Queen of Swords

She is the Queen of Swords--calm, cool, and utterly collected. Don't stare too long into her eyes, unless you want them to pierce right through the pith of you, for this queen is perceptive and very intelligent. Even if she does take your measure, her understanding of what she sees is unbiased and intellectual, and you can expect her to be honest.

I have included in my design many creatures of the air, the element of the swords suit, including the snowy owl. The owl is a well-known symbol of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom who popped right out of Zeus's head fully grown and armed. The snowy owl in particular hunts using what is called the "sit-and-wait" method, relying on its own patience and astuteness to catch its meal.

I have also drawn a number of nests with eggs in order to indicate the latent power that is inherent in all queens. Like Joan Bunning says, queens express the qualities of their suits from the inside. In a sense, the eggs within the nests symbolize the birthing of ideas.

The flowers at the queen's feet are anemones, or windflowers. Anemone is Greek for "daughter of the wind," which is very fitting in the case of the Queen of Swords.