Happy birthday to Ellen Terry, the model for the Queen of Swords in the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck. The image created by Pamela Colman Smith may have been inspired by a role Terry played on stage: the Viking queen Hjordis, whose name means “sword goddess.”

In the Tarot, swords represent air, knowledge, and ideas, and the Queen is the subtle wielder of that element. Invoke the power of the Queen of Swords when you need the knowledge of strength to cut to the heart of the matter. Hold Pamela Colman Smith’s image before you and chant:

Sword in hand, rosaries at your wrist,
You wear velvet gloves, hide mailed fists!
Share your knowledge, share your wealth,
That I may take it into myself.