Tarot Tid Bit: The Empress

What’s on the Card?

The Empress, who may or may not be pregnant, sits on a comfortable throne in a wheat field (harvest). She wears a dress decorated with pomegranates (representative of female energy) and a crown of twelve stars, one for each sign of the Zodiac (mother to all). A pillow near her feet is embroidered with the symbol for female. Behind her, we see a waterfall and a forest.

The 1909 RWS: Sawyer Edition

What does it all mean?

As noted above, the Empress shows feminine, creative energy. She is the divine feminine. Most of the symbolism in her illustration is indicative of this. However, creation can come in many guises. This is not just procreation, but anything that can be created. The wheat in the field is a completely different facet of creation. It’s ready to harvest. This is the end of its life cycle, therefore, the Empress is representative of the full spectrum of life. Beginning to end. She is also connected to the universal unconscious that we first saw in the High Priestess, which is represented in the waterfall behind her.

The meanings of any card are shaped by the context of the reading. As the High Priestess “knows,” the Empress “creates.” You may ask how she is different from the Magician. The answer is that the Magician is not creating anything new. He is bringing what has already been created to himself; attracting what someone else created. The Empress uses her mind, her body, and her spirit to bring new things into existence and follows them through the lifespan as a loving mother.

Interpretations: creation, artistic talent, new situations, abundance, mother/motherhood, fertility (not just biological), your own feminine energy, life cycles (from birth to death), joy of life, connection to nature

Comparative Tarot: Create a Connection to Some Empresses

Our first Empress is from the Good Karma Tarot. This is an obviously pregnant Empress. Her dress is yellow, the color of vitality and joy. She sits on a stool surrounded by foliage of varying degrees of maturity (there is a hint of life cycles). On this Empress's arm is a lovely tattoo of two pomegranates, reminding us of her connection to the divine feminine.

To the right is the Empress from the Silver Witchcraft Tarot. She stands on a pedestal head turned to her left. She is bound by a light red ribbon that stretches out of our vision in the direction of her gaze. Rabbits (hares?) sit at her feet as symbols of fertility and birth. A carrion bird flies above her as a reminder of the end of the life cycle. Can you guess what holds this Empress's gaze? I’ll show you later.

The Wheel of the Year Tarot is home to our last Empress. She is garlanded and her head is wreathed in spring flowers. She sits on a natural rock throne, but instead of the sun above, she sits in the moonlight. A far more fitting heavenly body for the mother goddess. Her staff is adorned with a triple moon and a crescent moon hangs on a cord around her neck. With all of this moon energy, we cannot ignore the connection to the divine feminine.

Tarot Tidbits are short, hopefully informative, looks at the cards of the Tarot.