IN SHORT:
UPRIGHT: Independent, unbiased judgement, clear boundaries, direct communication.
REVERSED: Overly-emotional, easily influenced, , cold-hearted
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR IN DEPTH EXPLANATION
IN DEPTH:
This verdict is not the end.
It is only the beginning.
Strong will shall keep spreading.
-a haiku by her read by her attorney after her sentencing.
The Queen of Swords crouches in a barren land of scattered memories, from different lives, different realities, unified by a central set of beliefs. Her shoulder is heavy with ammunitions and weaponry. She understands the stakes of the conflicts she has been apart, and so she moves with grave consideration. To her enemies she often appears to have the charms of a queen bee, using hive-mind to execute of complicated operations. We see her gaze drifts off towards:—what she said, what she planned, what she believes, and then…what has happened. She often finds herself between great adventure and then great solitude in which can she reflects on both. While her attention is torn between past and future, right now the outside world zeros in on her, or a woman that looks like her.
This spotlight is a quiet warning that you may find yourself fearing or receiving unwanted attention.
Upright, her posture is alert, focused: holding her weapon with a curious grace and a twinge of emotional distance. The Queen of Swords knows when something needs to be said, and she will say it with the eloquence of someone who understands consequence. Not confined to words, she understands that there are times when something must be done, and there are also times that one should simply disappear. The Queen of Swords can do either task with deft precision. She has learned how to effectively lie, respond in a crisis, forge false documents, become a new woman, or simply the woman that is needed in the moment. A loyal friend, a committed comrade, and a loving mother. She is quick-witted and resilient to the challenges put in front of her. She may be regarded by some as a radical, or even misguided—however, upon closer attention one will find an exquisitely constructed moral-compass. She has a developed sense of core beliefs, which allow her thinking to be adaptive to changing conditions, and recognize and disavow abuse. She has an independent instinct, and she is unlikely to succumb to group-think, hero-worship, conformism, and other mental manipulations.
However, when we see the Queen of Swords in reverse, we are asked to see her on a pivoting axis, able to shift direction from side to side—she is anchored to a memory, or concept. This thought anchors her every move. This card upside down, puts the ideas first, and actions seem to follow. One decision after another is made in pursuit, or defense of this singular concept. Intellectually, her words move in an almost athletic manner. She is precise and can be verbally cutting or reckless at times. The Queen of Swords must be careful of not letting words getaway with themselves, or things can get out of hand. When the Queen of Swords appears in reverse we are in danger of deceived by an over identification with our own intellect or personal perspective.
The Queen of Swords is indicative of situations that call for self-reflection, discretion and cunning.
If we want to navigate through this scene of memories and interpersonal fantasies—we will need to put emotional honesty, and curiosity at the center of our internal guidances system.
Our Queen of Swords finds inspiration in the liberation fighter and writer Fusako Shigenbou, and the disbanded militant group Japanese Red Army(JRA). Fusako Shigenbou was born 28th Sept.1945, the same year WWII came to a close in Tokyo. After high school, she went to work for the Kikkoman corporation and took night courses at Meiji University, where she became involved in protests against tuition hikes, and the Japanese New Left. In 1966 she joined the Communist League, also known as the “Second Bund”. A passionate voice and organizer , in 1969 she rose to a position of leadership within the group’s “Red Army” splinter faction, which would later become known as the Japanese Red Army. In February 1971, she and Tsuyoshi Okudaira left for the Middle East with the intent of building international branches of the Red Army Faction. Following her arrival, she soon severed ties with the Red Army Faction in Japan because of their ideological and geographical distance as well as conflict with the new leader, Tsuneo Mori. In ‘My Love, My Revolution’, Shigenobu remembers her amazement and sorrow upon learning that Mori had escalated the group practice of ‘self-criticism’ towards torture and violent internal purges. These violent beatings ultimately saw the death of 12 members who had been deemed not sufficiently revolutionary.
Fusako Shigenobu lived in the Middle East for over 30 years working with both the JRA and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Fusako was eventually captured in Japan in 2000. I’ll fight on, she yelled to the media as she lifted her hands and gave the thumbs-up to the waiting cameras. She was accused by the prosecution of using a counterfeit passport, helping another JRA member obtain a forged passport, and attempted manslaughter for organizing and leading the hostage-taking and takeover of the French embassy in The Hague, in 1974. Shigenobu entered a guilty plea to the first two accusations but refuted the claim that she was involved in the 1974 seizure of the embassy. During her trial comrades such as Leila Khaled spoke on her behalf, while the prosecution accused her of masterminding the attack providing testimonies from former JRA members. However this argument was undermined by the fact that during the time frame in question she was in Libya, and the JRA had no organized structure. Ultimately Judge Hironobu Murakami’s final verdict ruled that she played a role in procuring documents, weapons and coordinating with compatriots, but there was insufficient to evidence for her involvement in the armed occupation of the embassy. She was sentenced and served 21.5 years in prison. She was released from prison in Tokyo on May 28th, 2022. “We love Fusako” was displayed on a banner as a group of fans surrounded her release. Shigenobu told the crowd that she will be concentrating on her cancer treatment, noting that given her condition, she will not be able to “contribute to society,” but that she will keep thinking back on her history and “live more and more with curiosity.”
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“We only resorted to armed struggle because the movement had stalled. Although similar student movements were taking place all around the world, not all of them resorted to armed struggle. Some people went back to their home towns and continued the movement at the local level. People have friends and family in their home towns, people who can help them out and restrain them if they start to go too far. If we had gone back to our home towns and continued the movement there, we might have gotten different results.”
-Fusako Shigenobu
https://thefunambulist.net/magazine/decentering-the-us/fusako-shigenobu-an-open-ended-revolution
monthlysmokeandmirrors.com 