Feb 08 | 2023 — The Empress
Today’s card is another card in the Major Arcana: The Empress. This lovely lady traditionally represents the “Mother” archetype and brings with it all those warm apple-pie-smelling attributes that are so stereotypical of a “mother” figure: emotional stability, comfort, safety, nurturing, growth — she’s basically a warm blanket and a hot bowl of homemade mother-fuckin’ chicken soup!
Traditionally, she’s represented as a regal woman with a crown of stars (she’s an Empress after all), often pregnant, and seated on some bougie cushions in a lovely forest glade, like Bambi, but without the hunters. There’s a lot of symbolism related to cycles (life, death, rebirth; 12 signs of the zodiac; 12 planets, 12 months of the year; fertility, harvest, reproduction; even the cycle of Persephone’s cyclical return to the Underworld), all representing the natural cycles found in nature and life. She is the ruler of Pentacles and grounded in earth energy that stabilizes and nurtures.
But let’s not be so coy as to think The Empress is a woman. Archetypes are not gender-based, even though they may be represented pictorially as male or female. The Empress is in all of us at different points in our lives, and we can represent The Empress’ traits and qualities in many ways.
Message of the Day: The Empress has been a big part of my personal Tarot journey because of her involvement in the suit of Pentacles. Her energy influences every Pentacle, so I’ve rubbed elbows with her a lot. However, I’ve never really stopped to think about when, where, and how The Empress influences me.
The first thing that comes to mind when I look introspectively from the perspective of our Queen Lady is self-care. We can be so good at taking care of other people and providing the comfort and solace they need, but we almost never provide that same level of nurturing to ourselves. We may cover our kiddo in that fancy, warm, sherpa blanket, but we’re often fine grabbing the ratty, old, threadbare blanket the dog sleeps on for ourselves. Sure, maybe it’s comfortable, but you’re not meant to live a life of sacrifice. I don’t see any name tags that say “Mother Theresa.” Grab that blanket for yourself, and tell your kid to find something else. Momma needs her time.
The next thing that comes to mind is more of an Empress Reversed situation, where we not only deny ourselves the nurturing and comfort of The Empress, but we negate it with self-hate and self-loathing. Situations where you’re left feeling less-than-adequate, or when you’re feeling down on yourself for whatever reason (shit, hormones alone can make you feel like shit for absolutely NO reason whatsoever, amiright?), are representative of CORRUPTED Empress energy. She’s a bitch and doesn’t care that you feel bad; we all have those days, and that is also the cyclical nature of The Empress — pregnancy hormones and all that. Just remember that it is meant to be a cycle — a momentary situation to be experienced and moved past — and not a lifestyle. Like Mama Ru Paul says:
If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an amen?
The last thing that comes to mind regarding the Empress is birthing. While I know my dick may get in the way of a physical birth, it doesn’t impact the creation of new creative ideas and projects (at least, not usually). The sheer nature of The Empress is to bring new things to life, and she encourages the creation of art, beauty, and nature as we learn to embrace empathy and love, not just for those around us, but for ourselves.
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