The Empress Upright Meaning

The Empress is a Major Arcana, or "trump" card, that portrays the energy of the
great mother. She is nature, around us but also within us, the ever-unfolding
source of life-giving power. The Empress is often pictured as a pre-Christian
Goddess, as the one whom The High Priestess is channeling down to Earth for
the rest of us.

In medieval Europe, The Empress card was painted to represent whatever queen
currently ruled the land, probably to satisfy the Inquisitors. But the scholars of the
Renaissance and beyond had no doubt of her true identity -- she could not be
fully revealed on Tarot cards as "the woman clothed with the sun" until after the
French Revolution.

This supreme archetype of femininity also symbolizes fertility. It is The Empress

who provides us nourishment and security. She is also sometimes seen as
delighting us with flowers and fruit. A potentially terrifying aspect of this archetype
manifests itself whenever karmic mood swings wipe out our plans, like a storm
that has come upon us. Whatever happens, The Empress is the source of our
embodiment and of natural lLaw. She might even be called "The Great Recycler."

The Empress Reversed Meaning

Because the Empress represents Nature, when she is reversed she has
tremendous natural power to correct her heedless children. Volcanoes, tsunami,
hurricanes and the like symbolize violent emotions triggered by ignorant or
foolish humans.

If you feel like being corrective, you are probably justified, but set limits on how
punitive you allow yourself to be. You don't want to go too far and destroy all you
have taken so much delight in.