Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot-Queen of Sword & The Wild Wood Tarot-Queen of Arrows-Swan

Represents: Mastery of Objective Thinking and Clarity of Intellectual Thinking.

The lavishly illustrated Thoth card represents The Greek Goddess-Intelligence that is Athena or if Hindu, The Goddess Kali.

She is sitting on a cloud, with sword and mask in hand, as she is the mask-cutter. She is the fair witnessing mind who removes all illusion and sees the Real that is masked by reality.

The Queen has cut through her own masks, roles, and defenses in order to retain her clarity and objectivity (The crystal crown). The child's head above the crown of clarity, symbolizes her child-like innocence and curiosity.

This Queenly personality represents the counselor or consultant for others and also has the courage to seek counsel and consulting for herself when necessary.

Therefore this card represents the mastery of objective which is the deepening of a centered rational mind; the quality of mind that demands objectivity, authenticity, and abandonment of pretense. Here is the Observer within our unconsciousness. which is detached from roles and assists us in reconnecting with our child like truth.

To reiterate, Binah, the 3rd Sephiroth named Understanding, is also often called the  Sanctifying Intelligence and known as the Parent of Faith. The Qabalistic Word Binah itself means Understanding and all Thoth Queens radiate from Binah.

What is often not realized is that She, Binah, is also Chronos who is the oldest of ancient gods.  We may know him as "Father Time" but the highly restrictive nature of time, birth, aging and death are the ultimate result of the gift of Life bestowed by Binah. So once again the Sexing of the 10 Sephira proves to be insubstantial for complete understanding.  It helps to remember that each Sephiroth has a expressive-male-state and a receptive-female-state of consciousness.

 

The Queen of Swords is Water of Air, which is also called Specific Water in the Realm of Primal Air.  Water is the element attributed to consciousness and air is the element attributed to mind.  Thus She is as Crowley stated in the Book of Thoth, "clear, conscious perception of Idea, the Liberator of Mind".

 

The Queen of Swords is the Queen of the Thrones of Air. Queen of  Sylphs and Sylpides, attributed to the last Decan of Virgo and the first two Decans of Libra.

The severed head in the Thoth Queen's left hand reminds me of Kali Maa, the Hindu Goddess of Life and Death, but less ferocious in depiction.

Here the Queen of swords, as does Kali Maa, has the severed head of The Patriarch  and the Sword of Geburah (and extension of Binah)  in her right, pointing downward toward earth; indicating that she removes the masks of deceit and definition supplied by cultural thoughts as defined by Rulers, academia and theology. 

 

Yetzirah,(The Astral world of Air/Mind) is the world of deception and only keen perception, and observation are the Sword that slices away  all fantasy, delusion illusion and unreality.

The Thoth Queen of Swords also has upon her crowned head, a child's head viewing upward, implying that only the innocent child is unfettered by sterile concepts and useless ideas for they haven't been programed to believe in"the Ruler's" definition.

The severed head of the Patriarch, implies that The Queen of Swords is the Sanctifying Intelligence that removes the "head of man", and/or "cultural thinking", bring us into the understanding of the ways in which each of us are deceived by thoughts while also teaching us to transcend them. Ruler or media supplied thoughts are the Trickster, the "devil inside", that fools or bedevils us into believing survival thinking is the foundation of consciousness, when all in all, Love is the foundation of consciousness that the Sanctifying Intelligence has given our immortal Soul. When it comes to immortality,believe it or not, organic matter is as immortal as transformative energy, for it "eats itself to stay alive": a constant recycle.

Life doesn't worry about survival, only the alive, the simulations of life do. The Psyche is Life, the body, is the "alive", "test bed" of Life. Therefore, our Soul, is not about to give up on those of us who fear being alive, i.e., survival thinking, nor is the Queenly Mother of that Solar Soul, about to  quit on the Golden Child of Psyche.

Thus, "tough  love", can be the Sword in "Queen Mother's" hand, which is the domain of Geburah, called, Severity. Another aspect of the Great Binah.

In the Thoth Tarot of the Hermetic Qabalah, the Queen of Swords shows a remarkable resemblance to Kali-Ma, the fierce sword wielding, skull bedecked, Goddess of Life and Death of Hindu origins. This is an apt presentation since traditionally swords are called "the death suit".

Qabbalistically, the Queen of Swords represents the  Watery part of Air. As does the Wild Wood Tarot-Queen of Arrows.

Air being the representing element of Mind. Water is that which represents the element of "emotion" that are the "currents" that move the Mind.

The Queen of Swords or Queen of Arrows-Swan, is attributed with the elasticity of this combination and the power of transmission that this Watery Air provides. In myth and legend the Swan has always represented the image of the strong and regal protector of the Soul.

She rules the zodiac from the 21st degree of Virgo to the 20th degree of Libra. In the Thoth Deck Tarot, she is enthroned upon clouds (Watery-Air), topless and wearing a gleaming belt and sarong, symbolizing the Great Mother of Consciousness. Upon her helmet is the child head crest from which the sharp rays of light are emitted, illuminating her empire of celestial dew.[Celestial dew is the substance that radiates from the pineal gland when it is stimulated in a higher vibration by the Kundalini, that baptizes the brain, resurrecting the Golden Psyche of "sleeping brain" that is not used in the mundane, human-being. This dew awakens Divya-Sidhis and/or "magic abilities"] . The Child crest symbolizes the Divine Child within us all---the Innocent One of Enlightenment before we are "dumbed down" by indoctrination.

As stated, but never over-stated: In her right hand, the Queen of Swords holds a sword (the Sword of Geburah-Severity) and in her left hand the head of a bearded man. That bearded man is the Mask of Patriarchal Culture that we use to define ourselves----when in Truth, We have already been Defined by the Divine as It's Golden Child---enlightenment comes from realizing that no-further self definition nor title is needed as we've been Defined into Being already! All other definition is just masking our Truth. So here we can see that the Queen of Swords is the clear conscious perception of Idea, the Liberator and expander of the Mind.

Hence, The Queen of Swords represents the True Will (Will-To-Form) and has the power to cleave away the unnecessary gross to build the Pure idea of Self. To some this can be disastrous, but the Gross is all they believe in, knowing not their own Pure Self they see Kali-Ma as a Fanged Hag with Severed Heads, symbolizing "wrong headed" personality death, standing on the backs of copulating Lovers or her husband Shiva, all "dying" in her Sword thrust.

The "little death" of  orgasm is also represented in this image, causing even greater fear of "male-female" union among the ignorant.  However, to the knowledgeable, the union of male-female is the sacred act of communion that builds All. [Tantric studies are recommended for those who wish to Know].....the flesh-o-phobes may just shiver in the joy of the nightmare of sensuality that comes with having a form build out of Divine Passion of "Will to Be", but the Knowing, see only the joy of Wholeness. The Lust To Be, is knowledge of the "Big Bang"---the Great Orgasm that has activated us all. To know the Dancing Goddess-God, is to Know Thyself!

Now, I don't want to cause anyone to overly scourge their poor innocent body for the "wrong-doing" of impassioned thought; thought that seems out of control, only because the "man-made ego" is too weakened by fear based self identity to suppress Divine power of I AM, which is to be directed by discernment. When that fear based weakened identity masking us is removed, we find that we are the Divine Power that has clear purpose and Great Will to Be! That we are The Sacred Place, many of us are searching for!

The Archetypal personality of the Thoth or Wild Wood card represents, would describe a person as:

If ill dignified She will be:

The Third Sephiroth on the Tree of Life is Binah, be she depicted as Swan or Kali, she means: Understanding. For Wisdom (Chokmah), only understood, can be made into form.

The four threes, and the four Queens are ruled by Binah. 

Binah's symbols are:

Her planet is Saturn and Her color is Black. She is the Dark Womb, before form, and as such she is known as the "will to form". Light is born of Her, out of Understanding of "Self-".

Therefore, the Queen of Swords or Arrows is described as:

The Principle symbol of Binah, is the Yoni, a Sanskrit word for female vagina and depicted as a "Yoni Mantra". I know her as, "The womb with a view", indicating that she is the "all understanding" Will to Form, from which all Life emerges. This Great Womb, is known to every culture, with many names. She is the completion of the Upper Supernal Triangle, which began as a Point, in Kether, and a Line in Chokma and a Triangle in Binah.

, and shudder at the sexuality of Kali, think upon this: The Primary Female, Binah, stands at the head of the

. While the Primary Male Sephira is Chokma and he stands at the head of the

The Qabalistic definition of sexuality is about qualities rather than static forms of sex. Besides, the Soul is ultimately hermaphrodite.

 The Male quality is called Mercy because it is unrestricted, energy ejaculated outward; Electric. The Female qualities of Energy are restrictive, thus form is made out of energy-in-motion, a type of oppression we call Magnetic. Thus a Severe limiting quality is applied when building a form, we call this limit-time.

The fact that our concepts of gender are insufficient to describe the subtleties of polarities and interactive energy in this Universe is shown throughout history. For instance, The Goddess Isis, is the key figure for Binah. Yet, the male Gods Chronos and Saturn are also attributed to this Sephiratic Lady of time. Here, we can see the Dark side of Time, as Saturn, heavy and gloomy and as Chronos who symbolizes Time...yes Time is the Greatest Predator of All living things. Thus we have the predatory Crone/Kali image of Binah. 

Yet this isn't all, for beneath Binah on the Pillar of Severity we find the God Mercury in Hod and at the base of The Pillar of Mercy, we find the Goddess Venus in the 7th Sephiroth of Netzach. Yet there is only severity on the left hand path, this is because Time/Saturn shows no mercy. 

The anthropomorphism of the qualities of Intelligent Energy, binds us to Sexual figures as energy is at once expressed  and then confines, therefore, being polarized.  By understanding the 1st Law of Thermodynamics, you may see the problem of sexing the qualities of energy.  The Law states: "There is only one Energy that cannot be created nor destroyed, only transformed (and Transmitted)." These Transmissions and Transformations, are caused by Qualities of expression-he and repression-She. I find it best to say that She is Magnetic and He is Electric. Thus, the value statements of the mundane flesh-o-phobe are not involved in any misunderstanding.

Hence, the restrictive nature of Will to Form (Binah) is a discipline imposed on the ejaculation/expression of Chokma who is Will to Force . At the same time She is the Great Unconscious Sea from which all life emerges, and has all the grace and beauty of the Sea. Therefore, a Swan is the Celtic symbol for this Great Womb.

Binah is described in the Qabalistic Mysteries as "The Dark Robe of Concealment", the Great Dark Sea. In the Golden Dawn texts, as She is described thus: "In Binah is thick darkness which yet veileth the Divine Glory in which all colors are hidden, wherein is mystery and depth and silence, and yet it is the habitation of the Supernal Light." Many us also know that "our dark-side" resides in the Unconscious which is the birth mother of consciousness.

As the Bright Fertile Mother, Binah (Understanding) gives life by restriction---the First Law of Form. And as Law giver she is the Dark Sterile Mother of Death as well. This duality is found in Yesod--The Moon, who reflects the "illusion" of Sunlight into Malkuth-the material plane. Mythology has given us the Bright Moon-Diana and Swans, as well as, the Dark Moon-Hecate, one is the adverse of the other. 

However, Binah is not a belief system, even thought she is understood as the "Parent of Faith" in the Qabalistic mysteries. Thus, she is an organization of discipline behind faith...a Sanctifying Intelligence, as Dr. Paul Foster Case named her in his text, THE THIRTY TWO PATHS OF WISDOM.  Therefore she is known as the Parent of the organized disciplines of reason, science, and intellectualism.  

 

For more information about this card or all of them and/or a live reading on-line or in person - email <info@eli-lsmerchantile.com>.

Thank you for your interest, comments and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper.