The Empress Tarot Card Meaning

The Empress is the tarot’s symbol of motherhood, womanhood, femininity, and fertility. Obviously, this impacts most directly on the realms of love, romance, family, and home, but it can extend, more abstractly, into creativity and new idea generation. ‘Birthing’ things into your life from a place of love and passion. In this instance, The Empress would advise you to pursue a passion, a heartfelt course of action in your education or career that expresses your emotional side, your heart’s desires and is fulfilling and rewarding emotionally and spiritually, not just materially (although The Empress is no fool, she knows it takes money to make a secure and happy life).

This is what a psychologist Dr. LeMeita Smith, Ph.D says about The Empress card: “The Empress embodies the archetype of stability, nurturing, and connectedness. The Empress highlights the importance of exploring creativity and is frequently associated with motherhood and the power of nature. A true understanding of the human potential as described by Jung can best be captured through the underpinnings of the Empress. The emergence of the Empress within tarot can symbolize a significant change that is impending or needed within your life and serve as a reminder to remain grounded in the present. This archetype promotes the need for harmony between physical and emotional well-being which is reflected in the Jungian viewpoint. Jungian principles identify the needs of the higher self and seek to bring balance between the conscious and unconscious mind. This focus on emotional health and nurturing relationships supports one’s journey towards self-actualization, further explained by Jung as the process of discovering meaning and purpose in life. The Empress additionally represents emotional intelligence described by Jung as necessary to initiate the self-care needed to obtain healing. Through the celebration of the abundance of life, the Empress encourages exploration of creativity and inspiration which Jung describes as the spontaneous product of the psyche. This spontaneity allows the free flow of energy allowing new thoughts and ideas to appear.”

The Empress is abundant, growing, flowing, receiving. And this is the mood of this card. You are invited to get in flow with what you love doing, what comes naturally and easily to you. To give and receive openly and generously. To ask for what you need and also be prepared to help give others what they need too. We are all connected and in synch and this card invites you to find your place, your position, your role, in the greater structures within your life (family, home, friendship circle, work, community etc). Know how you serve others and how they serve you. Play your part.

The Empress is nurturing, protective, caring and, ultimately, inherently good. A true symbol of ideal motherhood.

The Empress is sensual, sexual, passionate, and beautiful too. In the natural order and life cycle of most animals, they breed when they are at their physical peak, exuding their most potent powers of attraction. The Empress is frozen in that state of beguiling and alluring beauty and charisma. She is an invitation to connect to your own sexual chemistry and attraction, whatever life stage you are in. We remain sexual creatures for most of our lives. Embrace this side of you. Celebrate your ability to show and give love.

Creativity is also linked to this card. The Empress can be a nudge to practice creative skills and activities, from drawing to dancing, poetry to performance. Express yourself. Release your imagination.

Reversed meaning: The Empress’s shadow side is linked very much to the negatives of ~bad motherhood~ – co-dependency, smothering behaviour, domestic unrest and strife, unwanted pregnancy even. Examine your close relationships in terms of their health. Are they positive, growing, vital, and uplifting? Or are there dynamics or imbalances that need attention? Are you a good nurturer and carer towards people that need this from you? Are you giving and loving where you should be? Examine the blockages or issues and work on them.

Astrological significance: Ruled by Venus, The Empress is the tarot’s matching goddess of love, beauty, home, and domestic bliss. Venus is a symbol of great attraction and pleasure and The Empress is on board with that. She is Venus within the tarot deck. Venus makes everything in life more beautiful, charming, pleasing, and delightful. Venus is the Instagram filter of the planets! When you’re in the company of The Empress you need to filter the most beautiful, pleasing, delightful aspects of your life- or the potential for them- and focus on them.

Venus is an inner planet, meaning it’s closer to Earth than the outer planets, and therefore its transits are shorter. Venus energy tends to move fast and this pace translates to The Empress. Don’t wait until you’re ready (we’re never really ready) or everything is perfect before taking action or being happy. Life will always be messy and chaotic, learn to live and love within that state of being.

Venus rules over Taurus and Libra which indicates end of April through end of May and end of September through end of October.

Numerological significance: The number 3 represents creatives, communicators, influencers, and trend-setters. You are setting an example. You are building a life others envy and you want to showcase your joy. Let the warmth and love you feel and receive radiate through your heart space and through your aura. Be a bright light. Give freely of this positive energy to others. Literally radiate love, peace, hope, and goodwill. You change energies, you have an impact… let it be a loving and example-setting one.

Key actions:

• Get back to basics in your life. Strip away the frills and noise and focus on your hearth, home, and family.
• Spend time with people you love and like. Prioritise your time and energy around your most important and loving relationships.
• Consider starting, or growing, your family. This is a fertile time!
• Discuss getting a new pet!
• Bring more nature into your world and home. Spruce your garden, get a window box, plant herbs and fruits, bring plants indoors, scatter peace-promoting (white or blue) crystals around your home, add a water feature, put fresh flowers in the rooms you spend time in, keep window opens and air flowing.
• Get romantic, fall in love, ask them out, make a proposal, deepen your commitment, move in together, tell them how you truly feel about them.
• Reunite with long-lost, or estranged, family members. Draw people together to celebrate blood ties and bonds. Reminisce.
• Heal rifts and tensions in your relationship landscape or, worst case scenario, close them down, call a truce and leave them be.
• Get creative- draw, paint, write, sing, dance, sculpt, bake, garden, transform, act, perform!
• Celebrate your sensuality, beauty and natural sexual chemistry and power of attraction. Amplify your best physical features. Dress to please yourself and feel good. Wear your favourite fragrances. Be beautiful.

 

Yes / no meaning: This card implies a positive YES. The Empress is a symbol of hope, love, and growth. It’s an especially big YES if this question relates to love, family, creativity, or personal development. And especially if it means you are ‘birthing’ something into your world, creating something new. Make sure your decision doesn’t hurt another, though. The Empress is not a harbinger of bad karma.