are a combination of gender characteristics.

Are the knights any less confused? I don't believe so. And the pages are asexual children, with the function of heralds and messengers.

Here it is, then: One lesson I have taken from the Tarot is that gender roles are worth questioning. Characteristics like leadership or nuturing are not innate for either sex. People are more often than not a bundle of characteristics attributable to both sexes.

What is the purpose of this subversion of gender roles? The Tarot is not a dark and evil force bent on tearing society apart. No, really. Sorry to disappoint. The intent of Tarot is to advise and empower people, and here it is suggesting that one can use or discard the powers of earth, fire, water, and air without regard to gender.

Consider yourself corrupted and subverted, gentle reader.