above:
Queen of Swords
The Light and Shadow Tarot
by Lucas Cranach the Elder
March 26-27, 2022: We've seen Tarot's Queen of Swords here before, and a formidable monarch she is, always. This time though, Michael Goepferd's art for The Light and Shadow Tarot evokes the apocryphal tale of the Israelite widow Judith who saved her embattled city by seducing and slaying the drunken Assyrian general Holofernes.
Take a glance at the card's lower left corner. Is that not Judith's trophy, the sorry general's head?
Judith is an icon of heroic resistance, often depicted by master painters such as German Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder and Italian Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi.
As I see it, Goepferd introduces two arresting and useful qualities that enhance our usual relationship with the Queen of Swords:
First, Goepferd's Queen is not only an expert on all things related to the magickal element of Air and the Sword as ritual tool. She is an experienced warrior who, more than a few times, has risen from her throne to throw down. Not just a symbol of dominion, her sword has been tested in battle.
Second, when you approach her--perhaps with a question or petition--you'll readily see that Goepferd's Queen has already taken action on your behalf, and she's proud to show you the result--gruesome though it may be. It's as if she's saying, "Look! I've done it!"
Done it. Got it. Bagged it. Next question!
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