To begin with, I will give some explanation of the court cards in this deck before going specifically into the card.  Daughters of the Moon uses Maiden, Mother, and Crone as the three (not four) court cards that go with each suit.  In terms of traditional correspondances (and group file folders) I will probably include the Maidens with the Pages/Princesses (though they also have qualities of Knights), Mothers with the Queens, and Crones with the Kings.  Do realize however, that this is just for convenience and comparison to other decks, as these aspects of the Goddess are not intended to correspond with the court cards of traditional decks.  They were purposefully redesigned to remove the hierarchical and class concepts embodied by the courts, and to add a wider variety of female aspects to draw from.

Blades is the suit corresponding to Swords – the name was changed to include various bladed implements in addition to weapons, including those that are destructive, creative, and useful.  As in a traditional deck, it corresponds to the element of Air.  Unlike a traditional deck, the court cards are not mixtures of two elements.  Rather, they can be thought of as a mixture of an aspect of the Goddess with an elemental quality.  In this system, the Maiden of Blades can be thought of as the Air quality of the Maiden.  In addition to the four elemental suits, there is also the suit of Aether, and the Maiden is represented there as well.  Now, on to the card :-).

This lovely card shows a young woman with dark hair flying in the cosmos.  All the Blades women are associated with flying, but the Maiden is the one that soars the highest – she is far beyond the earth, flying among the stars, over the cosmic rainbow.  She has transparent wings with purple veins, showing that her psychic abilities transform her and allow her to travel in this astral plane.  She reaches out to grasp what the universe has to offer, and closes her eyes, basking in the invisible energies.  Behind her is the moon.  Much of the moon is dark, but one glowing egg-shaped region pulses with white light, as if the moon is giving birth.

All of the Goddess cards also have names, as well as astrological associations.  This card is named Hina, after a butterfly goddess of the Pacific Island regions.  She traveled the rainbow to visit the Sun and lives in the Moon, and was thought to be the first woman.  Perhaps this is why the Moon appears open, as if there was a white light shining out of its center.  Hina is a messenger, carrying news, gossip, and new ideas.  She is the mistress of both written and spoken word, and is idealistic and passionate in her enthusiasm for new ways of thinking and communicating.  For this reason, this card is associated with Gemini.

To me, this card speaks of youthful passion and energy for new ideas, rapid and evolving methods of communication such as the internet, and the ability of young people to adapt to new ideas and technology.  This is also the period of a young person’s life when the mind is first (or still) open to psychic exploration and travel, and when the seeds of lifelong spirituality and philosophy are first formed.  No barrier is too far, no idea too wild, no experience too scary to explore.  Wings unfold and travel through space and the astral plane are possible.  Later in our lives we may come down to earth and seek more practical application of our ideas (as we will see in the Mother of Blades), but at this time we can soar, free of responsibilities, and travel where we will in search of opportunities and knowledge.

Thrysse