Who is Queen Mab?

Just who is Queen Mab? A faerie? A goddess? The Goddess? All of the above?

In the wake of the publication of my brand new oracle deck, The Queen Mab Oracle, I wanted to give you some context.

This is an excerpt from the introduction to The Queen Mab Oracle: Divine Feminine Wisdom from the Queen of the Fae.

When I was a teenager, I became fascinated (obsessed?) with Shakespeare’s plays, notably The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

All three reference magic, alchemy, and the realm of the Fae. While Queen Mab doesn’t appear in The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’ Dream‘s cast of characters includes the Faerie Queen herself, in this case, referred to as Titania. And, of course Romeo and Juliet features Mercutio’s famous Queen Mab Speech:

In this Queen Mab Speech, Mercutio speaks jokingly – or perhaps madly and frenetically, depending on one’s interpretation – about Queen Mab. Mercutio’s words are fanciful and not particularly complimentary. At best, he portrays Queen Mab as whimsical – at works, capricious and sinister.

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Oberon, the Faerie King, is at odds with the Faerie Queen. Out of frustration and spite, Oberon plots to enchant her into falling in love with a silly man whose head has been temporarily transformed (at Oberon’s behest) into that of a donkey. Hilarity ensues.

Interestingly, despite Mercutio’s uneasy disrespect and Oberon’s petty machinations, one still comes away from these plays with a sense that Queen Mab was – and is – a being of immense power and wisdom. At least I did. It was as if Shakespeare and his audience already knew her, at least on some subconscious level, as the Great Goddess: a grand and formidable deity. Perhaps she was a given in their world – a divine feminine manifestation aligned with the earth, the sea, dreams, moonlight, and magic. Like nature itself, she could not be contained or controlled. She could devastate, or she could bless. She inspired fear and awe.

When Queen Mab made it known to me that she would share her wisdom for The Queen Mab Oracle, I was humbled, delighted, and a little intimidated. I couldn’t wait to start, so I could see what she had to say. And I definitely wasn’t disappointed. Queen Mab consistently offers deep and valuable insights while counseling us to wield our power without fear or apology. I know I will be drawing upon the magic of this deck for many years to come.

Get The Queen Mab Oracle here.