𝐄𝐬𝐮 ♱

The Queen of Spades

In Eastern Europe (not all of it, take Ukraine and further east), the Queen of Spades (the Lady of Spades, as we call her here) is a whole cultural phenomenon. She is often compared to Bloody Mary, but the ritual for summoning is different. For the Lady of Spades, you also need a candle and a mirror, but you also need to draw a door and steps leading down with red lipstick (I guess blood was used as a substitute in the past :^).

In dim light, a silhouette begins to appear in the reflection, descending the stairs. (I don't know about you, but to me it seems very much like Otogakure and the atmosphere that prevails there, along with Orochimaru himself ughhhh, yk!).

In divination, the Queen of Spades quite commonly associated with problems, intrigues, and generally unpleasant situations + negative interference in the affairs of others. At the same time, the Queen of Spades often symbolises periods when conflict, pain, or tough decisions lead to a turning point and, accordingly, inner transformation.

Briefly about the flowers: Lycoris (or spider lily, from «Higanbana») in Japanese culture is usually associated with death and the transition to the afterlife. In East Asian cultures, it’s also associated with sadness, rebirth and the cyclical nature of life (ironically, is eternity cyclical if it is infinite?)).

Pretty well-known fact, but in East Asian countries (you may think it’s only Japan, however, as far as I’ve read, this pattern is commonly shared in China, Taiwan, Korea, etc.) «4» sounds quite similar to «death». So they have this superstition of the number being unlucky. Quite an interesting one, keep the even number in mind while reading the following «chapter».

The Ten of Spades

In divination, the 10 of Spades usually symbolises burdens, restrictions and loss. It often represents a period in a person's life when they are kinda of confined within boundaries, unable to act freely, and therefore have to take unpleasant and difficult, but drastic actions. It symbolises the peak of tension, a destructive force, when a cycle ends and something changes irrevocably forever. In a deeper sense, it means self-destruction, voluntarily driving oneself into a dead end. But! purification through crisis, accepting the consequences of one's actions in real time, without illusions or delusions.

An even number of flowers in Eastern Europe is usually given at funerals, symbolising death or serious illness for a living person (really, don’t do that, considered to be a misfortune purposely given upon one’s).

The use of lilies is quite an interesting one (I got the idea from my favourite kayou tarot cards). For example, in Christian traditions, the lily symbolises purity through spiritual rebirth, which is why it was used at funerals; in ancient Egypt it goes pretty much the same, while in Slavic and medieval European culture, these flowers signified repentance, rapid "fading" (wilting), and sorrow, so they were brought to the graves of emperors and criminals as a sign of decay.

(While reading all this information, keep in mind the image of the Kabuto tarot card, and here you have a partial analysis of the symbolism of that composition ;)

In both compositions, snakes symbolise intrigue and cunning. But! In the case of Orochimaru, they are kinda of playing along, while Kabuto, thinking he has all the trumps (not-the-person) in his hands, does not see that someone is already peeking at his cards :))