The Empress Tarot Card
The Empress Meaning
Coming as the second important feminine energy in the card deck, the Empress is the materialization of the feminine where fertility and joys of life on Earth are found. She is the daughter of the wealthy, the only to understand value and show the divine connection of her own parents. This card points out the importance of our tactful approach, of willful sacrifice for our children and what we perceive as the greater good. She is the symbol of love coming to life, of physical touch and giving in to the pleasures of life that fill our hearts with beauty and satisfaction. She understands how divine principles may be lived by in the real world and is merciful to rule just and strict enough, while holding on to absolute empathy and the flow of contact with others. This card signifies pregnancy, women with babies, and the power of what is considered our shadow (such as sexuality) to create something magnificent (as life) when our heart shines a light on it to make it beautiful.
Love
The Empress is the card of physical love and one of the best symbols that may show up in your love tarot reading. It gives hope that platonic bonds will materialize and that our love is returned or meant to turn into marriage or serious partnership where children are involved. Its role is to remind us of physical satisfaction and if she doesn’t get much support from cards that surround it, she will remind us of the pleasure we are meant to seek without compromise instead of settling for relationships that aren’t satisfying and loving enough.
Career
The Empress speaks of a woman in the position of power as a just and well behaved manager who understands how tactful approach to others might get the job done faster. It is a card of promise of satisfaction, but might be a bit tricky when it appears in a career opening, as it might show that focus will lack for professional issues that one really isn’t motivated to commit to. It is the point of inner authority where priorities are set by the easygoing nature of the projects and our actual talents and strongpoints. This card might show that someone isn’t really interested in the position that represents status if it isn’t in tune with their nature and creativity. It could also speak of love stories in a workplace and colleagues that make our heart beat faster that will either distract us, or join us to work in solid partnerships where incredible things might be created.
Health
With focus on health, the Empress is mostly positive, but it also speaks of growth and abundance of all things that we have nurtured in life. This basically means that her nature cherishes our emotional choices and gives blessings to the way our body is treating us. Her ways are strange and not always easy to decipher, and she is mostly felt below our belly button, in the area around the second chakra. She wants us to think about others in a healthy balance with thinking about ourselves, so our bodies can heal and let go of baggage that was never our own to carry. When she appears in a health reading, she reminds you to listen and satisfy our physiology's true needs, stay away from toxic influences and convictions of others. On a safe distance, one will also stay compassionate enough to not get intoxicated with unnecessary emotional baggage.
The Empress Reversed
With the Empress reversed, we must acknowledge guilt and emotions that keep us away from our own satisfaction. It will always show when we are either too lazy to get out and do something about our situation, or when we are feeling too guilty to see how badly we have been treated by now. She always brings out the lack of satisfaction and the lack of struggle to the table, no matter the reasons, and might give pointers to overspending and treatment of finances that isn’t exactly healthy. The role of this card reversed isn’t to tell us how ugly things in our life may be, but to show us how it is our own responsibility to make them prettier and distance ourselves from painful relationships to make things inspiring and enjoyable instead of holding on to them by force of habit.
The Empress Time Line
Past - Opened in readings for the past, the Empress may signify the power of creativity that stood behind our actions and moves, or the intentions of others that were loving and inspiring for everyone involved. It is a colorful foundation for any future effort, but depending on the course of time to follow, it might be quite disappointing and sad, as if imaginative and grand love stories went sour, or creations have been lost due to circumstances that span out of our control. It is very good to have this card relate well to the card following it in our timeline, for this shows how creative force and benefits from it are used for the energy to circle, opening doors for new creations and joys of life to follow.
Present - Due to its strong connection to pregnancy and female creative force of life and beauty, it is shown today typically to point out the importance of our feminine instincts and desires. It can speak of pregnant women in general, those who wish to be, and brings a tone of beauty into our life that we need to respond to. It carries beauty, all flowers and plants in a pot that we should nurture, and asks us to remember what we truly desire and how we can make our existence more enjoyable than it has been lately, right now and without delay. It can also point out our lazy approach to the situation at hand, and tell us that what we imagined won’t go according to plan if we don’t focus and work harder than we might feel the need to.
Future - This is a signification of good times, in general, and all those enjoyable moments that we wished to create by now but couldn’t. The most potent position of this card comes when we carry too much burden, work too hard, and ask questions about new satisfying moments, rest, fun activities and vacations. She is the one in charge for happy endings, proof that hard work brings results and that our commitment to our personal needs will get rewarded. The imminence of material and physical pleasure, it speaks of romantic relationships coming to life, a raise, and payments expected received, as well as new encounter and relationships to look forward to.
The Empress History
In the past, this card was almost always depicted as a woman sitting on a throne, holding a shield or orb in one hand and a scepter in the other. Occultists have given her the starry crown, the emblem of Venus, and the vegetation and wildlife surrounding her in some card decks. Often connected to Aphrodite, the goddess of love from Greek mythology, she has carried the emblem of the Holy Roman Empire on her shield – an eagle, as if she took the best from everyone in history. Accustomed to life, death and rebirth, her card connects with the Death card. A mother, creator and nurturer, she has been shown as pregnant in numerous decks and is considered to be supportive of all things nurturing and sustaining for humankind, as well as the feeding of others.
