JDusk
Image: A woman holds a large bunch of wheat in a room full of plants and shelves. She has red-blond hair in a braid and wears a collared shirt with rolled-up sleeves and an apron, both greenish. The entire room looks dim with a blue cast, and doesn’t have any obvious windows except directly next to the door. The outside is just solid green. The door is open and has a crooked blank sign hanging on it. Bunches of red and purple flowers hang from the ceiling to dry, some stems green but a few dried to brown. There are some pots of plants and one that looks like it holds wrapped bouquets of flowers. Some empty vases and a sink are visible in the background.
Keywords: Curiosity, progress, perfection, beauty, order
Element: Earth
Visual analysis: This card strikes me as introverted, but not restful. The room(/inner world?) is full but not crowded, and the woman seems happy alone with her plants, whereas the outside world is completely empty. This is a place of work, however, not simply pleasure: the sink suggests functionality (not a showroom), and so do the vases waiting for flowers, the apron, and the hanging flowers – something is always in progress here. But there is also a need for time and patience in having them dry. There is nurturing as indicated by the things she has grown, harvested, and cared for, as well as productivity and dedication. There is also a sense of abundance and an implication of fecundity from the many flowers and the healthy bunch of wheat.
Reversed, I'm struck by how alone and closed off she is in this room. The dim blue tones seem more pressing and the vertical lines of the floor push my eyes down instead of up. She harvested these plants from nature but she is stuck here contemplating them, not with her hands in the soil. Those flowers are now upright, however, meaning that process of drying is interrupted (even if only symbolically)... makes me think of someone taking them down before they're done drying, so maybe impatience. The focus is also now on the flowers, not the woman, so perhaps materialism, or focusing on things instead of processes, is at play.
As Virgo: Going off of what the guidebook says, I see a florist/gardener who is knowledgeable and organized. She is no longer a hobbyist – she has sharpened her skills, put everything in order, and now has a small business. There is literal growth in these plants, but there is also personal growth – wheat is not shown in the background, so perhaps this is a new venture for her? She has harvested the results of a new type of gardening, so her venture has been successful.
As the Empress: A lot of the traditional meanings are clear here, but this is a much more down-to-earth take on the Empress’s femininity, with an apron instead of robes and velvet. She is on her feet putting these concepts into action, not just acting as a symbol. She looks proud of the results of her work, and something about the way she rests the wheat on one hand reminds me of someone holding a baby.
Keywords: Curiosity, progress, perfection, beauty, order
Element: Earth
Visual analysis: This card strikes me as introverted, but not restful. The room(/inner world?) is full but not crowded, and the woman seems happy alone with her plants, whereas the outside world is completely empty. This is a place of work, however, not simply pleasure: the sink suggests functionality (not a showroom), and so do the vases waiting for flowers, the apron, and the hanging flowers – something is always in progress here. But there is also a need for time and patience in having them dry. There is nurturing as indicated by the things she has grown, harvested, and cared for, as well as productivity and dedication. There is also a sense of abundance and an implication of fecundity from the many flowers and the healthy bunch of wheat.
Reversed, I'm struck by how alone and closed off she is in this room. The dim blue tones seem more pressing and the vertical lines of the floor push my eyes down instead of up. She harvested these plants from nature but she is stuck here contemplating them, not with her hands in the soil. Those flowers are now upright, however, meaning that process of drying is interrupted (even if only symbolically)... makes me think of someone taking them down before they're done drying, so maybe impatience. The focus is also now on the flowers, not the woman, so perhaps materialism, or focusing on things instead of processes, is at play.
As Virgo: Going off of what the guidebook says, I see a florist/gardener who is knowledgeable and organized. She is no longer a hobbyist – she has sharpened her skills, put everything in order, and now has a small business. There is literal growth in these plants, but there is also personal growth – wheat is not shown in the background, so perhaps this is a new venture for her? She has harvested the results of a new type of gardening, so her venture has been successful.
As the Empress: A lot of the traditional meanings are clear here, but this is a much more down-to-earth take on the Empress’s femininity, with an apron instead of robes and velvet. She is on her feet putting these concepts into action, not just acting as a symbol. She looks proud of the results of her work, and something about the way she rests the wheat on one hand reminds me of someone holding a baby.