How do you read the Empress card?

The third card of the Great Arcana “Empress” represents feminine strength, fertility, abundance, upbringing and love for home and family. She is the mistress of the Tarot. Its appearance in the hands is considered to be a particularly positive card in the sense that it means exceptional well-being and unlimited luck.
The Empress is a symbol of fertility and new life. She embodies the dual aspect of motherhood – the joy of having a child and the sadness of the inevitable separation from him.
This card symbolizes both marriage and motherhood, and can indicate both the birth of a child and the birth of a new creative project.
In both cases, selfless dedication and unrelenting concern are required to successfully fulfill their mission.
The stability of the home, protection and motherly care are all characteristic properties of the Empress.
This card indicates the important role of well-being, physical safety, and emotional satisfaction.
We are able to not only surrender to the flow of life and fit into its rhythm, but also provide a solid foundation for our future growth.
The Empress personifies a passionate deep love for life, as well as the joy of knowing the very fact of her existence.

Depiction
A young woman sits on a soft throne, which is in the middle of a wheat field. Not far away – a river and a forest. The Empress herself is dressed in a light dress, her head is crowned with a crown of twelve stars, in her right hand she holds a scepter.
(For a detailed depiction, analysis of the Symbols and all Elements of the Empress Tarot Card, click here)

Meaning of the Card

Do not forget about the power of the Empress. If you got this card, ask yourself: did you violate her will in any way? Did you try to commit violence against yourself, to infringe on your creativity? You need to accept yourself as you are, rely on Fate, take a calm pose, like the Mistress depicted on the map, and let events take their course. There is nothing more to conquer: you have everything you need.

Venus is considered a symbol of love, art, and certain amounts of money, from small to medium. Hence the meaning of this card in the alignment: if you ask about the affairs of the heart, then everything is wonderful or will be wonderful in the very near future. If we are talking about art, talents, good taste, then it also portends success and joy. Everything will be all right with money too: Venus the Mistress does not leave her people in trouble. In general, a very good and quite favorable card that gives a positive outlook for answering almost any question.

The Tarot Empress will tell you how to lead this world, if you are willing to listen to her and cooperate with others.

The Empress is the ruler in the house, mother. She knows how to maintain order in the house, the world, so that her pupil, whom she considers to be her children, are calm, contented and happy.

The Empress tarot card also symbolizes the female instinct – intuitive insights that allow her to make the right decisions when there is no time to think. She is both protection and fertility. She teaches love between people (the union of souls, and not a simple sexual desire). As a mother, she is the gate through which we enter the world. As a ruler, she ensures harmony and the ability of people to work together. The Empress card is a governing force that creates an atmosphere where each person is free to develop their own potential.

Positive Aspects of the Card
Striving for harmony. Predominant parenting feelings and actions that lead to creativity and parenting.

Negative Aspects of the Card
A sense of possessiveness in the family, excessive severity and conservatism in relations with children. Troubles. Jealousy.

The Main Meanings of the Card In an Upright Position

Key Words and Phrases

Queen of life. Mother archetype. According to Jung, it is the archetype of the Anima. Cradle of life. Fertility. Prosperity. Creation. Productive actions. Upbringing. Healing. Love. Harmony. Union. Synthesis. Sensitivity. Long growth period. Material comforts. Status. Social status. Great house. A fragrant garden. Abundance. Physical love and affection. Women’s sexuality. Marriage. Profit. Good harvest. Pregnancy. Creation. Maternal instincts. Desire to help others. Birth. Motherhood. Concentration on life processes. A good result of hard work. The transition from one stage of growth to another. Realized potential. Income. Good destiny. Mother Earth. Mother Nature. Moving forward and growing. Sometimes marriage.

The main meanings of the card in an upright position

The woman who knows love;
Physical and spiritual creative power;
Stability, harmony, prospects for growth and prosperity in all areas of life;
Positive results, good opportunities;
Contentment with life;
Time for productive action;
Release of powerful energy;
Creative lift;
New profession / position;
New knowledge / insights;
Addition to the family;
Changing relationships between partners.

Situation and Advice

Persons designated by the Empress Tarot Сard In an Upright Position

Mother. Wife. A significant woman. A woman with well-developed instincts for motherhood and parenting. A woman who is always ready to help. Powerful woman. Pregnant woman. Earthly mother. A regal woman. A woman that is an employer. A royal woman. The woman who owns the land. Creative person. One of the parents. A woman with power and a high position. An important woman has appeared in your life. For a man, this is the woman of his dreams.

The Main Meanings of the Card in a Reversed Position

Key Words and Phrases

Failed attempts to get rich. Stagnation. Pregnancy problems. Unrealized creativity. Refusal to grow. Unreasonable contentment with the present. Excessive passion for material comfort. Missing opportunities. Birth control. Infertility. Impotence. Abortion. Miscarriage. Sterilization. Inability to have children. Promiscuous sexual intercourses. Sex without love. Unwanted pregnancy. Financial difficulties. Problems. Poverty. Disease. Greed. Excessive materialism. Physical discomfort. Unproductiveness. Wasted energy. Depression. Despair. Suffering. Denying the wisdom of your heart.

The main meanings of the card in a reversed position

Unproductive business;
Dissipation of creative energy;
Sterility;
Auspicious card, but you need to wait a little before achieving success.

Situation and Advice

You usually feel limited in your creativity. Your level of material comfort may be low, or, on the contrary, you selfishly cling to your material values ​​instead of sharing them with your loved ones. Perhaps your greed is leading to relationship problems. You are in a depressed mood, you are desperate. You may be running out of money, feeling poor, and unable to make ends meet. Relationships that don’t satisfy you. Most likely – this is sex without love. An upside-down empress can sometimes mean sexual problems or unwanted pregnancies. She also points out problems with pregnancy and the likelihood of miscarriage. Perhaps you know that you are unable to conceive, or you decide not to have more children. Sometimes the card indicates a break in family ties.

Persons designated by the Reversed Empress Tarot Сard

A woman who has a miscarriage. Rejected woman. People who lead a hectic lifestyle. Unproductive people. Cold people. Emotionally unstable people. Prostitutes.

In the Spreads

When the Empress falls in the Tarot, she talks about female intelligence. She is active and friendly. She acts quickly, communicates well and is practical.
But the third Arcana is not always unambiguous. There is also a negative value of the card, most often it is reflected in the positions reversed during the spread. Here all the qualities of the Empress deteriorate, her beauty becomes vanity. She advocates superficial thinking, excess power, and lack of empathy.
The Empress represents unconditional love – she makes no demands and sets no conditions. If we allow her love to flow through us, then we too can become a pure source through which the Universe flows. Only our fears stand between us and the Goddess.

In an Upright Position

Empress is a positive card.
She talks about stability, life in harmony with nature and the people around her, about creative upsurge and love for everything beautiful, about the prospects for growth and prosperity in all areas of life, wise use of talents.
The card symbolizes both marriage and motherhood, and can indicate both the birth of a child and the birth of a new creative project.
The 3rd Major Arcana Tarot Empress, more than anything in the world portends that you or someone from your loved ones have either become pregnant or will soon become pregnant. However, this pregnancy and subsequent birth does not have to be literal, as such an expression can be interpreted as the “birth” of a new idea or reality, or even represent a spiritual rebirth.

In a Reversed Position:

In a Personal Spread

When a woman appears in a personal situation, it means that all the best qualities of a lover, wife and mother are inherent in her. She is a wonderful housewife who knows how to create comfort in any place. In general, the card speaks of great creativity and the ability to realize oneself in life.

In the Spreads for Different situation

In an Upright Position
In Tarot reading, the Empress denotes a strong, dynamic and wise nature. You must devote more time to understanding nature in order to develop a forgiving attitude that allows you to empathize with the problems of others. Think about the love that has been poured out on you, and consider your good intentions in carrying out your responsibilities. Eventually, you will be able to find ways to fulfill your life as well as the lives of others.

In a Reversed Position:
The card suggests that you neglected your personal needs while giving great attention to others. As a person, this may reflect your insecurities and the fact that you should not be taken seriously. It can also indicate that you are overwhelmed at work and therefore cannot pursue your creative instincts. What you need is balance in different areas of your life in order to find harmony that does not exist at the moment.

In the Spreads for Relationship

In an Upright Position
In this area, the Empress also indicates changes and the birth of a new one, whether it be an addition to the family or any other change in the relationship of partners. In any case, they liven up the routine and are inherently beneficial. In addition, it can mean the onset of a new phase of maternal love, or the field in which your new relationship is ripening.
The Empress in love reading can hardly be an even more positive Arcana. This means that you are especially desirable. The opposite sex strives to be near you, both for friendship and in the hope of enjoying the taste of your erotic charm.
If you already have a relationship, it will become more loving and intense under the influence of the Arcana 3 of the Tarot. If you’re single, true love can start knocking at your door. Enjoy the moment.

In a Reversed Position:
When the Reversed Empress appears in a love reading, it suggests that numerous potential romantic partners are persecuted, but the atmosphere does not reflect who you truly are as a person.
If you are in a relationship, you are not expressing your true emotions out of fear. There is a feeling of concern in your soul that you may be rejected or offended. Your insecurity is mostly unfounded.
You must trust your instincts and follow your heart. If you don’t feel like you can express your deepest feelings to your lover, then you can be sure that your romance will never develop into a long-term relationship.

In the Spreads for Dates

In an Upright Position
If you want to meet an interesting person, look for new experiences. Going where you have never been before, you never know who you will meet on the way.

In a Reversed Position:
Don’t even think that pregnancy will help to get your relationship off the ground. At such a young age, this is not the way forward, but backward.

In the Spreads for Family

In an Upright Position
A mother or another woman, full of patience, sincere and internally whole, brings beauty, harmony and love into your life.

In a Reversed Position:
In your life there is an irresistible influence of a woman or such love that does not inspire, but suffocates you.

In the Spreads for Friendship

In an Upright Position
You are quite supportive of your friends. They come to you for advice and you give good advice.
It can also show that you need advice and guidance too.

In a Reversed Position:
You spend too much time alone, perhaps listening to music in your room or playing computer games. Think about why you are doing this. If you are afraid that other people will not accept you, then remember – even the most confident person is afraid of this. Don’t let fear dominate you – otherwise you will pass out of life, never having experienced what it means to “live”.

In the Spreads for Money

In the Spreads for Education

In an Upright Position
Auspicious time for subjects that require a creative attitude, such as music, drama and painting. These activities will provide you with a lot of fun.

In a Reversed Position:
You work too hard. There is a danger of nervous exhaustion. The easiest option is to lose interest in what you put so much effort into. Act at a more relaxed pace.

In the Spreads for Career

In an Upright Position
If you are not a leader yet, you will soon be. Perhaps, the responsibility for a specific project that you think is very interesting will open before you. If you are having a hard time in your professional life, the Empress card asks you to go with the flow and not be preoccupied with worries. Your situation is already improving significantly. Perhaps you haven’t realized it yet.
The Empress points to a period of creative upsurge among artists, writers and musicians. For engineers, technicians or designers, these are new non-trivial ideas. For representatives of other professions – changes, innovations, growth and revitalization of activities. The Empress can also mean here that the changes have already taken place, and now you have to get used to them, retrain from the old to the new. This can be a change in working conditions, a new teacher, employee or boss, or a change in the type or field of activity. In some cases, Arcana indicates a new profession or position. All these changes, in the overwhelming majority of cases, are for the better.

In a Reversed Position:
The Empress in an inverted position speaks of problems that arose from a lack of discernment or foresight. Arrogance and conceit will not do anything good.
When the 3rd Arcana is reversed in relation to a work question, it means that you are concerned that your contribution has not been fully recognized or appreciated. The vast majority of your colleagues trust and admire you, and some even find you and your work ethic inspiring. Given the current emotional state, now is clearly not the time for rash decisions regarding professional life.

In the Spreads for Health

In an Upright Position
In questions about health, the Empress speaks of good health. In case of illness, she predicts recovery.
If you want to conceive, this is a great card to find in the deck as it strongly indicates that pregnancy is indeed occurring. During pregnancy it predicts a good course without complications and a successful resolution.

In a Reversed Position:
In an inverted position, the Empress informs that chronic diseases can remind of themselves. There is a possibility of infertility or intimate problems.
Exercise is known to be one of the strongest antidotes to clinical depression and can help you get the energy you need to get through an emotionally difficult period in your life.

In the Perspectives

Your business will be well developed. You will find fertile soil on which everything will grow and develop well.

Answer to Yes / No Tarot Spreads

In an Upright Position
The Empress has a motherly attitude to everything. Cherishing, loving to solve problems, she points to successful, positive and productive opportunities in everything. She suggests that you only move forward to reach your full potential, and the answer you are looking for is “Yes.”
Business is maturing. Your patience and anticipation will be rewarded. You will reap the rewards of your labor.

In a Reversed Position:
No

Combinations with other cards

Arcana’s warning

Be more rational, you can let passion and instinct guide you through life. Don’t rely on others.
Do not think that pregnancy solves problems in a relationship with a man. Try not to choke your loved ones with your love and care. Give them more personal space and the ability to decide for themselves what is good for them. Avoid frills.

Self-Development Lesson

You are able to open your heart and mind to intuition and rational decision making. You can bring wisdom and understanding into your daily life. This is the time for productive action.

Key Ideas

Use your opportunities wisely so as to maintain balance. You are responsible for your life. Don’t be who you are not. Create for yourself what you want to experience in this life, and teach other people the right attitude towards you.

Psychological (Personality) Meaning of the Arcana

Type of person in an upright position:

Mother; older sister; wife; a domineering influential person who, however, is benevolent and ready to help; a woman who has reached a high position.
The card means a kind, friendly person, attentive to the needs of others. Polite, courteous, treats people with sincere warmth. Often gifted with creativity. If it falls to a woman, this is a lady striving to create the best conditions for her offspring. Of the shortcomings, it seeks to patronize even those whom she shouldn’t, and therefore it is erroneously generous to unworthy people.
The personality of the Empress is an educator, self-confident and creative woman. Such people can be incredibly gentle. Although this card has a close connection with motherhood, it can also speak of a male figure. The persons represented by the Empress card are strong and caring. They are great leaders, caring for others and achieving good results.

Type of person in an reversed position:

A woman who at any cost strives to dominate, to gain power over others and abuses her power, which has an extremely negative effect on people’s psyche.
The person is overly helpful and troublesome. She strives to help wherever she is asked or not, imposes her company with good, as it seems to her, intentions. Stupid, she does not know how to distinguish good from evil. Regularly loses money at best due to excessive softness and narrow-mindedness, at worst – she is generous at the expense of others.
The Inverted Empress can represent two ends of the spectrum: suffocating attention or detached coldness. This card can represent people who do not currently have the emotional reserves for a mutually supportive relationship. If there is attention, it can be intense and constricting, especially if it is related to motherhood.

Psychological significance of the Arcana:

As a person, the Empress speaks of someone who is loving, warm, sensual, and just as charismatic. The people represented by this Arcana are creative and highly intelligent at the same time, often making successful careers in the arts. They make excellent educators and parents. Focused, unearthly and dedicated, they often work for non-profit organizations. With a combination of intelligence as well as determination to see things through, the Empress’s people generally enjoy success in whatever projects they choose.
Also from the point of view of psychological significance: you must carefully analyze what is happening. Perhaps you are just tired of the daily hustle and bustle and want to change everything or you need additional incentives. But in any case, you are passive. You are doing nothing and are not trying to change anything. Therefore, before you do anything, ask yourself: “What do I actually want?” Was everything that you did before forced and dictated by circumstances beyond your control? Have you ruined your creativity? Are you in control of your life? To be happy here on Earth, you need to accept yourself as you are. You deserve happiness by your birthright, but now you just need to learn how to use what you have. Do not fight fate, but, like the Empress, majestically accept everything that she brings you.

Final Advice of Arcana

Conclusion

The Empress is the inexhaustible power of Nature, continuously generating new life. This card denotes vitality, fertility, growth and the birth of a new one. She is an inexhaustible source of all life, our creative potential and our ability to perceive subtle vibrations and embody them in the form of something new. On the physical level, this is growth, fertility. On the emotional level – creativity. On the level of the mind – a wealth of ideas, ingenuity. On the level of consciousness – learning new things. The constant birth of a new one means both a continuous change in our life and the need to endure the pain associated with this birth.

Discover other Major Arcana: