Queen of Swords - The Eagle

I believe in Totem animals and mine has been the Fox. When I see a particular wild animal several times it usually has a  message for me. There is a lesson to be learned.

Fox - Coloured Pencil - 2007 Catherine Meyers

Yesterday when I looked out my bathroom window, I thought I saw what looked like an eagle sitting atop a dead tree very close to my house. The distinctive white head made me certain it was an eagle, and when I went downstairs and looked again, sure enough there it was. It stayed on top of that tree for a longest time, as if wanting me to get a good look. It's there again today, all afternoon in the same spot. Even the rain didn't deter the Eagle who sat steadfast and majestic, surveying everything.
I'd never seen such a sight before, in the 22 years I've lived here.


When the Eagle appears, it's to inspire and urges us to reach higher, and to become more than who and what we think we are capable of being. The message is to be have courage, to stretch our limits to explore our personal growth.

The Eagle perched high on that tree, encouraged me to see things from the Eagle's perspective, and to get out of my comfort zone, and to push through my limitations. Good fortune and victory are signified.

It's time to take full responsibility for my life, to be prepared, and to increase my spiritual awareness.

The Queen of Swords is a fine companion for the Eagle, as she too is regal and dignified. Her idealism is both lofty and noble.  Atlanta spurs us on to become more than what we are, like the Eagle. She strives for perfection, and can be of great influence because of her intelligence and perception, much like the Eagle who flies closest to the Creator.

Queen of Swords - You Don't See Her Tears

This Queen of Swords is classy, perceptive and a person of influence. She maintains her composure and grace under pressure during times of duress. She has an inner strength that I greatly admire, and I identify with her in many ways. Embodying the mythic figure of Atalanta, she relates to life from a rational, seemingly detached outlook and an untouchability of the mind. In spite of this, her deep emotion can not be underestimated. She has a strong sense of justice and compassion for others, that is of a result of her own life experiences.

It is often thought that men are the ones who bare up under difficult circumstances, showing that proverbial stiff upper lip, giving the impression they're the strong ones, however this is not always true. I saw this with my own parents who suppressed emotions, and this imparted onto me.

I have known and do know many women who are great examples of strength and have coped with such tragic circumstances. They are wonderful examples of what it means to be a strong compassionate human being. That said, I don't want to confuse suppression of emotion with strength.

 Men and women can both suppress emotion for long periods of time and even in to years so that it has become their way of interacting with the world. This isn't a positive modes-operand because eventually this suppression is transmuted into repression and often the effects our health can be very detrimental.

Queen of Swords - The Huntress of Perfectionism

The Queen of Swords embodies the mythic figure of Atalanta the Huntress, who was born the child of King Iasus who'd wanted a male child, not a female. She was rejected and abandoned by her father, left on a hillside, but was rescued and suckled by a bear, who was sent to her by the moon-goddess Artemetis-Hecate.

This card urges us to think before we act, to use our intelligence, to be perceptive and brave. She can seem cool, distant and even calculated. This impression can be seen in her deportment and surface identity. Upon closer look there is an individual who has a great depth of character and influence as a brave woman, and a quick thinker. This Queen, with very high ideals, strives for perfection.

However her high standards may be difficult for many of us to live up too. Her perfectionism, can cause a kind of loneliness, as a result of her unrealistic expectations of others that fall short of her idealism. She is always making an effort to prove herself, and projects this on to others, as a result of her once having been expected to be perfect but failed in doing so.

The message found in the Queen of Swords is that we are human, and therefore vulnerable to being hurt. We may demand superhuman perfection from others and from ourselves, but it more than likely will create problems for us.

The Queen of Swords-Warrior Woman

This Queen of Swords impresses me very much, and simultaneously she does not. I am not so drawn to her, like I am the Queen of Cups, that lives life from the heart and intuition. Nonetheless I admire The Queen of Swords greatly.

This Queen, strikes me as being distant and aloof, sometimes appearing cold to others. Her  intellect, and ability to always maintain an objective, detached perspective, takes precedence over her emotion. Don't be fooled though, she feels deeply, and is a very passionate, compassionate woman. Her aloofness is really her armor that protects a very tenderhearted broken heart. She is really a wild woman in the sense, that she walks her own path and is her own person. Still waters run deep, and what appears to be, may not be all there is to the story, as much lies beneath the surface, within the depth of this woman's personality.

There are always occasions and circumstance that this kind of detached approach to life is positive. This can be problematic, if an individual is implicitly devoid of feelings and subjectivity, this leaves a person suspect, relying solely on empirical evidence of things unseen, such as intuition, the psyche and love. It makes for difficult intimate trusting relationships.

You will not win in a war of words with this Queen, and you don't want to cross her, as she will cut you with her quick wit, and sharp tongue. She expects much from others, like she does from herself. This can be manifested in a character defect as perfectionism, and having unrealistic expectations of others, that they can not idealistically live up to.

Inherent in the Queen of Swords seems to be is a lack of trust in the self, in others, and in the God of her own understanding. Reason, rational thought, and logic are the tools she uses to solve her problems, and how she reaches her conclusions. It is difficult for her to let go of her rational mind, and to take that leap of faith that is a prerequisite for trust.

Understand that I am somewhat biased, and admittedly a bit jealous of her ability to be so intellectually, rationally strong and emotionally detached. I know I am not so much like her, but she has some very admirable personality characteristics I relate to, and I try to emulate and adopt her mental strengths, and her positive traits.

The Queen of Swords is a very strong warrior woman. She is the embodied mythic figure of Atalanta the Huntress, who in the past was dealt a bad hand of cards, regardless, she has thrived, not in spite of all these struggles, but because of them. She has developed an internal fortitude, that has given her an independence and the self-reliance to take care of herself. In this way she is very close to my heart, as I have known and know, many beautiful strong woman like her, and I identify with her very much.

Wolf Woman-Catherine Meyers

The Queen of Swords - Atalanta

There are no mistakes. Really? Well I think I can agree with this statement, though it does sound like a ridiculous statement on one level, it does not mean perfection, and that we never stop making mistakes. This is far from being true. Our so called mistakes I do believe, are wake up calls, all part of our life journey, and they can serve us well, to enable a change in our behaviour for the better.

In spite of the mistakes, I don't need to panic. I do need to try to relax. I know this is much easier said than done, because of my human fight or flight reaction, but it doesn't mean I stop trying to do some serious introspective homework, to figure out what the next step is. I cannot fear my mistakes, but I do need to embrace them, in order to make the changes necessary in order to avoid a repeat.

We don't always purposely make mistakes, but regardless we can avoid many of them if we can let go of our demand for perfection, often creating our own problems.

The Queen is the perfect card to draw today, as she lifts up the individual struggling to overcome a panic attack ( namely me). This Queen uses her intelligence, and her intuitive passion to solve her problems.

 Atalanta is embodied in the Queen, and when she was born, her father King Iasus, who wanted a male child, cruely abandoned her on a mountainside to die.  Atalanta was then helped by Artemis-Hecate, the moon-goddess, who sent a she-bear to suckle the child, and so, she is well acquainted with animal instinct. Later she was found and raised by a clan of hunters who found her. She learned to fight, and was a fierce hunter along side of men, and was always happy. Atalanta became the 'swiftest mortal alive' and was full of prowess. She greatly identified with the masculine world, and strove for perfection.

 It is said that she was the only woman who joined the Jason and the Argonauts on the great ship Argo, in search of the Golden Fleece.

Crescent Moon Bear - Catherine Meyers

Love Never Dies - Queen of Swords

The Queen of Swords continues on bravely in spite of loss.
She is very much the idealist, in that she can expect a lot from others. This can be a big disappointment if these expectations are unrealistic. My experience has shown me that people will, and do disappoint, because they will never measure up to unrealistic expectations.  I have to accept my short comings, know and understand, that I have in the past, and no doubt will continue to disappoint someone in some way, simply because I am a human being. I need to forgive and love myself and others for not 'measuring' up.

On the other hand people can surprise, delight and display loving kindness that will restore faith, and my belief in the capacity for love. In this troubled world today, I need to hold fast to this, because it gives hope.

 I don't have to expect others to believe in what I believe, but if they can truly love others, and show human kindness, this is what is important to me.

I lost a close friend to death yesterday, and though I know he was not so much a believer in God, he displayed more generousity of spirit, gentleness, and love than many people who don't, but profess to love God. I never expected this of him, and accepted him as he was, as he accepted me, warts and all.

I certainly will miss him, very, very much. He had a lot to teach others about love, and I hope he knew just how much he was loved. My friend had three essential qualities in order to live a full life, a love for his fellow man and woman, humility, and a great sense of humour. It was a privilege, and a great blessing to have known him.
Howard helped to show me the way, and to know that love never dies.

Queen of Swords - Idealism

Today's card from the Minor Arcana, the Queen of Swords is a strong independent woman. In the Mythic Tarot the Queen is Atalanta who was abandoned but her father who was disappointed that he had no male heir. He left her on a hill, but she was rescued and nursed by a bear, sent by the moon-goddess Artemis- Hecate.

Crescent Moon Bear - Catherine Meyers

The Queen appears aloof and cool, but don't be fooled, she has a soft underbelly after experiencing  great losses, and many difficulties in her life. This Queen is very familiar with hard times and suffering, but continues to thrive, not just in spite of them, but because of these burdens she has had to bare, this has given her an inner strength.
She has a vehement sense of justice, and benevolently upholds and champions the rights of others, perhaps as a result of her own loss and brokenness.

 Quick witted with a sharp tongue, she can cut to the quick, being very intelligent and passionate about her high ideals. Not willing to settle in love she can cut her nose off to spite her face because of this idealism, which in the extreme, is an expectation of perfectionism in others; an expectation that was placed upon herself as well at a young age.

The Queen is a woman possessing a strong sense of integrity and pride, but she is also lonely, and isolated as a result of these high ideals. She may be unconscious of her perfectionist expectations, however it does have a positive aspect, in that others are inspired by her, to improve upon themselves.

Being too idealistic prevents us from ever measuring up to a perfectionist ideal. It does not exist in reality, and is an image. This state occurs because this individual is fearful of being human, and leaves us vulnerable to being hurt.

Many of us have been hurt in early life or in the past, which manifests into our adult life, especially if we lack self-awareness, and choose not seek help to resolve these issues. Serious problems arise in our relationships with others, as a result of clinging to an unmovable faith in high ideals, leading to an addiction perfectionism.