#what a cutie old lady sword

Thoughts about Age, Tarot and the Queen of Swords

I’ve been having a long assed, running conversation today with some friends about reading tarot, the psychology of tarot and in particular the suit of Swords and the Queen of Swords. Whew! GREAT chat.

I’ve left thinking a bunch about how tarot manages age, particularly in its imagery and story telling. Much of tarot imagery is caught up in mythology and so for instance, we hear of the Triple Goddess; Maid, Mother and Crone. And I am thinking that probably worked okay when women died before their 40th birthday. But what about in the year 2015 - when women have other options open to them, they may not marry or have children until they are considerably older, or not at all, and their children may grow up and leave home to start their lives, leaving women with 30-50+ years of life where they are not maidens, not mothers, and not yet crones.

Where are our stories, our imagery our photo-shoots for these women? Our tarot cards for women who survive their 40th birthday? Who tells their story? What happens to the Queen of Swords when the kids leave home? When she doesn’t want to or is not able to fight, sword in hand? Who is the Queen of Swords if she doesn’t have a sword?