If you want to come on down,
down with your bones so white
watch the freight trains pound
into the wild, wild night
Joanna Newsom, “Swansea” (The Milk-Eyed Mender, 2004)
Image Description
In the foreground of the picture, six white sticks stand vertically among red and orange wildflowers. Behind them, a red and orange freight train travels on a winding railroad along a sea cliff. Above, there are purple clouds and a waxing crescent moon in a pink sky.
Interpretation
In contrast to chained Cassiopeia in the Five of Batons, in the Six of Batons the body becomes a vessel for what is outside. This card represents abandonment to joy, appreciating the physical senses, watching the blooming of nocturnal flowers. It finds beauty in that which is loud and potentially destructive, like the freight trains from “Swansea.” Whatever morning brings, in this night there is contentment.