ANCIENT EGYPTIAN STUDY GROUP - Queen Swords

rwcarter

The Queen sits on her throne, which is the air itself. The throne represents the Queen's power or the realm over which she rules, which in this case is the air or the mind.

She holds a sword in one hand and a carving of a child's head in the other, as if balancing one against the other. The child can represent one's inner self or one's inner child. It suggests playfulness or youth and may be associated with inexperience or immaturity. It may indicate that additional guidance or direction is needed.

The head corresponds to ideas, intentions or one's current state of mind. There are many metaphors concerning the head:
  • "using one's head" means giving it some thought
  • "it went to his head" means he became egotistical
  • "she's out of her head" means she's crazy
  • "heading off the problem" means stopping the situation
  • "head's up" is a warning of immediate danger
  • "they couldn't make heads or tails of it" means they didn't understand it
  • "coming to a head" means moving towards a confrontation
  • "being in over one's head" means the current situation exceeds one's ability to handle it

The Queen appears to be trying to find a balance between being overly analytical and exhibiting child-like exuberance.

She wears the golden-winged headdress of the vulture goddess Nekhebet, who was the patron goddess of Upper Egypt. She was thought to be the mother of the divine aspect of the pharaoh and thus became known as Father of Fathers and Mother of Mothers.

Two geese fly behind the Queen. The goose is associated with foolishness and stupidity. It also represents breath and the wind. The Nile Goose is the creator of the world - it laid the Cosmic Egg from which Amun-Ra (see the Fool), the sun, was hatched. The goose was an attribute of Geb and was an emblem of Isis, Osiris and Horus.

Flying represents the release of spirit from the limitations of matter and passage from one plane to another. It suggests the ability to journey freely through understanding. It's associated with rising above or overcoming a situation or experience.

Rodney