The Queen of Knives corresponds to the Queen of Swords in the Rider-Waite tarot. Swords are the suit of thought, beliefs, attitude, intellect, and communication. Queens are at the top of the hierarchy, the female and loftiest expression of the suit.
The Queen of Swords is someone who is ruled by her mind. She has no patience for stragglers in the intellectual realm. She can be exceedingly direct and some might say she is too blunt and even cruel, but her words don't come from a sense of malice. Her words may cut like a sword because she simply cannot tolerate nonsense. Her mind has no time for it.
Robert M Place has chosen different characters to represent the court cards in the Vampire tarot. For the Queen of Knives, the book reads:
"This card depicts the famous English actress Ellen Terry. ... she was the principal actress at the Lyceum Theater. Terry was one of the most beautiful, intelligent, and talented actresses of her time. ... Stoker seems to have based many aspects of his character Mina on Terry. This card represents someone who is beautiful, gracious, capable, and intelligent."
This card represents someone who is at the top of her game: not only is she extremely intelligent, she is gifted and talented as well. However, the Vampire Tarot version of this card seems to express a softer side of the Queen of Swords' psyche. Her eyes seem to express a certain vulnerability, even fear, as she looks off to the side, as if she is expecting someone to attack her. You can tell she has been through some trials, but she has learned from her pain. Perhaps she is witnessing others going through some pain and feeling sorrow for the fact that they haven't learned from it. She wishes that she could pass her knowledge on to them to spare them their pain.
We have all been hurt, but pain is a great teacher. The most valuable lessons in life are always the hardest to learn ... but if you absorb the wisdom that comes from them, you don't need to relive them over and over again. It's the lessons we DON'T learn that get repeated incessantly. The Queen of Knives has been hurt, but reminds us that she will not suffer the same pain twice. You don't have to, either.
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