Queen of Swords

Meanings according to Rider-Waite:

ASTROLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Sun in Aquarius as a symbol of independence, individuality, and empirical wisdom.

QUEEN OF SWORDS The Queen of Swords is the feminine manifestation of the element of Air. She embodies intellect, openness, independence, imagination, and quick-wittedness. This is the expression of our capacity to solve problems through logic, to ascend ever higher steps of knowledge without becoming lost amid the influx of ideas and doubts. In contrast to the former conception of the Queen of Swords as an "evil woman," at best a widow, we now see in her a woman (or the feminine principle in a man) who liberates herself from dependency through the power of her mind. Only in certain cases is the negative side of this card revealed to us: most often this is the "snow queen," behind whose outward attractiveness lie cold calculation and an almost insurmountable estrangement.

From the book: Hajo Banzhaf. THE TAROT HANDBOOK. Translated from the German by E. Kolesov. Publisher: Center for Astrological Research, 1999.

QUEEN OF SWORDS This is a beautiful card — a wonderful balance between the nature of the Cup and the effectiveness of the Sword. The card describes the ability to be fully imbued with an idea and then to examine it with clear eyes from every side. Clarity of feelings and actions, inner peace, harmony between inner and outer, and freedom as the consequence of all these qualities. The QUEEN OF SWORDS is a highly self-reliant woman who knows what she wants and acts accordingly. This is someone with whom you can discuss your feelings. If you need to bring something to an end, she will help you. She is also a businesswoman, successfully advancing her career, professionally a calm, level-headed person who realizes what she sets out to achieve. She does not stand out as conspicuously as the KING OF SWORDS, but works no less effectively. If the card (in very rare cases) describes a man, it likewise indicates an excellent balance of the qualities of the Sword and the Cup.

UPRIGHT POSITION Astrological equivalents: Aries, Scorpio, Capricorn, Mars, Saturn, Pluto, the Eighth and Ninth Houses. Usually the card points to an extremely purposeful person. Very often the QUEEN OF SWORDS is driven by love or hatred — that is, her actions are governed by emotions. Another aspect of this card: she always represents a maximalist, a person for whom no nuances exist in the world. Not infrequently in life the QUEEN OF SWORDS appears in the role of a person "with a cudgel," who keeps you from straying from the chosen path. Occasionally she may represent in a reading the "cavalry maiden."

REVERSED POSITION Astrological equivalents: Mars, Saturn, Mars in Capricorn, the Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Houses. Most often she presents the same purposeful personality as the upright card, only she acts against you. Sometimes this is a person whose love for you, for one reason or another, has turned into hatred. Or else this is a person incapable of constructive action; furthermore, the most important attribute of the reversed QUEEN OF SWORDS is the deprivation of something: this is a person acting not from abundance, but driven by lack, by the want of that which is vitally necessary to them.

If the card refers to an action: A. Upright position The card tells you that in your undertaking you have already taken the first step. Now it is important not to retreat. Remember, here only one path remains for you — forward. There is no way back.

B. In the reversed position The card reports that your action was begun without a clear conception of the goal, that it speaks of a futile expenditure of forces, or else it speaks of a situation in which a person does not know where to channel their strength; senseless bravado, unjustified risk.