nisaba
Sorry I've been so remiss in discussing this deck which has become a firm favourite - I've been studying which has eaten into my time, my computer has tried very hard to die and has several times almost succeeded, and I've been writing and thinking as well, which is always time-consuming. I'm also planning a new career and (separately) organising a foray into educational TV. What with also having to throw food and clean laundry at a teenager plus a health event two weeks ago, it's made life a little busy. Grf - just when you think you're getting a handle on routine, over goes the apple-cart. Oh, well ...
Okay, so today I've decided to use my previous method of choosing cards - by drawing them - and I pulled a few ones we had already discussed. Number three was the Queen Cups.Water lies across the darkness of space, and above it on the right, a glass Cup floats. A glittering star-map of the constellation of Andromeda has its base inside the Cup, and branches out above it. Next to this most of the face the face of a calm woman, classically elegant and with a large hoop-earring in the one visible ear, fades through the darkness, the water and the stars behind her. Many of the stars seem to form freckles on her skin - I've always been drawn to freckled women. She seem to be looking at teh observer's whole face rather than making eye contact, and she also seems to be suppressing a smile. She is the picture of acceptance and restraint.
The not-so-L not-so-WB tells us that the constellation and the woman are Andromeda, daughter of another constellation, Cassiopeia. Andromeda features in a couple of decks I've previously bought, though as a pip-card, and it is good to see her take on queenliness. She is the ultimate victim of betrayal: not only does her rather egocentric and narcissistic mother focus on her own allure rather than her daughter's need for family stability, but when her narcissism calls down the wrath of the sea-god, instead of facing the music herself, she sacrifices her daughter in her stead, the one person she should be protecting most.
Andromeda, as the sacrificed one, could, or perhaps should have been killed, instead of which the improbably type-cast hero-figure plunges in and rescues her. Annoyingly, she does not fight for her right to life and freedom. Annoyingly, she does not call her mother to account for her wrongs. Instead she does the whole decorative-woman thing, accepting whatever may come her way, including whatever hero happened to get there first. If I were Perseus, I'd be less than flattered by the idea of first-come-first-serve, I mean, she might have been just as happy with Herakles, Achilles or even Jason. All very worrying, from his perspective.
And yet, her capacity to love and accept any of these men depending on what the universe throws her way is a part of what defines her, as does her tearfulness (being chained in the waves) and her acceptance of events that would discombobulate the rest of us. Unlike the Queen Swords, she does not make up her own mind and stick to it - she lets fate do it for her. Unlike the Queen Wands, she does not fight for her freedom and her right not to be sacrificed for her mother's behaviours. Unlike the Queen Pentacles, she can survive with only water, not solid ground, beneath her feet. So the very Watery qualities that make her vaguely annoying, also are her key to identity, survival and a strange introverted power in her seeming powerlessness.
At the wedding of Andromeda and Perseus (don't say it - there HAD to be a wedding!), I would have given anything to be a fly on the wall before the ceremony, listening to the bride and the mother-of-the-bride talking privately as they're getting dressed. I can imagine ...
The question offered for this card is: What deep emotions are you sensing?
Okay, so today I've decided to use my previous method of choosing cards - by drawing them - and I pulled a few ones we had already discussed. Number three was the Queen Cups.Water lies across the darkness of space, and above it on the right, a glass Cup floats. A glittering star-map of the constellation of Andromeda has its base inside the Cup, and branches out above it. Next to this most of the face the face of a calm woman, classically elegant and with a large hoop-earring in the one visible ear, fades through the darkness, the water and the stars behind her. Many of the stars seem to form freckles on her skin - I've always been drawn to freckled women. She seem to be looking at teh observer's whole face rather than making eye contact, and she also seems to be suppressing a smile. She is the picture of acceptance and restraint.
The not-so-L not-so-WB tells us that the constellation and the woman are Andromeda, daughter of another constellation, Cassiopeia. Andromeda features in a couple of decks I've previously bought, though as a pip-card, and it is good to see her take on queenliness. She is the ultimate victim of betrayal: not only does her rather egocentric and narcissistic mother focus on her own allure rather than her daughter's need for family stability, but when her narcissism calls down the wrath of the sea-god, instead of facing the music herself, she sacrifices her daughter in her stead, the one person she should be protecting most.
Andromeda, as the sacrificed one, could, or perhaps should have been killed, instead of which the improbably type-cast hero-figure plunges in and rescues her. Annoyingly, she does not fight for her right to life and freedom. Annoyingly, she does not call her mother to account for her wrongs. Instead she does the whole decorative-woman thing, accepting whatever may come her way, including whatever hero happened to get there first. If I were Perseus, I'd be less than flattered by the idea of first-come-first-serve, I mean, she might have been just as happy with Herakles, Achilles or even Jason. All very worrying, from his perspective.
And yet, her capacity to love and accept any of these men depending on what the universe throws her way is a part of what defines her, as does her tearfulness (being chained in the waves) and her acceptance of events that would discombobulate the rest of us. Unlike the Queen Swords, she does not make up her own mind and stick to it - she lets fate do it for her. Unlike the Queen Wands, she does not fight for her freedom and her right not to be sacrificed for her mother's behaviours. Unlike the Queen Pentacles, she can survive with only water, not solid ground, beneath her feet. So the very Watery qualities that make her vaguely annoying, also are her key to identity, survival and a strange introverted power in her seeming powerlessness.
At the wedding of Andromeda and Perseus (don't say it - there HAD to be a wedding!), I would have given anything to be a fly on the wall before the ceremony, listening to the bride and the mother-of-the-bride talking privately as they're getting dressed. I can imagine ...
The question offered for this card is: What deep emotions are you sensing?