The Empress (Tarot card)
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The Empress (III) is the third trump or Major Arcana card in traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.
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[edit] Description and symbolism
A. E. Waite was a key figure in the development of modern Tarot interpretations. However not all interpretations follow his theology. Please remember that all Tarot decks used for divination are interpreted up to personal experience and standards.
Some frequent keywords are:
- Mothering ----- Fertility ----- Sexuality ----- Abundance
- Material prosperity ----- Pleasure ----- Comfort ----- Power
- Nature ----- Delight ----- Desire ----- Physical attraction
- Health ----- Sensuality ----- Beauty ----- Satisfaction
She sits on a throne wearing a starry crown, holding a sceptre in one hand. The Sceptre is representative of her power over life, her crown has 12 stars representing her dominance over the year, and her throne is in the midst of a field of grain, representative of her dominion over growing things.
[edit] History
The Empress has had a rather uneventful five centuries. Waite and other occultists are responsible for the starry crown, the emblem of Venus, the waterfall, and the vegetation and wildlife. The Hermitage informs us that in historical decks the Empress sits on a throne, almost always holding a shield or orb in one hand and a sceptre in the other. The shield typically bears an eagle as the heraldic emblem of the Holy Roman Empire.
[edit] Interpretation
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
The Empress is mother, a creator and nurturer. In many decks she can be shown as pregnant. She can represent the creation of life, of romance, of art or business. Associated with the Empress are the Magician and the High Priestess. The Empress can represent the fecundation of an idea before it is ready to be fully born. The Empress is symbolized by Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more aptly interpreted to be Demeter, goddess of abundance. She is the giver of Earthly gifts. At the same time, she can be overprotective and possessive. In anger she can withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. According to mythology, due to fury and grief, Demeter keeps the Earth cold and barren until Spring when her child is returned to her.
[edit] Mythopoetic Approach
She is the Queen of Heaven, as shown by her crown of stars. She is the Great Goddess, the consort of the dying god. She’s associated through her cross sum (the sum of the digits) with Key 12 The Hanged Man, the Dying God, her Son (or daughter) and Consort, who dies at Autumn Equinox or Winter Solstice, and is reborn with Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, or Beltane. She’s also associated with Key 21, The World, the final card of the Tarot. Through death, rebirth, and reproduction the world is renewed.
She is associated with Isis, both as the mistress of heaven and as the Ur-Poisoner. According to some tales, Isis achieved the queen ship of heaven by poisoning Ra with a serpent and refusing to heal him until he told her his secret name. Isis’s consort was Osiris, who is about as good an example of The Hanged Man as one can find in world mythology.
The Empress is closely associated with the suits of Disks (Earth) and Wands (fire/masculine generative force). She is the mistress of the Knights (12th cards of the Minor Arcana), who as Grail Knights are in some sense searching for her, and, like their counterpart in the Major Arcana, the Hanged Man, may well die for her.
She is also associated with Ishtar and Inanna, who went alive into the underworld and came back. She is sometimes associated with Demeter, the mother of Persephone. When Hades, the lord of the underworld, kidnapped and raped Persephone, Demeter stopped everything from growing until a deal was struck whereby Persephone spends part of the year with her, part of the year dead.
The fruit on her gown suggests a pomegranate. The pomegranate, of course, is the fruit that Persephone thoughtlessly or hungrily ate in the underworld, which binds her to it for part of every year. It also suggests the wall hanging behind The High Priestess’s throne, veiling us from the greater mysteries.
When she appears in a spread, she may represent life itself asserting itself through our attempts to master it. She can also represent the smothering of a blanket of ivy as it paralyses and chokes the forest. She often represents mothers, good and bad, or the demands of the real world. She also represents blood flowing through all living things, the womb and the tomb.
The Empress may also represent the Object of Desire. Most obviously, the love of the beloved, the love and approval of parents, especially (but not solely) mothers. While this may be healthy, over attachment to the object (or to the idea of the object) can be a danger sign.
If the Empress is the Object of Desire, the Hanged Man (or a Hanged Man substitute from the Minor Arcana) is the one who desires. This can inspire Great Works, or trap the Querant in pathology. Attachment can lead to death, metaphorically or otherwise. When The Empress kills (again, metaphorically or otherwise), it is usually by consuming, suffocating, or poisoning.
The Empress may represent the veil of illusion, Maya (illusion). In the Book of Thoth deck, she holds a lotus in her hand, associating her with the mother of the Buddha, the mother of the knowledge that transcends the world.
In her beneficent aspect, she gives, nurtures, and/or celebrates life. In her negative aspect, she takes it, either literally or figuratively.
[edit] Alternative decks
In the Vikings Tarot Saga the Empress sits on a beach with a seal, a vast ocean stretching out behind her.
In the X/1999 Tarot version made by CLAMP, The Empress is Kanoe.
[edit] References
- Meaning of the Empress Tarot Card. Retrieved on 2007-01-29.
- A. E. Waite's 1910 Pictorial Key to the Tarot
- Hajo Banzhaf, Tarot and the Journey of the Hero (2000)
- Most works by Joseph Campbell
- G. Ronald Murphy, S.J., The Owl, The Raven, and The Dove: Religious Meaning of the Grimm's Magic Fairy Tales (2000)
- Riane Eisler, The Chalice and the Blade (1987)
- Mary Greer, The Women of the Golden Dawn
- Merlin Stone, When God Was A Woman
- Robert Graves, Greek Mythology
- Juliette Wood, Folklore 109 (1998):15-24, The Celtic Tarot and the Secret Tradition: A Study in Modern Legend Making (1998)
[edit] External links
- "Empress" cards from many decks
- The History of the Empress Card from The Hermitage.
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