For today’s post I would like to discuss the importance of the Empress in Tarot. The Empress is the embodiment of the essential feminine energy and the power of female sexuality! She represents abundance, fertility, and prosperity.
She is a representative of the Goddess of Sovereignty across many cultures. The Goddess of Sovereignty appeared in many ways to those she chose to show herself. She was the flower bride, the dark lady of knowledge, and even the loathly lady who all in their own way tested knights! The Empress card is the embodiment of the maiden flower bride and motherly aspects of the Great Goddess.
Within The Arthurian Tarot she is represented by Guinevere, and in the Arthuriad itself she can also be seen in Iseult, Ragnall, and even aspects of Morgan le Fay. Morgana is a representative of the Empress in her form of Goddess of Avalon! She is the dark lady of sovereignty and the lover of many knights. As a lover of knights she can be seen as the maiden aspect, and as she was a mother in the legends she can also be seen in this aspect of the Goddess!
The Empress card is one that can be shown as the feminine ideal, and in some versions she will pregnant. The pregnancy of the Empress represents the fertility of the land. As and embodiment of the sovereignty of the land and the fertility of nature as well as of humans, when this card appears it is symbolic of fertility and female sexuality.
This card asks the querent to be comfortable with their own feminine side, as we all have one. In some cases this can be predicting fertility. In other cases it is a symbol of an empowered but gently controlled female in your life. The cross section of love, intimacy, and nurturing is where the most important aspect of this card lay. This is a reminder of how the femininity is both powerful and soft at the same time!
I hope you have enjoyed this brief analysis of this powerful feminine card and archetype. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a lovely image of the Empress card. I found the image on https://www.amazon.com/Empress-Tarot-Card-Notebook/dp/167564621X.
Further Reading
- The Arthurian Tarot by John and Caitlin Matthews
- The Only Tarot Book You’ll Ever Need by Skye Alexander
White Rose of Avalon 