Introducing The Empress III
Symbols & Systems
BODY POSTURE
The Empress sits serenely. Although seated, her posture feels active, as if she’ll start speaking to us any moment. Her back is straight, but her body language is open and welcoming.
FACIAL EXPRESSION
This woman is confident. She knows who she is and what she wants in life. She trusts in the abundance of the universe. This is a woman who appreciates chocolate and wine!
THRONE
While her throne is made of stone, signifying authority, she makes sure she is comfortable by having pillows surround her. She loves her body, and luxury is important to her. We see on the black pillow behind her the Venus symbol in a repeating pattern. Venus will be described more below.
CROWN
The crown represents authority. It is comprised of two parts: a laurel wreath, and 12 six-pointed starts. The laurel wreath is an ancient Greek symbol of victory. The 12 stars represent the 12 signs of the zodiac.
While many today would recognize the six-pointed star as a Jewish symbol, it preceded even Judaism. The upward-pointing triangle represents the male (phallic), and the downward triangle represents the female (triangle of pubic hair); together, they’re equal.
wAND/SCEPTER
Aside from denoting power and authority, her wand tells us that she has conscious awareness of her influence over the fertility and creativity of the universe. The globe on the top of the scepter represents the world. The Empress is in fact Gaia, or Earth Mother.
STONE HEART
The stone heart represents the heart of the mother, which is strong and protective. The symbol inside it is the glass (mirror) of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, abundance, and beauty. The green inside the symbol is the color traditionally associated with Venus.
ABUNDANT NATURE
Where The Empress exists, life exists, as she represents growth and fertility. It is only natural that the fertility of the earth was closely linked to the fertility women. The cypress trees behind The Empress are the trees sacred to Venus. The cypress represents both immortality and mourning.
wheat field
The wheat field represents agriculture. The Goddess ruled the earth and its abundance, and certain goddesses ruled grain, such as Demeter, Ceres, and the Virgin Mary.
flowing water
Water is the essence of life. Without it, nothing can survive; earth would be a barren rock. Water symbolizes life just like The Empress. For a woman to give birth, her life-nurturing internal waters must ‘break’ or flow free to release the new life within.
white robe with red pomegranates
The Empress wears a white virginal gown with pomegranates, which represent abundance and prosperity. Note that the shape of the pomegranate is similar to the shape of the Venus symbol.
GODDESS
The Empress is linked to all the mother and fertility goddesses: Ceres, Corn Mother, Durga, Demeter, Gaia, and Astarte, to name just a few. The Empress is also linked to the love and sensuality goddesses such as Aphrodite, Ishtar, and Venus. The Rider Waite Empress card contains many symbols of Venus, the Romans’ “head” goddess.
The Goddess reminds us that we have all the abundance and growth within us – we simply need to remember this.
NUMBER
The number of The Empress is 3. Number 1 represents male, number 2 represents female, and together they create a new life: 3, which is about harmony and balance. Pythagoras considered 3 the first real number, as it could take the physical shape of the triangle, two of which intersecting comprise the six-pointed star.
Accordingly, many religions have trinities: Christianity, Hinduism, and ancient Egyptian (Isis, Osiris, and Horus). Additionally, many Goddesses also have three aspects: Maid, Mother, and Crone, such as Hecate, mirroring the three phases of women’s biological life: pre-fertile, fertile, and after fertility ends. All aspects are equal and feminine.
Astrology
The planet Venus is associated with The Empress. In Astrology, Venus represents our basic loving tone and nature, as well as ruling over self-expression, confidence and creativity. Venus will also share with us how we relate to money (outer resource) and how our self-esteem (inner resource) is connected to money.
Kabbalah
The creators of the Rider Waite Tarot deck were members of the Golden Dawn, a group that followed teachings based on the Kabbalah. Kabbalists are mystics who believe that God is neither male nor female, and has many aspects. Kabbalah is all about learning why we’re here, the mystery of the universe, and what the big plan is.
Being the 4th card in the tarot deck, The Empress is represented by the fourth Hebrew letter Dalet, which represents a doorway. The Empress is the doorway to life through the womb/vagina, and also the taker of life through nature’s destructive forces: There’s nothing worse than the anger and vengeance of a Mother. The Empress sits on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life on the path that joins Hokhmah (father of fathers) with Binah (Mother). Crowley (a famous occultist) claimed that this implies that the foundation of the universe is LOVE. Kabbalists claim that The Empress is ‘The Constant Becoming’ and the ‘Luminous Intelligence’.
The message from The Empress III
The Empress has both inner and outer wealth. She embodies the archetype of mothering, fertility, and abundance. We sense she has all the riches in the world simply because she embodies creativity and abundance.
The Empress wants to let you know that right now you are pregnant with the possibilities of life. Now is an amazing, creative time that the universe is sending you. Allow yourself to soak up all that the universe wants to give you. Ask yourself these questions:
- Do I give time and space to my creativity?
- Do I respect my body and give it what it needs?
- Am I nurturing myself?
- Do I understand how my body and hormonal system work?
- What is my relationship to Mother Earth? What is my relationship to myself?
Allow yourself to soak in the Empress’s richness. Learn how to love yourself 100% as she does. Seek to respect your body in every way possible, as it is a temple in honor of the creator.
The Empress III reversed
When I see a reversed card, I simply see the energy blocked or inhibited in some way. How would The Empress be inhibited? I would imagine that she is frustrated and cannot manifest or make things happen. She is probably not in love with herself or life, and might feel bitterness and resentment. She likely feels that the world is dealing her a “bad hand”, wherein everything feels blocked. If you get The Empress reversed for yourself or someone else, some questions to ask might be…
- Do I hate my body?
- Do I feel that my hormones and my body control me?
- Do I disrespect myself for being a woman?
- Am I finding it hard to be creative?
- Am I having fertility issues?
- Am I feeling a lack of abundance in my life?
- Am I having issues with mothering?
- Do I have anger, resentment, and/or hurt toward my mother?
- Am I ignoring my emotions or my body wisdom?
If you get The Empress reversed, it is a warning to wake up and listen to your body and emotions. Are you ignoring something important in your life? Are you denying yourself the gift of nurturing, perhaps giving it too much to others? The Empress is an empty vessel if she cannot sit on her luxurious cushions.
