Warning: SPOILERS!!
There is much to say about the deck of playing cards. As we all know the deck of cards consists of Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, and Clubs and each suit has its Ace, Queen, King, Jack, and Joker. They can be treated as tarot cards, having their own specific meanings behind each one.
Now, why am I writing about play cards of all things to be based on Twin Peaks? Well... it all comes down to Windom Earle in Season 2. Windom Earle had a knack for using chess and playing cards for some agenda. Since this article it to be only about playing cards, I'll remain on topic. I'll write my takes on the chess part some other time.
Windom Earle had six cards in his use. Each one had the face of one of the characters in the show. The King of Spades was Agent Cooper; the Queen of Spades was Shelly Johnson; the Queen of Clubs was Donna Hayward; the Queen of Diamonds was Audrey Horne, the Queen of Hearts was Annie Blackburn, and the Joker. He needed the Queen of Hearts to ascend to the Black Lodge and for her to die. Along with this, Cooper followed him to the Lodge, which led him to be trapped there for 25 years.
As this article is titled, I'll be diving into the meanings and the mythology of the playing cards used by Windom Earle.
The King of Spades: Agent Dale Cooper
The King in general symbolizes leadership, authority, and fatherhood. It is the highest-ranked male in each suit. The King is also depicted as a man of responsibility and protection, which is exactly what Cooper is all about. As to why he is the King of Spades, spades represent death, darkness, and conflict, which are other traits Cooper does have. The spearhead which is what the spade resembles, is a symbol connected to combat, war, and resilience and the black color is the symbol of the darkness of the night and the unknown.
From this, we know that Windom Earle knows his targets inside and out. He knows that Cooper is a leading figure, a man of great authority, and a man having fatherly qualities (especially to Audrey Horne). He also knows that he will do anything to protect those he loves and cares for. Since he was trying to protect Windom Earle's wife Caroline, but failed, the color black makes Cooper the figure of death in response to his virtuous actions. Spades are also the highest suit in the card deck, possibly to say that Cooper is his supreme target and of the highest importance to his agenda. Other traits from spades if overcoming adversity and winning challenges. This must've been a blind thought to Windom, knowing he'd be defeated in the end and Cooper would be the winner of his fame. Unfortunately for Cooper, the price of his winning went to a much darker route.
And speaking of 'fatherhood' he'd be a father in terms of his doppelganger Mr. C, by raping Audrey during her coma and giving existence to Richard Horne.
The black could also be his love for coffee as black as midnight on a moonless night.
The Queen of Diamonds: Audrey Horne
The Queen of all suits is the highest-ranked female of the card deck. Its symbolism includes feminity, intuition, and motherhood. The Queen is also said to have a connection to the unconscious world, marking perhaps Audrey during her coma. She has deep insight into human nature and emotions (including compassion), and she is powerful with a great grasp of authority.
Diamonds have the symbolism of wealth, riches, and luxury, which indicates Audrey's lifestyle with the Horne family. They also symbolize material abundance and great success in terms of running a business or dealing with finances. This might indicate that she could run the Horne businesses very well and keep them running if her father Ben Horne was no longer capable of doing so. And as we know of Audrey, she's an intelligent woman with great aspirations and mental capabilities. The color red (though sometimes diamonds come in blue hues) adds value and worth.
Audrey Horne being the Queen of Diamonds would indicate that she'd succeed in her worldly achievements and have finer things in life as she matured. Unfortunately for her, the fate she endured after the bank explosion did not turn out for her the way it should've been.
The Queen of Clubs: Donna Hayward
The symbolism of the Queen has already been established. Clubs are another set of qualities that this particular Queen has. This suit symbolizes intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom, along with summer and the youthful desire to learn and gain many experiences in life. Its black color represents that Donna has the mental capacity to thrive through intellectual pursuits, even if darkness is overpowering her senses. She also has the qualities of academic achievement and higher learning, providing her luck, prosperity, abundance, wisdom, and successful growth and logic to overcome challenges whether personal, business, finance, etc.
Clubs are also associated with fire. In times of darkness and ignorance, Donna is the torch that guides the way out and away. Her heart has a fearless passion for greater knowledge to unfold the truth, seize opportunities, and attain meaningful growth.
Unfortunately for Donna, her fate winded up leaving Twin Peaks, getting married, and getting into crack houses. Possibly dying in the end, young and not achieving anything.
The Queen of Spades - Shelly Johnson
Shelly Johnson would seem to be Agent Cooper's equal. She is as the Queen has already been discussed, but as a Spade, she has virtuous qualities but death seems to follow her when it comes to her husband Leo and the presumed-to-have-died-at-the-Mill-fire, Catherine Martell. Though she is a victim and never intended to kill anyone, the fear of death and the fear of Leo follow her wherever she goes. Despite willingly shooting her husband, she cried with compassion and regret. And her conflict with life, love, and marriage is highly apparent. But she is clearly a fighter and does what she can to protect her lover Bobby Briggs from death at the hands of her husband.
The Queen of Hearts - Annie Blackburn
Hearts. We all know what they've stood for for centuries. The utmost symbol of love, relationships, and emotion. The red color represents the vitality and excitement of love and passion. As a personal quality, the heart indicates that everything is ruled by feelings and losing objectivity. It is also the utmost spark of human connection.
From this, we knew why this card was very important to Windom Earle. Fear or Love can open the doors to the Black Lodge. The Queen of Hearts, who would be Annie, would have the power to open the doors. Annie eventually fell in love with Agent Cooper, our King of Spades, and with the two of them, Windom Earle managed to build the key he needed to enter the realm. And since the heart was the purest and strongest human connection between people, it was the easiest key to conquer.
However, I always wonder... if to open the passage to the Black Lodge by fear that Shelly and Leo Johnson would fit the mold since there wasn't a day Shelly never feared her husband.
The Joker - Windom Earle?
Like Batman vs. The Joker, are Agent Cooper and Windom Earle the Twin Peaks parallels of that concept? It would seem likely. The Joker in the card desk represents humor, trickery, wildness, and unpredictability. It has no fixed value and can be masked as any other card. The Joker's purpose in the card deck is to disrupt the set order. It mocks rules, structure, and conventions, whether liked or not. Even the best-laid plans can take a massive 180 in terms of success. The Joker is also the agent of social disorder, rebellion, and, most of all, chaos, according to pop culture.
Everything is a game to him and, for his sick pleasure, he'll play with the lives of loved ones and his closest friends.
One-Eyed Jacks
The Jack is symbolized as youthful, immaturity, and playfulness. It is the lowest-ranked male of the card desk. It also represents a trustworthy friend, jester, or mocker, a young man in search of love, and a comrade and confidant. Though it has the lowest rank and value of all suits, the important role of Jack is to be the young, carefree spirit in the royal court.
This would make the qualities of One-Eyed Jacks, the casino/brothel across the Canadian border. Young and older men go there to make love to the working girls, and some of those men are comrades and confidants of Ben and Jerry Horne. Emory Battis, the manager at Horne's Department Store, tricks female employees into bigger opportunities by working at One-Eyed Jacks. This would make the jester quality of One-Eyed Jacks. Ben and Jerry Horne are carefree and spirited businessmen who do not care about their illegal enterprises and indulge in taking the new virgins who previously worked at the department store.
From all this, despite the Jack is never used by Windom Earle, is it a card well-known in Twin Peaks that couldn't be ignored.
Thank you for reading this article. Feel free to share your thoughts, theories, and debates in the comment section below. If interested, there is Twin Peaks... From Another Place group on Facebook, Reddit, and Discord to join. Also, feel free to check out my Twin Peaks: Chasing A Blue Rose fanfic series prequel, Twin Peaks: The Birdwatcher (my other TP: CABR novels to be published here soon, though you can still find them on Archives of Our Own as well), published here and on Archives Of Our Own. Thanks again!!
Thanks again. See you in the trees.
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