KATHERINE the SHREW as the PAGE OF WANDS
Katherine "the Shrew" stands in her teenage bedroom, surrounded by her plants and rock posters, a drum kit in the corner. She wears a Joan Jett and the Blackhearts concert tee and holds a wooden drumstick—and the gaze of the viewer. Her youth and punk attitude reflect the spark of potential and raw authentic expression represented by the Page of Wands card.
Upright: fresh start | inspiration | authenticity | inner child | passion | take action | creative spark
Reversed: indiscretion | recklessness | instability | self-sabotage | hesitation | impulsivity
The Page of Wands stands on the precipice between past and future, finding potential and growth in unlikely places. When this card appears in a reading, the invitation is present to nurture that spark and reconnect to the part of ourselves that we knew before we knew anything else. The version of ourselves that existed before we learned how we were "supposed" to behave, to think, to dress, to act. That utterly unique one-of-a-kind essence that–given the room to do so–develops with time into the fullest expression of what we were born to become (embodied in the final court card of the Suit of Wands, the King card). But in order to reach that point we can’t lose our spark.
A Punk Rock, Non Conforming "Spirit to Resist"
Jessica Dore writes in Tarot for Change, "The Page of Wands is an invitation to reconnect with something raw and original within us." And there is no one more raw and original than "Kate the curs'd" from The Taming of the Shrew. In our deck, Katherine is represented as a teenage punk drummer, following in the footsteps of her rock idol, Joan Jett.
I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
Living in the past, it's a new generation
A girl can do what she wants to do and that's what I'm gonna do
Katherine speaks her truth at all times, even (especially!) when inconvenient. She passionately defends her sacred need for truth-telling, and refuses to dilute her authentic expression in order to be more palatable to social and cultural expectations of docile femininity. For her pains she is described as a "rotten apple", "too rough", "intolerable, curst and shrewd and froward, so beyond all measure".
But what these patriarchal men around her are observing and commenting on is in fact an expression of her deeply felt feminine rage, historically a powerful catalyst for transformation in all times and places:
My tongue will tell the anger of my heart,
Or else my heart, concealing it, will break;
And rather than it shall, I will be free
Even to the uttermost, as I please, in words.
Meanwhile her sister Bianca, who finds it easier to conform and perform is a target of Katherine's frustrations: "Her silence flouts me, and I'll be revenged!" Katherine is morally outraged not only by Bianca's willingness to "play the game", but by the fact she is able to at all.
And while Katherine's raw authenticity is admirable in the face of such powerful suppressive force, this card also reminds us that everything is also a balance. Sometimes strategic silence and diplomacy can be equally powerful choices.
In her partnership with Petruchio, she begins to access more playful and subversive flavors of communication, experimenting with loosening her very literal nature in favor of imaginative expression: "sun it is not when you say it is not", "the jay [is not] more precious than the lark because his feathers are more beautiful" and weaponizing the oppressor's own language against them to subvert their power dynamics: "it blots thy beauty as frosts do bite the meads,...and in no sense is meet or amiable". In this way, she demonstrates that she, too, can play the game when she chooses…but always on her own terms.
Design Starting Point: Rider Waite Smith Tarot deck
With each card design, we start from the traditional Rider Waite Smith (RWS) deck, which for this card depicts a young man standing in profile, dressed in bright clothes and a stylish hat. He holds a wooden staff which has green leaves sprouting from the top, and gazes at it with curiosity. He stands in a desert landscape, with a clear blue sky. His hat has a red feather, which also resembles a tongue of fire, reminiscent of the Biblical story of Pentecost (when the Holy Spirit overshadowed Jesus's followers and imparted the spark of inspiration).
This imagery inspired some of the posture and elements of our design, with our Page Katherine holding a wooden drumstick. A pot plant on a shelf above her head dangles a vine over the drumstick, evoking the imagery of the staff sprouting leaves. The sand colored walls and neutral floor and bedspread are similar to the desert aesthetic. However, our Page faces the viewer head on, holding their gaze as strongly as they hold the drumstick. And rather than wearing rich clothes, she wears a band tee, punky boots and torn fishnet stockings. This Page feels both more real and more edgy than her RWS counterpart.
The Joan Jett Connection
On the bedroom walls behind Kate we can see posters. The design of these was inspired by a photo of Joan Jett's own bedroom, and the posters on her wall. The black and purple heart on the t-shirt Kate wears is also a reference to a Joan Jett and the Blackhearts design.
The Plants
Just as our RWS Page holds a staff sprouting green leaves, Kate's room is also full of green leaves in the form of potted plants. The fresh green shoots in both images represent that seed of new life, a fresh start and the growth of something we are ready to nurture and tend to in our lives.
The Stance
Katherine is shown in a powerful stance, one foot behind her while the other stands firm. This is both symbolic of the transitional phase the Page of Wands represents (taking the first step into the future) and is also drawing on a reference image of Lucy Ritter, the drummer for lesbian pop queen Chappell Roan.
While the t-shirt references the Blackhearts, the rays that radiate outward from the heart and the position of Kate's arms and hands are also meant to evoke the posture of the Catholic imagery for the Virgin Mary. Just as Joan Jett is a symbol of unconventional femininity, the Immaculate Heart of Mary represents another version of feminine power.
By bringing together the archetypes of the Queer Drummer, the Madonna (whose namesake was also a rock drummer), the Virgin (a woman unto herself), the Mother and the Rebellious Rock Star, Katherine begins to integrate all facets of her femininity and move into the next phase of her journey with a deepening of authority and solidity of self trust.
"Other people will call me a rebel, but I just feel like I'm living my life and doing what I want to do. Sometimes people call that rebellion, especially when you're a woman." --Joan Jett