The Empress

Tarot Card meaning for the Empress

We see a young woman; the Empress, sitting on a comfortable seat. She represents Mother Nature in all its facets. Things are growing, the water is flowing, she seems very much at peace in her natural surroundings. She also appears to be a calm, friendly and warm person.

It is said that she is impregnated after the Magician and the High Priestess have met. This however does not need to be a physical event, it could relate to an idea or a large project that we are literally carrying. Like any creative idea it must have been sparked by some inspiration or leadership (the Magician) and a gut feeling (the High Priestess) that we want do work on this new idea or project.

The Mother figure as a day card

This card should guide you to consider the people and situations in your life that need to be nurtured or need motherly love and attention. Are you giving this type of love and support?
On the flip side - if you are being, or have been, exposed to the destructive side of Mother Nature or a motherly figure, we might need to take some time and reflect. We can ask ourselves; what is needed for you to be able to grow from this experience and move on?

Negative or Reversed meaning for this card

On the positive side the Empress is a warm, caring, creative and nurturing card. However when we think about it; Mothers are - and Mother Nature is, not always that way. The Empress therefor can also be destructive, harsh, cold and overwhelming. Think about natural disasters (as a metaphor it is very unlikely you will predict one with the cards ;-) or about the negative traits that a mother could possess.

How could this card present itself in real life?

It could encourage you to let things, grow, flow and be creative as well as caring. The Empress is not a fast card, so there is an element of trust and waiting for things to come to fruition.

It could also urge you to question your possible motherly behaviour and how this impacts on others and the world around you.

An example from my own life would be reading books or watching movies with my children. I love this motherly task, we cuddle up and enjoy ourselves with the story at hand. Another example is my need for a creative project which is something that is always present in my life. It can range from sewing my own perfect skirt to making a website, as long as it is a big and challenging creative project.

How this card is represented in other tarot decks?

This card is often shown as Mother Nature. In the Rider-Waite deck she has the stars of the zodiac on her crown. In other decks she has different moons above her head or is shown as a pregnant woman (which as you can read above does not straight away means someone will get pregnant – no jumping to conclusions ;-). Across different decks, this card is creative, beautiful, calm and often set in nature or a natural setting.

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