Today we move from the yin/passive feminine principle to the more yang/active one, represented by the Tarot Empress. The Empress is the yin partner of the yang Emperor so we are talking varying degrees of yin here. Nothing is ever entirely 100% yin or yang and there is a constant interplay between these two opposing forces within and without…
1. While the Tarot High Priestess embodies the eternal wisdom of the Divine Feminine, The Empress embodies her creative and nurturing aspects. A couple of important symbols have been carried over from the High Priestess card into the Empress card: flowing water (the power of the Divine Feminine) and pomegranates which are associated with the Goddess Persephone and the deeper layers of the psyche which we are only able to access if we hold space for all emotions. The reason the pomegranates are more prominent in the Empress card (on her dress rather than the curtains behind her), is that when we give birth, we are forced to display our deepest vulnerabilities. Becoming a Mother forces growth and self-awareness.
2. Christian Hermeticists consider the Tarot Empress as a symbol of the principle of Divine Magic. They believe there are three types of magic:
- Sacred magic – The magician functions as a vessel for divine power
- Personal magic – The magician herself is the source of magical power
- Sorcery – The magician is the instrument of subconscious and Elemental forces
(Source: Meditations on the Tarot – A Journey into Christian Hermeticism)
3. In the Zodiac, the Empress corresponds with Venus. The crystal that best facilitates alignment with the energy of Venus is emerald. The metal correspondence is copper and the essential oil is rose absolute/rose otto (more expensive).
4. The highest spiritual potential of the Empress lies in the ability to be create new life, whether this be in the form of a living being or art. She does this out of chaos, so high tolerance levels for a lack of order is necessary to harness this energy fully. The impetus for creation can be seen as coming from the will of the magician, through the emotional alignment of the High Priestess… Then, once the Empress has given birth, the Emperor steps in to create form and order but only The Empress has the power to create new life.
5. Examples of questions to ask yourself when the Empress shows up as a challenge are: ‘What creative urge must I act on now,’ ‘How can I better nurture myself?,’ ‘Who in my life is in need of nurturing?,’ and ‘How are mother issues affecting the situation at hand?’
6. Archangel Anael is the Guardian of Venus/The Empress in the Golden Dawn system of correspondences. Anael is the Angel of love and best invoked on a Friday, which is the day of the week Anael rules. Use pink and green candles and crystals for this Heart Chakra angel.
7. Living your life like the Tarot Empress for a day, you would…
- Look after yourself
- Carefully apply make-up and style your hair
- Make a hearty breakfast for your family
- Flirt with pretty much everyone
- Fill your house with music and pleasant scents
- Gather a bunch of pink roses from the garden
- Take the afternoon off and have a nap
- Forget about cleaning and pick up your artist’s sketch book
- Meddle and match make
- Care for children
- Smother your own children
- Be jealous
- Mother your partner
- Give birth
- Spend a day rambling through the forest
- Feel completely inspired
- Have tons of charisma
- Go with your heart over your head
- Find out that you are pregnant
- Actively promote a feminist agenda
The Empress in the Frideborg Tarot…
”Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.”
~ Charlotte Whitton