The Empress card shows an earthy woman with glorious flowing dark hair, she is standing thoughtfully in a field of corn and her gown is patterned with different plants and leafy boughs. Around her neck she wears 12 precious stones as a necklace. Her crown depicts castles and towers. In the background of this scene there are fertile fields and water flowing into a large pool. The waterfall gives an idea of fertility and a flowing of feelings and her crown represents her ruling over security, the home and perhaps safely with happy and peaceful foundations to life.
A Brief History
This is the goddess Demeter, who the Earth Mother, ruler of nature and protector of the harvest. In late summer people would offer thanks to her for the earth’s bounty. She is connected with the cycles of nature and the life of all growing things- like the patterns on her gown.
Demeter also ruled over birth of new life and of marriage rites. She is a matriarchal goddess, reflecting the power of the earth itself and of nurturing and growing all things.
Demeter was the mother of Persephone, and like all mothers protected her from the conflicts of the real world. One day her daughter went off for a walk and vanished without trace.
Eventually it was discovered that Hades, the god of the underworld, had taken a strong fancy to her and whizzed her away in his chariot drawn y two black horses.
He made her the queen of the underworld and she willingly ate the fruit of the underworld – the pomegranate which bound them together.
Demeter was so enraged at this that she allowed the earth to wither and become barren but a compromise was reached so that the earth could thrive again – for nine months of the year Persephone would live with her mother and for the other three she would live with her dark husband.
While Persephone was in the underworld Demeter was so sorrowful that the earth grew lifeless during this time – this is the time of the year that we now call winter.
Each year when her daughter returned Spring arrived and the earth began to recover.
The Empress Card Meaning
Upright Meaning
Nurturing, mothering
Earthly pursuits
Practicalities of life
Home and family
Reversed Meaning
Overprotective person
Restricting development
Paranoia
Tyrannical person
Basic Interpretation in a Reading
It is time for you to focus more strongly on your home and a more earthy phase of life. There could well be the birth of a child who is likely to have creative or artistic qualities, or the occasion of a marriage to someone close to you.
There is a situation around you where you need to be taking good care of something or someone, to help them to grow and evolve. Make sure that you are building firm foundations for life ahead.
Tarot Thoughts
The Empress really embodies the earth mother, she is calm and serene and seems to be caring for everything around her. She likes an ordered world and will not tolerate anything that rocks her boat.
She is a patient person, capable of great love but also capable of stronger action when needed if she feels her world and anything in it is under threat.
Not someone to be underestimated, or to get on the wrong side of. She is resourceful and grounded, she doesn’t need anything other than earthly things for which she will give her all.
A strong and deceptively dangerous woman when roused but also a strong and wise woman to have on your side in life.