The Mirror of the Moment

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The Mirror of the Moment Page 21

by Richard Palmer


  relationship;

  egotism

  obstructing

  a

  correct

  career choice;

  insensitivity towards your coworkers; a lack of self control

  undermining your social relationships; unreliable professional

  behavior; financial dishonesty; pursuing a life of sexual perversity

  and immorality; using emotional hysteria to control others;

  alienation from your authentic inner self; suffering confusion over

  personal or financial problems; living with a lack common sense in

  your daily life.

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  THE QUEEN OF SWORDS

  Queen of the Thrones of Air

  Water of Air

  DESCRIPTION AND SYMBOLISM

  A sad and stern faced Queen sits on a throne of solid grey stone

  inscribed with the face of a youthful angel and the image of a

  butterfly. Grayish clouds billow up towards her side and the wind

  is rising in the trees as though a storm is gathering. She wears a

  golden crown decorated in a butterfly motif and sits upon a throne

  holding an erect sword in her right hand. She is robed in grey and

  blue and her left hand is raised as though beckoning someone to

  approach and be heard. A solitary eagle soars in the clear blue sky

  high above her symbolizing the loftiness of her thoughts. Her sad

  visage suggests some past loss, perhaps that of a child whose

  angelic face decorates the side of her throne so the memory over

  her loss remains with her always.

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  MEDITATION

  The rational analytic skills of intellectual Air element blended with

  the polished diplomatic and relationship abilities inherent in

  emotional Water support this Queen not only in the lofty flights of

  her reason but in her uncanny ability to cut through the veil of lies

  that cloud most people’

  s perception and strike to the heart of truth

  buried within the many issues that confront her. As a judge, she

  cannot be deceived and dispenses her justice or mercy without

  emotional involvement letting the facts of the matter be the sole

  arbiter

  of

  her

  royal

  judgment. This

  Queen’

  s

  talent

  for

  discrimination and analysis and her ability to be objective towards

  her own emotions make her a force to be reckoned with for she has

  an acute emotional control and clarity of thought and perception

  that allows her to cut away falsehoods and find the truth of any

  matter, especially one that involves her personally.

  INTUITIVE CLOUDS

  When the Queen of Swords appears she may indicate you, another

  person close to you, someone who may enter your life, an aspect of

  your own personality or an aspect of yourself that needs to be

  recognized and developed or asserted. She may also represent a

  situation you find yourself in.

  When Appearing Upright and Representing a Person

  The Queen of Swords is a mature, highly intelligent and quick

  witted woman - someone who is highly rational, keenly perceptive

  and confident in all she undertakes. She has excellent political

  skills and is highly adept at balancing conflicting points of view so

  they resolve in a position that furthers her own personal ends. She

  is a woman of strong character - an independent thinker who is

  uncompromising and realistic. As a woman she is acquainted with

  sorrow but has the emotional control, strength and dignity not to let

  her painful inner emotional landscape color her reason and royal

  judgment.

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  When Appearing Upright and Not Representing a Person

  When The Queen of Swords is revealed Upright in your reading,

  its meaning(s) may correspond to: being perceptive as to who are

  your real friends; acting with intelligence; a need for financial

  independence; the strength to bear sorrow; self-confidence on the

  job; strength of character when facing adversity; a need to make a

  mature career choice; a need for greater rationality and emotional

  control.

  When Appearing Reversed and Representing a Person

  Reversed, the Queen of Swords is a weak, dishonest, narrow

  minded, vicious and intolerant woman. She can be maliciously

  clever and cruelly manipulative and delights in using gossip to

  embarrass and discredit other people. She is given to extreme

  jealousy and paranoia and can deal with people in a very

  unreasoning and unjust manner.

  When Appearing Reversed and Not Representing a Person

  When The Queen of Swords is revealed Reversed in your

  reading, its meaning(s) may correspond to: a need to move away

  from a past sorrow; cruelty towards the person who loves you

  most; being too narrow minded in evaluating your career choices;

  bigotry and intolerance towards others; becoming a victim of

  gossip in the workplace; acting with malice towards all; jealousy

  over a rival getting the better of you; perpetrating injustice in

  society; possessing a manipulative nature when it comes to money;

  a failure to find love due to your perverse character.

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  THE QUEEN OF PENTACLES

  The Queen of the Throne of Earth

  Water of Earth

  DESCRIPTION AND SYMBOLISM

  Amid the opulent splendor of Nature the Queen of Pentacles sits

  alone on her solidly built throne in a lush natural setting amid fresh

  greenery and fruit laden vines and flowering bushes over which

  extends a canopy of roses. Her throne is decorated with images of

  fruit trees, rams heads, angels, embryos and other fertility symbols.

  She lovingly gazes upon the single pentacle which rests upon her

  lap. A brown rabbit, the symbol of her fecundity and fertility,

  emerges out of the undergrowth and makes its way across the

  meadow. The traditional colors of the four elements – Fire – Earth

  –Air and Water – form a harmonious color tapestry throughout the

  image of this resplendent Queen symbolizing that all aspects of

  natural life fall under her dominion.

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  The Mirror of the Moment

  MEDITATION

  The regenerative force of life as manifested in the eternal cycles of

  Nature demonstrates to the wise that no such majesty could exist

  without the fertile power of the Divine Feminine that we see

  symbolized in the Queen of Pentacles. She combines Water and

  Earth with the perfect receptivity and energy necessary to be the

  Queen Mother of all life. She is the fertile water that flows in the

  depths of the Earth unseen and hidden and ever nourishing all life

  out of the silence in which she dwells in her secret realm. In the

  recognition of her Divinity and in paying obeisance to it, we attain

  to the highest level of spiritual understanding.

  INTUITIVE CLOUDS

  When the Queen of Pentacles appears in a reading she may

  indicate you, another person close to you, someone who may enter<
br />
  your life, an aspect of your own personality or an aspect of

  yourself that needs to be recognized, further developed or asserted.

  She may also represent a situation you find yourself in.

  When Appearing Upright and Representing a Person

  The Queen of Pentacles represents a shrewd, intelligent, sensible

  and down to earth woman who is highly intelligent – a true Earth

  Mother. She is also someone who loves splendor and personal

  display and can be creative in many ways as she makes good use

  of her many talents. She is charitable and kind of heart and is

  generous with her gifts - a truly noble and trustworthy soul but one

  who at times is prone to mistaking others true motives and being

  over generous to those who are in her sphere of influence.

  When Appearing Upright and Not Representing a Person

  When The Queen of Pentacles is revealed Upright in your

  reading, its meaning(s) may correspond to: a time of fertility;

  choosing a career in which you can fully utilize your innate

  intelligence and creativity; putting your inherent talents and

  abilities to good use in the workplace; sensibility towards the needs

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  The Mirror of the Moment

  of others; adopting a practical, down to earth attitude in dealing

  with this difficult situation; having nobility of soul; generosity;

  trustworthiness; exhibiting financial shrewdness in a current

  transaction; having a charitable and kind hearted nature when in a

  leadership role; a realization that you really want to be a mother.

  When Appearing Reversed and Representing a Person

  This card represents a suspicious and erratic woman who is narrow

  in outlook and mistrusts all that she doesn't understand. She is

  selfish and miserly when it comes to her family and friends but is

  very free spending in matters concerning her self. She possesses

  little creative ability and often neglects important duties or pushes

  them off onto her reluctant subordinates.

  When Appearing Reversed and Not Representing a Person

  When The Queen of Pentacles is revealed Reversed in your

  reading, its meaning(s) may correspond to: a current time of

  infertility; frustration in your career; selfishness in your social

  relationships; a fear of failure at work; mistrust and suspicion of

  those who support you; negligence in raising your children; having

  a suspicious attitude towards other people; the avoidance of

  financial responsibility; emotional dependency; consistent neglect

  of your duties; a rejection of motherhood; having a too narrow

  outlook on life; being a manipulative personality;

  living as an

  erratic and selfish individual who uses people for her own gain.

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  The Mirror of the Moment

  The Kings

  Kings represent the Fire element. The Fire King stands ready for

  action - to go forth and assert his Will; the Water King awaits his

  subjects so he may dispense compassionate advice; the Air King

  sits before us that we may approach and hear his judgment and the

  Earth King revels in his sensual garden of earthly delights.

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  The Mirror of the Moment

  THE KING OF WANDS

  King of the Spirits of Fire

  Fire of Fire

  DESCRIPTION AND SYMBOLISM

  The King of Wands sits upon a golden throne decorated with

  symbols of the Fire element - lions and salamanders. The

  salamanders are portrayed consuming their own tails. Around his

  neck hangs a lion necklace and upon his head beneath a red cap of

  maintenance sits a golden crown shaped into an ornate flame like

  design. His royal robes are colored red- orange and are trimmed in

  flaming yellow cuffs. He wears a green cowl; his cloak is colored

  yellow and is decorated with black salamanders. His slippers are

  dyed green and in his right hand he holds a single flowering Wand.

  His throne is supported by a concrete slab and sits upon the blazing

  dessert sands. To his left and attending him is a lone salamander

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  The Mirror of the Moment

  who acts as his sentinel and whose keen vision serves as an early

  warning of any danger that might approach the King. There is no

  top to his throne and it appears to extend upwards into the sky

  symbolizing that the fiery creative force which flows through him

  proceeds from a higher ground of being.

  MEDITATION

  As Fire of Fire the King of Wands expresses in his character the

  essence of the Fire element and the realization of the creative

  function of consciousness – that function which unites the inner

  world of Spirit with the outer world of Nature and allows the

  creative energy to flow from the higher ground of being upon

  which all consciousness rests through the self consciousness of the

  individual and into the natural world.

  INTUITIVE CLOUDS

  When the King of Wands appears he may indicate you; another

  person close to you; someone who may enter your life or an aspect

  of your own personality or an aspect of your own personality that

  needs to be recognized and further developed or asserted. He may

  also represent a situation you find yourself in.

  When Appearing Upright and Representing a Person

  The King of Wands is a friendly, loyal, trustworthy, honest and

  conscientious person who is generous and kind and loves family

  life and traditional ways. He is a just, generous and enterprising

  King who is high-principled and passionate - a perfect gentleman

  who comes from a noble lineage. The King is a decisive leader

  who combines an adventuresome spirit with a creative and

  innovative approach to problem solving. Sometimes, though, he is

  a bit too hasty and rushes into things without sufficient

  forethought. He is always alert and when stirred into action acts

  with great energy and resolve. Failure is not an option to the King

  of Wands and this card often represents a self confident and

  ambitious person who has attained success through the sheer force

  of their personality.

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  The Mirror of the Moment

  When Appearing Upright and Not Representing a Person

  When The King of Wands is revealed Upright in your reading, its

  meaning(s) may correspond to: success in the matter of your

  inquiry; loyalty; trustworthiness; honesty; kindness; generosity;

  strength; passion; nobility; understanding; self confidence; political

  success; high moral principles; decisiveness; having an ambitious

  nature; being innovative; being just in your judgments; alertness;

  possessing an enterprising and adventuresome spirit; marital

  fidelity.

  When Appearing Upright and Representing a Person

  The reversed King symbolizes a selfish, ruthless, ill natured and

  intolerant person who is deeply prejudiced and lacking in sincere

  feeling for others. He can be a severe and unyielding man, often

  overbearing, and cruel and despotic. He is unyielding in his

  judgments and is a man who allows no opposition to his decisions.

  He is quick tempered, often violent, and constantly plot
s to destroy

  those who oppose his will.

  When Appearing Reversed and Not Representing a Person

  When The King of Wands is revealed Reversed in your reading,

  its meaning(s) may correspond to: a lack of success in the matter of

  inquiry; a penchant for tyranny; cruelty; selfishness; ruthlessness;

  severity; intolerance; prejudice; a lack of feeling for others; being

  quick tempered and prone to violence; possessing an unyielding

  will and a foul nature; marital infidelity.

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  The Mirror of the Moment

  THE KING OF CUPS

  "The Lord of the Waves and Waters

  Fire of Water

  DESCRIPTION AND SYMBOLISM

  The King of Cups sits on his throne holding a scepter in his right

  hand and a golden Cup in his left. His throne is grey and

  constructed of solid rock with a headrest shaped as a sea shell.

  Miraculously, the throne floats easily upon the waters even though

  the sea swirls restlessly around it. The King sits calmly in the

  middle of this turbulent sea and appears about to dip his foot into

  the energetic waters that surround him. Around his neck he wears

  a fish amulet and to his left a sea snake pokes his head out of the

  rolling waves. In the background a ship tries to make headway as

  it battles against tumultuous seas. The King wears a deep blue

  outer garment accented with a bright yellow cloak trimmed in red.

  A bright red scarf is draped over his left shoulder. On his left

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  The Mirror of the Moment

  hand he appears to be wearing a signet ring, which along with the

  scepter is a symbol of his royal authority. In his right hand he holds

  a large golden cup, a symbol of the depths of his emotional

  sensitivity towards others. The King of Cups is open to all who

  approach him and treats those who enter his life with kindness and

  consideration

  while

  exercising

  his

  royal

  powers

  in

  a

  compassionate, just and sensitive manner.

  MEDITATION

  As the active fire aspect of the water element, the King of Cups

  expresses the virtues and strengths of a true ruler who unites

 

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