ABUNDANCE
SENSES
NATURE
The Empress and the High Priestess are the two halves of the female archetype in the major arcana. The Empress represents the fertile, life-giving Mother who reigns over the bounty of nature and the rhythms of the Earth.
From her comes all the pleasures and joys of the senses and the abundance of new life in all its forms. The Empress encourages you to strengthen your connections with the natural world which is the ground of our being.
Too often false sophistications and pleasures take us far from our roots. Let the Empress remind you to keep your feet firmly planted in the Earth.
In readings, the Empress can refer to any aspect of Motherhood. She can be an individual mother, but as a major arcana card, she also goes beyond the specifics of mothering to its essence – the creation of life and its sustenance through loving care and attention.
The Empress can also represent lavish abundance of all kinds. She offers a cornucopia of delights, especially those of the senses – food, pleasure, and beauty. She can suggest material reward, but only with the understanding that riches go with a generous and open spirit. The Empress asks you to embrace the principle of life and enjoy its bountiful goodness.
mothering
- giving birth
- nourishing life
- nurturing and caring for others
- cherishing the world
- expressing tenderness
- working with children
welcoming abundance
- enjoying extravagance
- receiving lavish reward
- luxuriating in plenty
- having more than enough
- feeling rich
experiencing the senses
- giving and receiving pleasure
- focusing on the body
- appreciating beauty
- feeling vibrantly healthy
- being earthy
- doing physical activity
responding to Nature
- relating to plants and animals
- embracing the natural
- feeling connected to the Earth
- going outdoors
- harmonizing with natural rhythms
Some possibilities
- Emperor – fathering, order and discipline, regularity
- Death – the principle of death
- Four of Pentacles – miserly possessiveness
- Nine of Pentacles – refinement, sophistication
Some possibilities
- Lovers – sexual fulfillment, pleasure
- Star – generosity, free-flowing love
- Nine of Cups – enjoying the senses
- Seven of Pentacles – material reward
- Ten of Pentacles – affluence, luxury, physical comfort
There are no separate explanations for reversed cards. The meaning of a reversed card depends on what the card would mean if upright. A reversed card shows that a card’s energy is present but at a lower level. For some reason, the energy cannot be expressed freely, normally, or completely. It may be:
- still in its early stages
- losing force and power
- blocked or restricted
- incomplete
- inappropriate
- being denied
- only present in appearance
See Lesson 17 for more information on reversed cards.