Her right hand raises the weapon vertically and the hilt rests on an arm of her royal chair; the left hand is extended, the arm raised; her countenance is severe but chastened; it suggests familiarity with sorrow. It does not represent mercy, and, her sword notwithstanding, she is scarcely a symbol of power.
the plate, in waite's words · the painted card will hang here in time
In divination
Widowhood, female sadness and embarrassment, absence, sterility, mourning, privation, separation.
Her sword raised vertically, one hand extended, the Queen's expression is severe but "chastened," Waite writes, a face that "suggests familiarity with sorrow." He is careful to note what the weapon does not make her, "she does not represent mercy, and, her sword notwithstanding, she is scarcely a symbol of power." Widowhood and separation fill his compiled reading, the suit's conflict here carried as grief that has outlasted its cause rather than force freshly wielded.
a young page · the keeper's voice pass on the note is still to come