TAROTThe Empress
Upright
Feminine energy, abundance and plenty. Mother Earth and fertility.
Fertility, abundance and productivity in all things.
The cycle of change; Summer.
Motherhood, caregiving.
Intuition
The Card is based on the Goddess Demeter, whose name literally means ‘Earth Mother’ (or perhaps ‘Grain Mother’).
Demeter raised mankind out of savagery by giving the secret of agriculture, making her not just the mother to some, but the mother of civilization.
Reversed
Failure through over or under caring for yourself and failing to allow yourself to grow.
Barren, empty, lack of growth in all things
The cycle of change; Winter.
Spoiling or restricting something by neglect or overindulgence.
Astrologia
Romance and relationships, harmony, pleasure, beauty and attraction. Strong negotiator, usually amassing large resources. Charismatic with a natural charm. Can become materialistic or a people-pleaser. Prone to over-indulgence.
The Empress
The Empress is the elemental feminine associated with growth, caring, fertility and abundance. She is also associated with cycles and nurturing.
She represents the joining of Earth and Emotion (or in card suites, Pentacles and Cups), leading to security and growth.
The card is strong on personal relationships and often points to family, marriage and children. It can represent successful partnerships that are based on mutual nurturing.
The act of creation and growth in all things becomes easier with the Empress.
The Empress card takes its archetype from one of the original Mother Earth archetypes.
Demeter
As the Greek Goddess of agriculture, harvest and growth, as well as symbolizing the cyclical nature of life-death via the seasons, she represents the link that ties mankind to 'nature as a cycle'.
Motherhood and nurturing are prominent in Demeter’s story. When her daughter Persephone is abducted by Hades, Demeter becomes inconsolable, turning the earth from its previous permanent summer into a new state; winter. This myth explains the creation of the seasons as well as illustrating both sides of the Empress via summer and winter in a way that presents them as part of a cycle rather than opposites.
Another important festival of Demeter was the Thesmophoria; a women-only gathering. We know this involved the sacrifice of piglets during a fertility rite that promoted good crops and many children (and that the root story behind it was another form of the abduction of Persephone). This is the reason we see a piglet near the child on the card.
Demeter and Demophon
Before creating the seasons, Demeter decided to show the male Gods what it is to be a Goddess and began the process of turning a human child, Demophon, into a God. Demophon is the child on the card. The process involved burning away the mortal part and nurturing the divine part, and we see this if we look closely at the card; Demophon’s head is consumed by fire yet the child seems to be in a state of bliss.
Demeter stopped this process (possibly because she decided we are not ready for it and possibly on a whim), instead giving mankind a different form of immortality via agriculture which led naturally to a more predictable life and increased growth of the human race. Not only is Demeter a mother to her children, she becomes a mother that raises civilisation itself.
Finally, the abundance that is often associated with both the Empress and Demeter is shown via a field of corn and ripe summer/winter fruit on either side of Demeter's throne.
Description and Symbology
A regal woman sits on a throne. She wears a crown with 12 spikes, representing the 12 months of the year. Behind her we see the sky turn from early morning in the summer to early morning in the winter as we go from the left to the right. We also see the planet Venus - symbol of the feminine - in the sky.
A field of corn also turns from in-harvest to fallow. Around the throne we see fruits that change from the grapes of summer on the left to winter berries to the right.
The progression from left to right represents the cycle of the farming year and the cycle of a life.
Demeter has one hand holding ripe fruit close to her belly and her demeanour is designed to facilitate a feeling that she is pregnant for those whose intuition is looking for this in the card.
We see three animals associated with Demeter: the piglet, the turtle dove and he snake (the snake is difficult to see on the upright card, but becomes more visible on the reversal by design).
The piglet was often offered as sacrifice to Demeter as a fertility offering, asking the Goddess for either a good crop or good marriage with many children. It was also a symbol of prosperity created by the gift of farming from Demeter.
The snake represents fertility through rebirth (as it sheds its skin and is ‘reborn as new’). It also represents the chthonic nature of Demeter.
The turtle Dove is associated with the harvest season as well as love and fidelity.
Demeter holds a Torch in one hand. There is a slight cross at the top of the flame that is very similar to the Torches held by the High Priestess/Hecate. This implies the story of Hecate helping Demeter finding and returning Persephone from the dead.
It also leads to an important distinction between the male and feminine archetype powers. The male Gods may promise power and wealth but the Goddesses hold the key to the most powerful boons of all: birth, growth and immortality. The Eleusinian mysteries (a set of beliefs based around Demeter-Persephone) expanded on this.
We know very little about The Eleusinian Mysteries (writing about it was punishable by death) but we suspect the use of the corn sheaf and corn seed as a metaphor for:
- How a field is cyclically replenished every year and achieves a kind of immortality,
- Its symbolism to mother-daughter and Demeter-Persephone, and
- The cyclical return of Persephone from the dead, in much the same way that vegetation dies in the cold months yet returns every spring.
A pre-agriculture hunter-gatherer version of this cycle occurred via earlier bird-egg archetypes.
We also know that the initiation to this knowledge during the Eleusinian mysteries was both deep and life-changing. People who witnessed the final rite were said to become free of any fear of death. Although the Mystery was a secret cult, the membership in the Greek (and pre-Christian Roman world) was huge and most famous Greek and Roman names familiar to us will have known it.
Finally, we know that Christianity took off when it was adopted by the Roman Empire and the first Latin Bible was actually a translation of a Greek version. Many of the most influential early Christian converts knew of the Mysteries. Many core Western customs may be in some part based on this and other Mystery cults (Dionysus, Isis, Osiris, Mithra, and Cybele-Gaia all had similar and large Mystery cults) and rather than being forgotten, they may be hidden in plain sight today.
Empress Symbol
The Empress is represented by a scythe, as befits the Goddess of agriculture.
The Empress as representing cycles
The crown has 12 spikes representing the 12 months of the year. The background moves from summer on the left to winter on the right. The fruit around the throne consist of summer grapes to the left of the throne and winter berries to the right.
Ripe fruit
The Empress holds ripe fruit to her belly, representing fertility and possible pregnancy.
The Planet Venus
The planet Venus, planet of the feminine, hangs in the sky.
Demeter’s Torch
Demeter holds a torch, symbolizing her search for her daughter Persephone. The torch has the crossed staves, symbol of the Eleusinian Mysteries above it, making it begin to resemble Hecate’s Torch – which it may be.
Corn Field
The gift of agriculture (and therefore modern civilization) is a gift from Demeter, making her the mother of civilization.
Animals
The image contains three animals associated with Demeter; the piglet (fertility, prosperity), the turtle dove (the harvest period, love, fidelity) and the snake (regeneration, immortality).
Demophon
Demophon was a young prince on whom Demeter began the process of turning into a God, by burning away the mortal part and nurturing the spark of immortality. She did this in anger against the male gods and their responsibility in the abduction of Persephone. She later stopped this process and instead gave mankind another form of immortality via farming and the safety of permanence.
Tips for Readings
The following table shows the upright and reverse meanings for general questions. The last row ('Yes/No') is useful when you are picking a single card to decide a yes or no decision.
Upright
Reversed
A nurturing period in your life, full of emotional support and harmonious relations.
If relationships were a time of year, now would be summer; existing relationships will get stronger and grow, or for those who are single, there will be opportunities for new people in your life.
If you are looking to grow your family, now is a lucky time, and a lucky time in general for all family matters.
A period of your life with lack of support and imbalance through overbearing behavior or coldness.
If relationships were a time of year, now would be winter; relationships may contract and for those who are single, there will be few opportunities.
This is not necessarily a bad thing; the world is composed of cycles, and now is a time to grow inward and conserve your energy for the future.
Expect success through a resourceful attitude.
Things will move along better when you bring others with you; working as a team will benefit all.
Caring for others will reap benefits. Success through resourceful attitude.
Be wary of conflicts and an unstable work environment. The root cause will be a lack of resource and cut budgets, leading to possible layoffs or reduced growth.
If you are thinking of asking for promotion or a change in direction, the timing is off. Wait for a better time when you can see growth and opportunity before making your move.
A promotion of wellness especially through good diet. Look to natural foods over fads.
Manual labor and doing work around the house may be the best exercise of all, and far better than the gym. It creates a better home and a better you!
A lack of nutrition may be occurring. Check what you are eating and whether you are putting other priorities before a healthy diet.
As well as self-neglect, over-indulgence of the wrong foods may be an issue.
There will be a connection through the divine feminine, pointing to belief as something that nurtures you in some way.
It may be the growth of new ideas in yourself that support your current aims in life, or a change in attitude.
It may be putting the past behind you as a phase you had to go through. In all cases, you will start to reap benefits in the changes you have made.
This card points to a disconnection through lack of emotion, coldness and emptiness, and this is coming from you. It may be a time to reflect on where you are in life, and consider the future more than the recent past
There may be an over-emphasis on death. If you have lost someone or a period of your life is coming to a close, you should realize that life is always like this; it works in cycles, and there is a better future ahead.
Expect and aim for stability in finances, over unsustainable growth or sudden get-rich schemes.
Go for a dependable income that makes your family and relationships grow through stability vs anything that favors anything else.
This is the best way to make the most of your wealth at the moment, as it will quickly convert into happiness and fulfillment.
You may see a lack of money or resources available to achieve your goals.
Worse, if you have money, it is not being used for happiness or personal growth. A time to check your aims and whether you are wasting resources to be ‘seen as successful’ rather than spending it on what really matters.
Yes, through fertility, abundance, caring nature.
No through lack of resources, lack of love.
Reading the card
This deck takes the view that the Major Arcana refers to you (the 4 minor arcana represent your ‘outer world’ aka ‘other people and events’ but the Major arcana represent your ‘inner world’ aka you) so even if you are male, you are currently driven by a strong female archetype. The major Arcana can only refer to a person other than you if there is a minor arcana card near it on the spread, meaning someone else is modifying how you feel or act by changing or blocking your inner you.
The upright card
The upright Empress focuses on growth and abundance. Plans will work out simply because you are in a period of plenty. Now may be a good time to grow relationships, passion projects or creative projects.
The Empress is about the cycle of life. If you were previously unready to take a leap into a new phase of your life, now may be a good time.
The Empress is about the cycle of life. If you were previously unready to take a leap into a new phase of your life, now may be a good time.
The Empress also suggests tuning into your feminine side. Intuition, compassion, finding balance rather than competition, and being receptive all play their part, but there is also an inner strength within the Empress that should not be ignored. Like the Emperor, the Empress is a leader and not a follower.
The Empress is also an archetype that has a significant connection to fertility and new starts. Whether you are considering new relationships, children or creative projects that are your real ‘babies’, the Empress suggests success.
The reversal
As mentioned previously, the Empress is all about the cycle of life. The upright Empress represents the plenty of summer. The reverse does not mean a lack of summer but the natural move into winter.
There may be a period of lack of growth. This may be unexpected, but is actually a natural part of the cycle. This may mean things will go more smoothly later and now is not the time.
There may also be a period of feeling out of balance, unfamiliarity or cold emotion in the air and lack of help. Although this may represent a disconnection and lack of balance, it can often be the Empress telling you that life naturally ebbs and flows and this is an ebb. You may have to pause or conserve.
The reversed Empress can represent an out of balance situation rather than a natural ebb. There may be some level of controlling (over nurturing) coming from-you or at-you.
Like the high Priestess, the Empress is high on empathy, but this empathy is more geared to knowing ‘the right time for things’ rather than the High Priestess’s ‘inner feelings and secrets’. With a reversed Empress, always consider your timing; is it off?
Finally, there is a level of inflexibility that can occur with the Empress. Is your time over and is it someone else’s turn? If so, it is certain your time will come around again but now is not it. Conserve and bloom another day!
Card Design Process
Previous to this Tarot design, an alternative design based on biblical and other characters associated with the earliest Tarot decks was attempted. The Empress card seen in this deck is one of very few that survived the transition to the current deck designs. If you see some distinct 15th century religious art undertones in the Empress card then you are probably not mistaken!
Final Words
This card represents nurturing, feminine energy, balance, abundance, and harmony through intuition, creativity, and connection to nature's cycles.
It also has a particular affinity to fertility and higher concepts related to the feminine divine and immortality.
