Thoth – Rider-Waite

Queen of Disks: The Helpful, Discontented Hostess and Mother

The Queen of Disks. This card represents the personality that arises from the Watery part of Earth; the passive, intuitive, emotional part of the practical and down-to-earth individual. She is a people-person, who enjoys life and the company of others. She is pleasant to be around, and works hard to get what she needs, and then does not hesitate in enjoying what she has. She has a great knowledge of the practical side of human emotions and feelings, and is able to and often willing to help people with their problems.

The Queen of Disks is Charming and Bighearted, and often acts like a Mother Figure. She is Affectionate and can also be Sensual, concerned with the physical and material nature of human interaction. She is given to being Sexual as well frequently, and has a desire to please her body physically. To these ends, she can also be Seductive, but she does not use her abilities to seduce for her own personal gains; she does it merely to please herself. She is often Quietly Ambitious, but appears to others to be Servile due to her constant helping of others. She is the perfect hostess. She does not scheme or plot in her ambition, but instead Works Hard to get what she wants, always in the Background and out of sight. While she can help other people understand how they feel about themselves and the world, she herself is often rather Dull, and she is not a particularly good entertainer. She may sometimes feel Trapped by her standing and Long to go out and be more useful. She often possesses great practical knowledge, and is Sensible when she needs to be. However, she is also often given to Foolishness when in the company of her friends, and sometimes gives in to Lust and Debauchery. Everyone enjoys being around her, and she works hard to please others to increase her own standing with them, and through them, her standing in the world. She herself will not advance farther, but her actions will help others succeed.

The Rider-Waite art shows a kind-looking woman fondly looking down at a Pentacle she is cradling in her lap. She is caring for it like a mother, and is also surrounded by images of growth and fertility. She herself will not grow further, but she will help others to grow. She also wears an expression of slight discontent, as if she is slightly unhappy with her position, and only gets to live through her children. The Thoth art similarly shows a seated woman cradling a Disk in her arms, but she only seems half there; she gazes longingly off into the distance, wishing for something she will not achieve. A statue of a goat – symbolizing fertility and potential – stands beside her, indicating that those that she rears and teaches will have great potential. Her crown also bears two spiraling horns, emphasizing the idea of continuation (the spiral horns symbolizing infinity) through others. She is surrounded by growth, and yet she herself does not grow.

In a reading, this card asks you to examine the role that people with this personality play in your life. Do you know anybody who seems stuck in his or her life, but does all they can to help others move forward? Anyone who longs of doing better things but seems stuck in a rut? Who others ignore and count as part of the background, yet depend on him or her absolutely? Reversed, this card’s energies are hidden or twisted somehow; perhaps this person hides their discontent very well, or her silent ambition is leading her to send others down the wrong path.