This is starting to become quite a deck! My latest one is entitled FemiKnight.

To quote Liz Friedman, one of the co-producers of the tv show Xena: Warrior Princess, "Xena is the hero we hope is inside us." And given the current world situation, the phrase "A land in turmoil cried out for a hero" seems even more applicable now than it did 10 years ago when the show first premiered.

For this depiction, on the right-hand side, a rampaging monster leaves a trail of ruin and destruction in its wake. In true Orwellian style, this ravaged land is dubbed the "Culture of Life." Besides the obviously literal effects of war and bombing portrayed in the image, the shattered remains could also represent lifetimes of oppression wrought over the past several millennia -- ever since the balance of power between the genders was lost. (The "Culture of Life" is also used as a code word for the ongoing war against women's reproductive freedom.)

The beast, in a general sense, is a symbol of the patriarchy in its most authoritarian and repressive form. It has three heads -- an Unholy Trinity of power. At the top is the Father, George H.W. Bush. In addition to begetting the miserable failure under which the United States is currently cursed, he acted as head of the CIA during the period when Osama bin Laden was training to become a terrorist. So in a sense, he participated in the creation of what would later become opposing sides in the War on Terror.

Also, it is no secret that the two supposed "enemies" -- Muslim Radicals and Fundamentalist Christians -- have at least one thing in common: A hatred toward women, or at least free women.

The FemiKnight, rather than waiting for another Man to protect (and eventually betray) her, realizes that only she has the true power to protect herself and what she loves, so she takes a stand against the tyranny of the beast. Knowing that life under the Taliban (or its western counterpart) would be worse than death, she is willing to kill or die for her cause. She draws her sword, creates an imaginary line, and says, "No further."

By stepping out of her wilderness haven to confront the beast, she risks becoming engulfed in its darkness, which can (and sometimes does) cause her to become a force of conquest and vengeance with as much destructive capacity as the beast itself. To keep her anchored, her traveling companion (Gabrielle) remains behind in the forest along with her horse (Argo). Their purity of heart will lead her back to the light, and help her remember why she started fighting in the first place.