She...may be the song that summer sings...

Anna K, US Games 2013

Who's this lovely dark-haired lady harvesting everything there is from one grove? It's the Queen of Pentacles, one of my favourite court cards. I wanna be a Queen of Pents when I grow up.

She is the closest thing to the Empress in the tarot courts. But whereas the Empress has a distinct 'It's-not-nice-to-fool-Mother-Nature' danger about her, the Queen of Pentacles is all soft edges and connection. She does seem to be pregnant in this image, a condition often used in tarot art to denote growth, fruitfulness, abundance, continuity. The vine is also a potent symbol of the riches of the earth, and so we have one curling about our Queen of Pentacles. She is surrounded by baskets, each containing a different type of fruit or vegetable, suggesting that abundance of all types flows through her, boundless bounty. She has just picked a ripe plum and is enjoying its fragrance, probably about to take a bite of it, because the Queen of Pentacles is nothing if not entirely plugged in to the earth, and of all the tarot queens she understands and enjoys the pleasures of the physical plane. She also most deeply understands and empathizes with its pains and sorrows.

My rant about the Queen of Wands

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Just look at her. The Queen of Wands. Why does she annoy me so much?

It could go back to high school. Possibly even earlier. The Queen of Wands, to me, is all those pretty, popular girls who got all the attention for being beautiful, athletic, and extroverted. Everything about them seemed both perfect and FALSE. And they all seemed to have a supreme confidence  that the adulation was deserved, the proper order of the universe, taken for granted.

To me, the Queen of Wands is imperious, arrogant and superficial. MUST be the centre of attention--loudest soprano in the choir, the one who twirls the flaming batons in the marching band, the cheerleader who is on top of the pyramid at the pep rally, the girl with the shiniest car, the most expensive shoes, the sparkliest class ring, the handsomest boyfriend, the deepest bosom, the clearest skin. She would look right through us little peahens in the hallways, wouldn't give us the time of day.

And there I was, squinting at her, muttering to myself, shuffling along in the hallways listening to her braying 'social' activity; always with my nose in a book or scribbling in a journal, hanging Greenpeace posters in my room. To her, I was weird. To me, she was nauseating. Everything about the 'popular' girls made me want to vom. I wasn't a Goth but that was only because it was 1983 and the Deep South, where clearly all them Goths was goin' to hell.

I got older and the Queen of Wands was on my TV. Reading the news, leading the cheers at football and basketball games, walking up the red carpet with her lips botoxed out like a blowfish, pouting and preening and drawing attention to herself. She was in my workplace, flirting with the boss, stomping up and down the hallways in silly high heels, checking her fingernails and hair. Making promises and then 'delegating' the work. Bragging about her husband's job, her house, her busy schedule.

Legacy of Divine

I associate the Queen of Wands with all that is bullying, superficial, self-absorbed and attention seeking in the female. Everything that makes me sick about certain types of extroverted, rah-rah women. Motivational speakers, certain movie stars, women who use their looks or sexuality for advancement in life. Anything that I perceive as fake or 'glamour', style without substance, a veneer of niceties over an inner core of selfish motive, that's the Queen of Wands for me.

I have to force myself to look beyond this when doing a reading, but my knowledge of her positive attributes is academic only. My personal reaction to her is...gag!

But then -- I am a Queen of Swords. Put my shadow side against her shadow side and of course we would loathe each other.

Which card could you rant about? Why not have a go? I love a good rant.

King of Pentacles: Steady now

Pathfinders Tarot, 2011

Today's draw is King of Pentacles. Today will be a day in which I feel mature and capable, with everything under control. I get the feeling nothing unusual or alarming is going to happen today. Just another day at work to get through. That's good news!

I think it's interesting that this King of Pentacles has 8 pentacles in the trees in the background. For me, 8 of Pentacles usually represents working steadily at a rather mundane or rote task. Another hint that it's going to be a typical work day. We shall see!

ETA: Well, the day is reaching its conclusion. As predicted, it was a day like any other. I was the only supervisor present and was consulted on some basic issues. Did my work, came home.

If anything 'sybaritic' happened it must have been the iced fairy cake I had at work, or perhaps the spoonful of almond butter when I got home. Or it could be this unusual-for-a-weeknight cup of coffee hubby just brought me. On the other hand, I did receive 2 parcels today -- my copy of '78 Degrees of Wisdom' and a new workout DVD I ordered several weeks ago. Getting parcels all the time--if that's sybaritic, I need to move to Sybaris!

King of Wands: Boldly Go

Pathfinders Tarot, Fontana 2011

Today's card is King of Wands from Pathfinders Tarot (David Fontana, artwork by Sylvie Daigneault, published by Duncan Baird, 2011). 

Who is this guy, the King of Wands? Fontana's guidebook to the Pathfinders Tarot has only this to say: 'The King of Wands represents the assertive yet measured and therefore well-balanced aspect of the ruler.' By that definition, the King of Wands is the perfect leader. Assertive? Yes. Measured and well-balanced? Not exactly! 

The King of Wands is self-assured, charismatic, goal-oriented, tenacious, determined and motivated. He will naturally take charge of a situation if there isn't a stronger character about (which there usually isn't!), and people just naturally do as he says, his aura of command and capability is that compelling. But he can be arrogant and dismissive of the opinions or advice of others. The ends justify the means for the King of Wands, and he is not concerned with rules, precedent, or tradition, if they get in the way of what he sees as the most direct path to the success of his mission. All is well that ends well, and he knows that a few broken rules or brusque words along the way won't matter to anyone when it's all over and everyone can see that he was right all along. They'll not only thank him, they'll laud him as the hero and strategic genius that he is! Which plaudits he will accept graciously,  tucking this experience into his vast mental store of maverick actions that got big results. 

Captain Kirk, King of Wands

Who is the King of Wands? For me, it has to be James T Kirk of 'Star Trek'. He's all the King of Wands could ever wish to be. Confident, charismatic, blessed with complete and utter self-belief. A quick thinker where it counts, unconcerned with petty details because he knows those around him will take care of all that and provide him with any facts he made need in order to make one of his brilliant tactical commands. 

A man's man, a ladies' man. Everybody loves and admires him, even those who neither love nor admire him! 

Think about it. He's always putting his entire ship and crew in jeopardy, while shouting that he will do anything to save his ship and crew. Why would he do that? Only because he truly believes that no action he decides on could result in failure.

He cheats the system at every turn. He always has! He cheated his way into Starfleet on the Kobayashi Maru, a test designed to assess a candidate's reaction to a no-win situation. As King of Wands, Kirk does not believe in a no-win situation, and so he cheats by reprogramming the battle simulator to allow for a win. Rather than being kicked out of Starfleet, he receives a commendation for original thinking. Now, can you get any more King of Wands than that? 

Celtic Tarot: King of Swords

The King of Swords from the Celtic Tarot (Courtney Davis, Aquarian 1990) is probably my favourite depiction of this court character. He is unlike any court card in the deck, and the best King of Swords I've seen in any deck so far. Obviously the first thing that strikes is the penetrating gaze of his huge blue eyes. They beam right out of the card straight into you. There is no doubt at all that he is looking right at you, that he sees you, that he understands what you are about, and that he is already at least three steps ahead of you. 


His chin is down slightly toward his chest, eyes raised. It is a steady gaze, with the slightest hint of a squint from beneath the eyes. He's studying you. Yet his brow is smooth and eyebrows relaxed. He is not afraid of you, and even curious about what behaviour you may display next. His hair,with its straight parting, accompanied by the beard, raises the inevitable comparison to the Shroud of Turin/Jesus image. There is a solemnity, a dignity, a purity and an authority associated with this image that is inescapable here. The purple mantle denotes his regal status and his authority. He holds his sword easily and familiarly. It is like an extension of himself; he is one with it, as he is one with his own mind and his own being. 


The King of Swords is a passionate man, but he is a man in control of himself. He believes:

Which Queen is She?

'She can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes.
And she can ruin your faith with her casual lies.
And she only reveals what she wants you to see.
She hides like a child, but she's always a woman to me.

She can lead you to love, she can take you or leave you.

She can ask for the truth, but she'll never believe you. 

And she'll take what you'll give her as long as it's free.

Yeah, she steals like a thief, but she's always a woman to me.

Oh, she takes care of herself,

She can wait if she wants, 

She's ahead of her time.

Oh, and she never gives out,

And she never gives in.

She just changes her mind.

And she'll promise you more than the Garden of Eden.

Then she'll carelessly cut you and laugh while you're bleeding.

But she'll bring out the best and the worst you can be.

Blame it all on yourself, 'cause she's always a woman to me.

She is frequently kind and she's suddenly cruel.

But she can do as she pleases, she's nobody's fool. 

And she can't be convicted, she's earned her degree. 

And the most she will do is throw shadows at you,

But she's always a woman to me.'

                                          ~Billy Joel, 'Always a Woman to Me'

Is Joey in your tarot?

'In your own favourite deck, does the Knight's horse reflect the Knight's personality? Does the horse's livery reflect the suit's qualities?  Not all Knights are on horses - other creatures are used - do the other animals chosen reflect the Knight's suit, or has it been chosen arbitrarily?'

Alison at This Game of Thrones asks this question, so let's listen to the Knights in Courtney Davis's Celtic Tarot:

Knight of Cups

The Queen of Cups? You're kidding, right?

Celtic Tarot, Davis 1990

I asked for advice on how to deal with work next week, and I drew Queen of Cups. My draw (based on a technique described by Espearite) suggests that before I can deal with anything else, I must start with this. Queen of Cups? Really? This is not how I want to deal with the issue that I had in mind. For one thing, I'm not the Queen of Cups--normally. Usually, I am Queen of Swords. (More on her later). But the draw advises me, the first thing I need to do to deal with this issue next week is to address the Queen of Cups. So, who is this woman, and why should I start with her?

Give em the old razzle dazzle

I laughed when I drew this card this morning, because I woke up thinking about that used car salesman from yesterday and drew the card while still in the fug of my waking thoughts. I have always pictured the King of Wands as 'used car salesman', so when I pulled this card as the energy for today, my response was, 'What! You again!' The tarot is so adept at picking up the energies we are putting out in the moment, particularly if you have no focused question, which I did not. I was merely vaguely thinking, what's my card for today? And Billy Flynn turns up. ;)

In Sol Invictus Tarot, the court names have been changed from the traditional Page, Knight, Queen, King to Awakener, Quester, Nurturer, Master. These are apt descriptions of the nature of each. Thus, today's draw, Master of Wands, is the King of Wands. Traditionally, the King of Wands is sometimes called 'Fire of Fire', because the Wands suit is associated with the element Fire, having to do with action and boldness, will, energy, drive, passions, etc. I have always linked King of Wands to Captain James T Kirk from 'Star Trek'. He has all the qualities of the King of Wands--he is supremely self-confident, a maverick, convinced that failure is not a possibility, the kind of person who comes up with grand schemes but tends to leave the details for others to sort out. He acts quickly, trusts his instincts implicitly, likes to be the centre of attention and knows he deserves it. He takes what he wants, has a strong masculinity in the most literal sense. He must win out--failure is not an option. Even if he fails, he refuses to see it as a failure but as a 'temporarily unsuccessful' attempt, with the next attempt most likely already beginning. He has a sense of honour--but it may be unconventional and includes lying or cheating, particularly if it's cheating 'the system' and not an individual.  In the main, the King of Wands is a likeable rogue or rake. In his shadow aspect, he can be deeply deceitful, backstabbing and underhand in order to achieve the success and attention he craves.

I think it's interesting that deck creators Kim Huggens and Nic Phillips chose Giacomo Casanova to represent the Master of Wands. He is depicted standing squarely in the middle of the card, feet planted widely apart (clad in dashing bright red high-heeled court shoes), arms akimbo, holding aloft a glass of wine. At his side, an admiring fop, and all around him, masked ladies and gentlemen stare in his direction, hanging on his every word and movement. He is smiling broadly, his long curling locks flowing over his red velvet collar and ruffled cravat. Oh, how he deserves this adulation! That highlighted bulge in the front of his trousers is hard to ignore as well, and it isn't all caused by the mask stuck in his pocket, clearly! A complete creature of appetites and showman. That's the Master of Wands. Take him for good or ill, he is, as Casanova himself declared, a 'free agent'.

As for myself, I always willingly acknowledge my own self as the principal cause of every good and of every evil which may befall me; therefore I have always found myself capable of being my own pupil, and ready to love my teacher. 
~Giacomo Casanova, 'The Story of My Life'

All I can say to this draw is, we're off to the movies today to see 'Captain America' and may I not encounter a single used car salesman for the rest of this weekend!