The Empress
The Empress
The Empress, the Earth Mother. She is a favorite among Tarot-philes, and I certainly count myself among them. There is something overwhelmingly peaceful about the Empress; she is the epitome of goodness, abundance, and the nurturing hand of nature. She holds a bundle of ripe wheat in one arm and a bouquet of wildflowers in the other, symbolizing sustenance and beauty, two of her most enduring attributes. She emanates warmth with the golden glow of her gown and the bright sunburst behind her head. The Empress is the embodiment of fertility; representing the fruits of the land and also the creative fruits of the spirit.
In contrast with the High Priestess; the Empress is entirely of the earth, the visible and the tangible world of the senses. Her body is in perfect harmony with the earth, and she is a woman who purposefully takes part in the stewardship of her lands. She is not a woman who is afraid to get her hands dirty! Prosperity (of the heart, not the pocketbook) and fertility are the gifts of the Empress, and blessed are those whose lives she touches.
As an artist and a nature lover, I have a special affinity for the Empress. She governs both my gardens; the one that grows herbs and fruits and flowers, and also the one from whose soil flowers my creative spirit. When I began the challenge of creating one piece of art each day at the beginning of 2011, I knew I was tapping into something powerful that I never had the confidence to recognize before. It’s now quite clear to me that the Empress has been whispering in my ear from the very beginning. I hadn’t been drawing for two weeks before people started remarking how wonderfully Tarot-esque my work was, and as the process gained momentum I realized that I was creating something much greater than a piece of art every day; I was channeling a BODY of work, for the first time since I graduated from art school so many years ago. And it was good.
The day I drew the Empress I got an amazing wave of emotional feedback from my audience. She really resonated with them, especially with the women, and I knew she had come to life for the deck. The Empress is my totem for this intuitive and generative process I’ve immersed myself in. When I get lost in the daily hubbub, or lose steam in my creative flow, I only need to look at her warm, reassuring face. She reminds me that beauty is being born from me every day; some days are more glorious than others, but nevertheless. Beauty, and abundance.
The Empress represents periods of glorious fertility and abundance in life. The energy is flowing and the path to prosperity is in full bloom. She is the icon of creation, embodiment and harmony with the earth. When the Empress presents herself in a reading, you can be sure to experience profound contentment with your work in the world, whether that is creative or otherwise. She is a beacon of light, warmth, compassion and nurturing, and she is telling you to stop and smell the roses, see the garden flourishing around you, and to be ready for the birth of something new in your world.
To define The Empress in a word: FLOURISHING.
REVERSED. Living too much in the mind, feeling disconnected from the earth and the path. Slow down, reap your harvest, recognize your accomplishments.