Legend: The Queen of Cups, Britannia

Leo62

The cat and the dress

One thing I'm beginning to realise about this deck is that there is always more than first meets the eye. I just took another look at Britannia and noticed 2 things:

1. If you look closely, her dress seems to be made out of flowers, stones and spiders webs - so she really is the embodiment of the land. She reminds me a bit of the Greek nature goddess Demeter. Also, there is definitely an association with spring and flowering. Those bluebells have a short season in Britain;starting about now, continuing through April and into May, at their height around Beltane.

2. I've just realised that all the queens have cats with them! It's funny, although they are not particularly in the background, they are somehow easy to overlook. I like the cat, but not quite sure how it fits with the rest of the card. You could say that cats symbolise feminine energy in general...any ideas?

Off-topic aside: what's the etiquette regarding introducing a new card? I'd like to do the 5 of Cups, as this card has been dogging me all week - but don't want to tread on any toes :)
 

Sophie-David

Hi Leo

The only protocol is to check the Legend Index thread to check if the card has been done yet. Then just go ahead! :)

The Fives and Pages are unique in that they were done as part of comparative threads: Legend: The Fives and Legend: The Four Pages. You could either continue this comparative thread on the Fives with a post on the Five of Cups, or just open a new thread for this card. I think I would be tempted to open a new thread since its a bit awkward trying to tap into the flow of the comparative thread as it exists. Anyway, that's completely up to you.

If you do decide to start a new thread, the preferred format for the title would be "Legend: Five of Cups, Lancelot & Elaine", i.e. deck, title, subtitle.

Back to the Queen of Cups: I find its a very powerful image, how her dress is full of natural life, and she and the dress just seem to merge into the life of the Land around her.

Yes, I think the cats reflect the unconscious feminine energy of the accompanying queens, they image her instinctive intuitive and emotional response to the observer. Often the cat engages the viewer directly, while the queen may be off in her own space.

Blessings
David
 

Leo62

Sophie-David said:
Often the cat engages the viewer directly, while the queen may be off in her own space.
Hi David
Yes! I hadn't noticed that. Very noticeable in Queens of Cups and Swords, although the one in the Queen of Spears looks like it would rather be somewhere else, out of the wind and seaspray - maybe by a nice warm fire :)

Another thought; the cat is a domestic animal, whereas the imagery in the Queen of Cups has a "wild nature" feel to it (albeit nature wearing her gentlest face). Perhaps the cat is the link into the card for us "tame" humans.

Thanks for the advice about introducing a card - I'm going off to get reacquainted with Lancelot and Elaine...
 

Sophie-David

WalesWoman said:
There are wild bluebells here on the rocky coastlines of the north eastern Pacific, bluebells-of-Scotland in fact, common harebell, Campanula rotundifolia. I can see them just above me when we're fishing, tempting me to do some death defying climb, since they're usually on some cliff accessible only to the birds.
A bit more research and I think I have it figured out - you are right of course WalesWoman, North America has lots of bluebells. But I suppose its a bit like the English Robin versus North American Robin situation, the same name is used for quite different species. Campanula, the harebell or bluebell of Scotland is apparently "an entirely different plant" from the English bluebell - and the leaves, stalks, and to a lesser extent the flowers certainly do look quite different. I guess I'm betraying my origins when I perceive that only an English bluebell is really a bluebell!;)
 

WalesWoman

Leo62 said:
1. If you look closely, her dress seems to be made out of flowers, stones and spiders webs - so she really is the embodiment of the land. She reminds me a bit of the Greek nature goddess Demeter. Also, there is definitely an association with spring and flowering. Those bluebells have a short season in Britain;starting about now, continuing through April and into May, at their height around Beltane.

:)

The book I'm reading is fiction based on "facts" and myth of course, The Dragon Queen, by Alice Borchardt (Anne Rice's sister) There the Flower Queens are translucent, made of the earth and blossoms, can only be seen by the worthy. So the Queen of Cups dress reminded me very much of these Queens of the Land, that it's not something she's wearing as much as she is it and it is her. Especially if the Cup, the Grail is the life of the earth.

Demeter is life, of growing things, much like the Empress.

I thinks the cats are the feminine intuitive, the connection with the Divine and their resiliancy, the ability to land on their feet, and be independant.
 

Leo62

WalesWoman said:
The book I'm reading is fiction based on "facts" and myth of course, The Dragon Queen, by Alice Borchardt (Anne Rice's sister)

Hi Waleswoman
Thanks for the book reference - I'm definitely going to track that one down. I've read another book by Alice Borchardt called "Night of the Wolf", which was great - very interesting take on the Roman/Celtic period combined with a bit of werewolf mythology. I think she's an underrated writer - much better than her sister IMHO! :)
 

WalesWoman

Off topic: I agree with your opinion of her writting...it's a way different take on the Arthurian characters but I'm loving it and dreading the end. I've only got a couple chapters left to go. So I'm sure it's going to turn into a series.