The Emperor — “His and Her Time Has Come”

Now I’m responsible

The Emperor is success, looking to the future. Power, stability, strength, experience, wisdom. Success through discipline and doing things systematically. Authority. The Father archetype. Solid ground under your feet.

The Emperor is card IV. Before him, a person went through the Empress — started creating, growing and making things real. And now the question is: “How do I keep all this from falling apart?” If the Empress says, “I created a life,” the Emperor answers, “Now I’m responsible for it.” This is responsibility, discipline, rules, being in charge of your own life and being able to make decisions.

Being a grown-up

The Emperor is a mature person with a backbone, able to take responsibility, keep emotions in check and rely on logic. Delegates, keeps an eye on things, organizes. Knows exactly where their boundaries are. And from time to time the card says you need to set your boundaries.

You have to ask him

The Emperor wears armor on his legs. It means this man is always ready to jump up and do something — but you have to ask him. He won’t guess on his own: if it’s a relationship and the woman keeps quiet, he thinks everything’s fine and won’t do anything. But if you tell him what’s needed, he’ll get up and do it.

In love the Emperor is reliable and steady. Safety, protection, a traditional setup. Not much romance here.

The Emperor’s time — in a woman too

The card can show a person, or it can show a quality the person needs themselves. If you take the person out of the situation and the meaning of the card still stands, it’s probably a quality. Then the Emperor in a woman’s reading isn’t necessarily a man next to her — it’s her own ability to take responsibility, to build, to hold her boundaries.

When there’s too much power

The shadow side — a tyrant, a despot, stubbornness, overprotectiveness. Or a person under the pressure of someone else’s will.

• The Empress: “I create.”
• The Emperor: “I’m responsible.”
• The Hierophant: “And what do I believe in, and what’s it all for?”