Understanding the Misunderstood Queen of Swords
"Queen of Air" from the Marseille inspired Tarot of the Sorceress
The Queen of Swords is such a misunderstood Queen. I won’t lie, when I first started reading Tarot she was by far the Queen I related to the least. As Tarot goes, she would come for me often in my novice reader days much to my chagrin. Initially, I didn’t know what to make of her consistent and yet (seemingly to me) stern appearance. Reflecting back, I felt she was there to let me know that there is nothing wrong with being discerning. She wanted to show me that not everything needs to be butterflies and rainbows to be a “yes” and tough love is still love. I would argue that there were times when this was the exact message that my soft heart needed to hear, even if it felt hard to accept. The message this Queen brought was never meant to be an easy one for me.
As all of the cards fall along the Zodiacal wheel, this Queen also has her place on it. The Queen of Swords is assigned to the tail end of Virgo season though the majority of Libra season. She represents Virgo III and Libra I & II, presiding over her reign from September 22/23 through October 11/12.
So who is this Queen and what makes her unique? As we have settled into the month of October, she is the matriarch of this season. She rules with logic, and while her emotions are always present, she understands that sometimes we need to make decisions from our head. As much as I like to live in my heart space, there are many occasions where I’ve had to abandon my natural way of moving through life to try on her more rational hat. It was very hard at first. Every time she came up in a reading, I wasn’t sure how to relate to her. How was I supposed to understand what she was trying to communicate to me when I felt so different from her based on all of the Tarot books I had read?
Two of my first, and favorite Tarot books to this day, Modern Tarot by Michelle Tea and Kitchen Table Tarot by Melissa Cynova, gave me great guidance in how to connect with a card, especially Court Cards that are notoriously hard to decipher in the beginning. If we can understand the Court Cards as people in our lives, we can ask ourselves, who plays this role for us, and how does it show up for us daily? I found that assigning friends, family and members of my community to individual Court Cards based on their personality, made learning and remembering them a bit easier.
In regards to the Queen of Swords, I started to think of people in my life that she bore resemblance to. My sister is one of them, along with a dear childhood friend of mine. They both hold strong and powerful Queen of Swords energy within them. While these two important women in my life are very different from one another, there are some characteristics that they both share.
How can I spot a Queen of Swords in my life?
They are very successful, smart with their money, and understand that sometimes it’s just business and not personal
They are deep feelers, yet no one would guess this upon first meeting them, as they hold new people at arm's length. They somehow manage to do this without rudeness, rather providing an air of mystery instead. The truth is, they are just discerning and understand that not everyone is deserving of their energy
They know how to make a decision that their future selves will thank them for. They are planners and well organized. I attribute this to their association with the last decan of Virgo
When they are winning in life, they want to elevate their loved ones too. No one left behind! This means their forward thinking decisions aren’t just intended for their own interests, but extend to the people they care about as well. They are always looking out for their family and friends, giving them great insights and advice, especially when it comes to areas of life that feel dry (to me), like home improvements, business development and financial investments. I am thankful for these skills they possess and I learn so much from them
They are amazing in a crisis. They are able to see things clearly without letting their emotions cloud their judgment. Watching them in these moments feels like I’m witnessing real life superhero abilities. The level of calm and execution they possess is unmatched. Imagine an Emergency Room Nurse or Paramedic. That is the feeling
They are wickedly intelligent, yet there is never a need to show it off. It just comes out of them naturally and they can school you on the topics of their chosen field of interest. The best thing for the rest of us to do is grab a paper and take notes!
These traits for me embody the Queen of Swords. A Libra Queen with some Virgo colorings, of course she must be balanced, making sure her emotional and logical sides are in harmony while remaining grounded in reality. This may be why when we witness this Queen’s big emotions, it can come as a surprise.
It's always important to remember that these strong Queens have emotions too, they just aren’t as open to sharing them with every person who passes. This makes witnessing their feelings that much more awe inspiring, as you realize it is false to believe that they always have it “together”.
Underneath the surface, the Queen of Swords feels just as deeply as others, even if she may not show it. And when she does, she is most likely to select a few members of her inner circle, who have earned her trust and confidence, to share it with. It’s with these people who she can be vulnerable and let out her heaviest of feelings. I would argue that even with people she is closest to, this isn’t easy to do, as she is not known for readily sharing what lies deep inside, preferring to maintain a persona of control over all situations.
Being vulnerable may feel uncomfortable for this Queen, possibly due to past hurts and disappointments or having had her childhood cut short and needing to grow up too fast. Have no doubt that she is just as nurturing as the rest of the Queens, she just does it in her own unique way. And if you find yourself in her trusted circle, know that she will love you fiercely, even if she doesn’t express it in the way you would expect. She has her own love language.
How may she express her intuitive gifts?
All of the Queens are ruled by the element of Water as written about by Aleister Crowley of the Thoth Tarot, referring to her as “the watery aspect of air”. More on this can be found in Tarot: Mirror of The Soul by Gerd Ziegler. When we think of water within the Tarot, we think of emotions, relationships, feelings, and intuition. Water flows and moves. It can transform into whatever shape it is poured, it is adaptable. While each Queen within the Tarot shares this feature, I believe that beyond this, they all hold an intuitive gift unique to them and their own individual element. It is here we can use Crowley’s idea in applying the element of air, and the clarity of thought, to the element of water, our intuition.
In thinking about the various ways in which we experience our intuition, many of us will think of the Clairs.
The word “Clair” stems from French, translating to “clear” and thus once we assign it to our individual intuitive traits, we are able to harness the literal translations. I have heard of eight types of Clairs, and if you know of others, please let me know. I'm fascinated to learn more.
I believe we all have intuitive gifts, and while for some of us it is strong at birth, for others, we may have to exercise it like a muscle in order to develop and fine tune it. One read that may be helpful in developing these through a variety of exercises is Psychic Development for Beginners by William W. Hewitt.
I considered all four of the Queens and felt into what their intuitive gifts may be based on my understanding of their characteristics. Here is a quick reference for what each Clair means along with which gift I believe each Queen embodies. While I believe that they all hold several Clairs, the ones below are what I feel dominates their intuitive messaging:
Queen of Wands
🧘🏼♀️ Clairsentience = Clear Feeling
👂🏽 Clairaudient = Clear Hearing
Queen of Swords
👀 Clairvoyant = Clear Seeing
🧠 Claircognizant = Clear Knowing
Queen of Pentacles
👃🏽 Clairalience = Clear Smelling
👅 Clairgustance = Clear Tasting
Queen of Cups
💗 Clairempathy = Clear Emotion
🖐🏼 Clairtangency = Clear Touch
In considering the Queen of Swords, I couldn’t help but feel that her strongest gift would be clairvoyance, with claircognizance as her other primary gift. We often think of the Queen of Swords as being able to see clearly and speak her truth, as Swords are tied to communication. I believe it is through her years of trusting in her own clarity of sight or inner vision, that she can be so sure of her inner truth and then match this with the spoken word.
She can also align her inner truth with her outer truth.
Her outer truth is linked to rationality and logical thought based on what she experiences outside of herself, while inner truth lies in what she knows in her core to be her authentic self.
I believe that the Queen of Swords possess both of these things. She is not just sharing her insight and moving through the world based on what is happening around her, but rather, she understands her authentic nature, her inner truth, and uses this when she meets the outside world, doing so with a calm and level headedness.
Clairvoyance is the gift I believe she carries most strongly and that she shares with all of us. Not only can she make sense of the world around her, but her clairvoyance allows her to access something deeper.
Clairvoyance simply implies that her third eye is open. There are several ways in which I understand this gift to show itself. I would suggest that to embody the Queen of Swords one may wish to check in on their own clairvoyant skills and see how they show up.
One way which this may be experienced is by closing your eyes and entering into a relaxed state. This may be found by sitting in stillness for meditation for 20 minutes or more, or when one is trying to fall asleep. An open third eye may show itself in your ability to see energy moving in waves or shapes. You may also see clear images of faces of people whom you don’t recognize, as these may be your guides or spirit trying to communicate with you.
Additionally, you may notice that you have a very active imagination, are prone to “daydreaming”, or feel as though there is often a movie or a short scene playing out in your head. Many of us are taught to believe that these are distractions, when in actuality, they are often associated with clairvoyance. These images one is receiving may be information about what is present in the here and now, in order to help us gain more clarity in our day to day lives. Having visions of past experiences of people other than ourselves, as well as future events that may affect us or others is also possible, as long as we are open to the idea that this capability exists within us.
Lastly, having very vivid dreams is another indicator of clairvoyance showing itself to you. If this is you, the Queen of Swords would urge you to write down as much as you can remember. After all, she does rule over words, thoughts and ideas and would love for you to put pen to paper to make sense of what you have seen.
Affirmations
Finally, a few affirmations to help embody the Queen of Swords when we know we are entering a time where a clear head and a sharp mind is what is needed. She may suggest writing or speaking aloud the following:
I am open to receiving insights from the world around me and
I trust the messages I receive.
I balance my head with my heart when making important decisions.
I speak my truth as I align my inner and outer worlds.
Thank you Queen!