You arrive at the path of the earth mother…

The Empress represents the path of giving birth to life (new beginnings). She is the mother of the Earth and the goddess of fertility and desires to balance all relationships.

Astrologically the Empress is associated with Venus, the planet of love, sex, pleasure, beauty, art, money, investments, committed relationships, unions, and partnerships.

The Major Arcana Represents Major Life Lessons: If the Empress comes out on the first card of your reading, you may not be thinking something through because you are in a hurry. If the Empress appears in the outcome of the reading in a positive position, there will be an attraction connected to something that you really want, such as romance, love, giving and sharing, merging, uniting and many other urges and desires (only you know what these urges and desires mean).

The Story Of The Empress Tarot Card

The Empress is enumerated three in the Tarot, the perfect number according to the ancients, a number which stands for creation and completeness, reward and success.

She is the mother of the Earth and goddess of fertility, symbolizing a woman and her fruitful union with a man, resulting in a child. As a loving and attentive mother she showers life with an abundance of wonder and goodness.

The yellow sky conveys the joyous optimism of the Empress’s thoughts. Her jeweled golden crown, topped with twelve stars, represents divine love. The twelve stars also represent the twelve signs of the zodiac, a woman’s cycles throughout the year and her power of seduction through her cycles.

Her woven throne is red (red = energy, passion, high rank) as is her cushion and blanket. The globe scepter in her right hand indicates rules of ceremony and is a symbol of her sovereignty, royal rank, authority and her power as fertile Earth mother. The white of her dress symbolizes purity (as does her pearl necklace), while the red pomegranates that adorn it depict a fruit that throughout religious history has symbolized beliefs, desires, seduction, and fertility.

Beside her throne lies a protective shield, shaped like a heart and bearing the symbol of the planet Venus. A field of wheat (nourishment, the process of sowing, growth and harvest) connects the Empress to the Earth. The cypress trees clustered in the background represent the planet Venus and connect to the zodiac sign of Taurus (spring, new growth) and Libra (fall, end of growing season).

The waterfall and stream ripples with the energy and motivation which the Empress devotes to her particular issues and relationships through her subconscious. Finally, the blooming garden represents a fruitful mother connected in her bounty and splendor to Mother Nature.

My Interpretation Of The Empress Tarot Card

The Empress is connected to the planet Venus, which pertains to possessions and love for them, and pleasure shared with other people. Concerned with everything woven into the complex strands of your web of emotional attachments, marriages, unions and other close relationships, Venus asks nothing more than to spread happiness and tenderness — all the while teaching you how to love and appreciate others and all that they possess.

When she appears in your reading in a positive position the Empress may signify your maternal desire or potentiality, or perhaps your desire to give and receive a mother’s love. All women who consider bringing forth or adding to a family hail Venus as a munificent omen. Either way, the Empress brings the good luck that accompanies growth. She can also signify the need to focus on your role as a mother or your relationship with your own mother or mother figure.

Every human at some level feels the need for love and care, and the Empress signifies those universal feelings of comfort and reward that you receive while loving and caring for your dearest ones. As a result, she is a sign that abundance and well-being are afoot and that matters are tending toward their best possible resolution.

When this card appears in a reading, examine the surrounding cards and try to understand the relationship to the question you have asked. If the Empress appears in a reading surrounded by negative cards, perhaps a female in your life threatens to dominate or suffocate you. This position is warning you not to allow her to do so.

Positive Position: You may experience a pregnancy, engagement, committed relationship, marriage or business partnership. The Empress gives birth to life and everything is on course and will come to a successful harvest.

Negative Position: You are feeling unbalanced, vain, insecure or needy. This position could also represents a clandestine affair (the cheater), or perhaps a female threatens to dominate or suffocate you. It might also indicate someone experiencing fertility problems, bloody menopause at the end of childbearing years, or a turn for the worse in a relationship.

Timing is 1 – 30 days.