Often, before beginning a reading, a Tarot reader will set out the four Queen cards, one each for the suits of Pentacles, Swords, Wands, and Cups, and ask the Seeker (that’s you) which one you like best. Your chosen card will represent you in the reading. From what you choose, the reader learns a lot about you. How is that possible when you have never met before and the reader doesn’t even know your name?
This is how: You have chosen your Queen intuitively, responding to the cards’ colors, figures, backgrounds, and symbolism. The Tarot reader has studied all of these in depth, even details it takes time to notice, and knows what they mean.
Queen of Pentacles = The Queen of Sheba
In modern Tarot readings with the popular Rider-Waite deck, all cards in the suit of Pentacles picture five-pointed stars set in yellow circles. These are read as financial cards and indicate money’s ebb and flow. The Queen of Pentacles, in a rich red robe and surrounded by rose garlands, seated amid scenic property that stretches for miles, is holding a gigantic gold coin in her lap, regarding it fondly. If material comfort and possessions matter to you—if you couldn’t live without them—then you are the Queen of Pentacles. She is pictured as dark-skinned like the Queen of Sheba who brought King Solomon lavish gifts from her homeland. This Queen’s feet are on untilled fertile earth, and a rabbit scoots across the bottom right of the card. Her red clothing means she’s passionate in the ways that count, and the result is wealth.
This Queen enjoys children; having children and grandchildren is another expression of creativity and another form of wealth. If you are this queen, you require a job that allows you a satisfying amount of power over what goes on; you’d make a good office or bank manager, stockbroker, school principal, beauty consultant, or banker. Because you instantly know value when you see it, you could deal in real estate, cars, jewelry and gems, exotic imports, or maybe antiques. Where you’d be unhappy: Modeling, sports, dance, or other jobs requiring strict daily discipline, which end when the body is broken and can’t take any more. You’d rather dine sumptuously. Partnership is your deepest desire. It helps your soul feel secure. This Queen also identifies with Queen Isabella of Spain, who funded the voyages of Christopher Columbus, but paid him only when his ships returned with loaded with valuables. On the negative side, this Queen might not be able to get money off her mind and stunts her own emotional and spiritual life; she turns into an old woman who thinks everyone is stealing from her.
Queen of Swords = Queen Noor of Jordan
A beautiful and educated modern American, Lisa Halaby of Washington D.C., of Arab and Swedish descent, had a degree in architecture and urban planning. She was designing an airport in Jordan when the King of Jordan met her and made her his queen, giving her the Arabic name “Noor,” meaning “Light.” Never idle, Queen Noor involved herself in international relations, traveling worldwide and winning respect and attention for her oil-rich country. She dressed and carried herself with dignity, even when sorrowful—she was the king’s fourth wife, and the King was the type to habitually have affairs. Queenly posture and dignity is the key to handling marital sorrow if divorce isn’t an option. When her husband died, her son became King, so she is now the Queen Dowager and devotes her time to world organizations.
You are the Queen of Swords if your mind is keen and you are an expert in some field, or a skilled professional such as a lawyer, editor, nurse, motivational speaker, teacher, club officer, coach, or executive. You prefer classic or modest clothing to cheap rags and bling. This queen, wearing white for brilliance, holds a sword and has a serious expression, but she’s wearing a cape made of clouds and a crown of butterflies, so she definitely has a lighter side. She is Superwoman, or the great Biblical judge and prophet Deborah, believing in justice and fairness and showing sterling qualities of character. With her left hand she is inviting those in search of wisdom or justice to come forward and speak with her. If you are this Queen, your intellectual and spiritual growth isn’t finished at age 25 or even 45; it’s lifelong. You learn from experience. Your charisma amazes others; use it to inspire them. You are a great role model, or if you’re young, you will be. The Queen of Swords is brainy, goal-oriented, and determined, and on the wings of angels (there’s one carved into her throne) can rise above the sorrows of life and prize her scars as symbols of survival. This queen can respond to insults or other disappointments with an evil tongue, nagging and criticizing.
Queen of Wands = Queen Elizabeth the First
England has had many more queens than kings because the kings married often, but the most famous English monarch is a Queen, Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry the Eighth, who governed the British Empire for 44 years. She wanted power, knew how to get it, and wasn’t afraid to use it. She won wars against the two other political superpowers, France and Spain, imprisoned her troublemaking sister for 18 years, and, very cultured herself, encouraged the arts and sciences, bringing England out of its Dark Ages and making it a world power. She had noble lovers and confidants, and male allies and advisers from several countries, but staying single was her tactic for remaining sole ruler of England. Like her father, she answered to nobody.
When the Queen of Wands appears in a Tarot reading, I call her the Business Queen. This is your Queen if you can turn a talent or interest into a business. From a small seed, this Queen grows the great sunflower she holds like a scepter. Or she takes over a failing business, or one passed down to her by her father, and startles everyone by making it successful. She likes fast-track careers, selling, and traveling. Her confidence makes her very sexy, and the Queen of Wands, of course, has an element of mystery and magic that intrigues men of substance. She is radiant, but her darker feline aura is represented on the card by her pet black cat. Beware if this Queen is angry; she sets clever traps and has lots of friends to back her. Lions flank her throne and are also pictured on a tapestry, because she is the lioness of the Tarot. She is shown in a desert, representing the element of fire.
Queen of Cups = Queen Cleopatra
Queen Cleopatra maintained an active love life with rich and powerful men, and to this day her goddess-like status, which she created and maintained, and her fashion sense persists. An icon, Queen Cleopatra (her name names “from a glorious father”) is still sculpted and painted and portrayed on stage and film although she lived 2000 years ago. She is also the last Egyptian Pharaoh. She was known throughout the ancient world as a great beauty, but even more special were her sweet voice and witty conversation, and ability to speak nine languages. This Queen had it all.
The Queen of Cups in Tarot is like the Queen of Hearts in regular playing cards. Close relationships are her forte and her pleasure, although sometimes she competes with those closest to her. Cleopatra wouldn’t share the throne with any man, including her lovers and brother. You are this Queen if you are intuitive, sensitive, artistic, beautifully groomed, and have a gorgeous residence or garden—or dream of one. You see straight into all hearts, and attract friends by listening and showing compassion. On the card, the Queen of Cups holds and studies a strange and magical solid gold cup decorated with symbols of several religions; this represents her spirituality, which feeds her tremendous creative powers. She knows that being creative is serving God the Creator. In addition to having love affairs, this Queen writes, dances, paints, sings, or makes movies, or is otherwise a creative type and hopes to leave her art as her legacy. She is enthroned where the water and the earth meet, and if you chose this Queen you probably have the urge to live or be near rivers or oceans, or on the beach. When afflicted, this Queen can become clingy and needy, seeing the glass as half empty instead of half full.
