The Empress Tarot Card Keywords
Upright Keywords
Nurturing, Fertility, Abundance, Divine Feminine, Self Expression, Mothering
Reversed Keywords
Disease, Overbearing, Dependence, Creative Blocks, Untamed Creativity
The Empress Tarot Meaning
The Empress tarot card is known as the ‘mother’ of the tarot deck. She is the one that nurtures and takes care of the material world, so that it can grow and thrive. On traditional tarot illustrations such as that on the Rider Waite-Smith deck, we see a glimpse of the abundance that comes from this nurturing energy, with crops, lush forests and roaring rivers surrounding The Empress.
I see The Empress and The High Priestess as two sides of the same coin. Both are nurturers and support organic growth, but The High Priestess does this in the ‘underworld’, she takes care of the nurturing in the subconscious and the unconscious parts of the self. The Empress however, deals with the conscious and higher consciousness. Your goals, desires and ambitions? The Empress is the one watering those and helping them to thrive.
The Empress Upright Meaning
The Empress embodies divine feminine energy. She is a card that is all about taking care of the material world, referring to things like your physical body, conscious mind and goals, home, finances, work, creative output and relationships. When referring to Jungian archetypes, The Empress takes on the role of the mother, a figure we come across in our lives when we experience being nurtured, taken care of, loved and when we offer those to others, acting with compassion and empathy.
When upright, The Empress is at the forefront of growth. She is the one ensuring everything is in place and working in a healthy and balanced way, to ensure success but not at the cost of health or happiness.
The Empress can also represent the Anima, the feminine aspect of a male’s psyche in Jungian psychology. This energy refers to the ability to feel emotional connection with others, intuition, nurturing and ability to have compassion for both the self and others.
When the upright Empress makes an appearance in your readings, you can approach it in two ways. You can either step into the energy of The Empress, projecting her characteristics onto others or onto the self. Or, you can look for The Empress in the external world. She might appear as opportunities to take time for yourself to relax and destress, she may present herself to remind you to stay open and connected with loved ones or to put yourself first in a situation.
Journal Prompts for The Empress, Upright
How could I prioritise my physical health right now and ensure my mind and body are balanced?
When was the last time I felt truly connected with myself and the world around me and how could I include more of that into my daily life?
Why might I need the emotional support of others right now and what difference will it make to my well-being?
“The Mother, figuratively, is no less than the source of all life. She represents the love and nurture humans need from day one.” – WhereWonderWaits
The Empress Upright Meanings | Love, Career & Finances
In a Love reading, The Empress shows the importance of being open to love and emotional connection and having a partner who can do the same. The Empress for singletons can be a sign to continue to put their needs first and only leap when it feels right for them. For those in a relationship, The Empress can be a great sign of a loving and fertile relationship, or, depending on the context of the reading and the other cards present, a need for more of this energy in the relationship.
In a career reading, The Empress upright can refer to a role that requires you to manage others and take care of them and their career progression, or a need to do that for yourself. The Empress can also bring your awareness to issues such as burnout or putting the needs of your company before your own, so it’s important to take the context of the reading into consideration when interpreting the card in this way.
The Empress upright when appearing in a financial reading can refer to abundance and enjoying the financial security you have, while also nurturing the income and outgoings you have. The Empress isn’t about frivolity, she spends only what she needs to in order to maintain her comfortable life and treats money as an energetic exchange. She has a great deal of respect for it and so can symbolise a need for sensible budgeting.
The Empress Reversed Meaning
The Empress tarot card reversed turns the nurturing nature of the card on its head. There are two main ways reversals can be read: as internal energies and as opposites to their upright counterparts.
As an internal energy, The Empress reversed turns all that nurturing, loving and fertile energy inwards. This means focusing on self-worth, self-esteem, self-love and taking care of your body from the inside out.
As opposites of its upright meanings, The Empress in reverse can indicate a problem with emotional connection to others or allowing emotions to flow as easily as they should. It can also refer to ‘the mother wound’, a term coined by psychologist Bethany Webster in 2014. This refers to the psychological pain passed down through generations of women, rooted in patriarchal cultures. It encompasses personal, cultural, spiritual, and intergenerational trauma.
When The Empress in reverse appears in your tarot readings, it’s a good idea to look at emotional blocks that could be causing issues such as limiting beliefs, dysfunctional coping mechanisms or emotional struggles. It’s always a great point to take a pause and review the care and love you are showing to yourself and those close to you.
Journal Prompts for The Empress, Reversed
How do I communicate my emotions and well-being to those I love, and how could I improve?
What routines could I create to take better care of my mind and body?
What beliefs about myself and my worth are no longer serving me and how could I rewrite them?
“The anima [feminine energy] is a factor of the utmost importance in the psychology of a man wherever emotions and affects are at work.” – Carl Jung
The Empress Reversed Meanings | Love, Career & Finances
In a love reading, The Empress in reverse could indicate an imbalance between you and your partner, wherein you give them more than they give you or vice versa. For singletons, The Empress in reverse can indicate overprotection of the self, keeping your emotions closed off in fear of being hurt.
In a career reading, The Empress in reverse can suggest that a job is draining you or simply not giving you what you need in order to grow and thrive. The Empress indicates a need to look inwards to find out what it is you need from your role and be open about asking or working for it.
The Empress reversed in a financial tarot reading could suggest a lack of respect for financial abundance. Maybe you spend the money as fast as you make it, maybe you hold onto it too tightly and don’t enjoy what the money allows you the opportunities to experience. The Empress reminds us that we all have a relationship to money and that relationship always needs care and attention to stay healthy and thriving.
The Jungian Mother archetype
Within the flow of The Fool’s Journey, The Empress is the first time we fully become ‘conscious’. Before this we have been preoccupied in the realm of soul and spirit, yet to be made whole. The Empress is where we are birthed into the world and learn for the first time what it means to be a part of something bigger.
“The mother archetype is the most significant of all, for this is the archetype of which we first become conscious.” – Carl Jung
The Empress | Esoteric Correspondences
Astrological Sign
Venus
Venus is the planet of love, named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Just like Venus, The Empress is filled with romance, fertility and abundance.
Elemental Energy
Elemental Earth
The Empress tarot card corresponds with the elemental energy of earth. She is a card as I’ve mentioned previously, which is all about fertility and assisting growth.
Numerology
Number Three
The Empress is third in the structure of the Major Arcana. The number three represents the idea of expansion and growth, both properties that we find in The Empress.
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