what does the empress mean in tarot?

The Empress represents the germination of ideas before they are ready to be born. She is the creator of everything - life, romance, art, business. The Empress is the symbol of Venus, the goddess of beautiful things, the garden, well-being, sex and love.  She correlates with Libra and Taurus.  

empress energy and symbology

The Empress sits on a throne, wears a crown of twelve stars and holds a sceptre in one hand. In the Rider Waite deck she wields her a heart-shaped breastplate.

The Empress tarot is associated with female energy, abundance and birth. The sceptre represents the empress's power over life, the crown has twelve stars, each star represents the months in a year, and the throne is in the midst of a corn field, representing her rule over all that grows. The Empress stands for motherhood, creativity, beauty, sensuality and abundance.   

As the archetype of Mother Earth, the Empress urges you to venture into nature and be grounded so that your energy can flow into the earth.

Depending on the reading, the Empress Card can be applied to the need to feed oneself. For women, the card shows a great need to be cared for as a woman. The card can also indicate pregnancy, especially if you also pull the Ace of Cups, The Sun or Seven of Pentacles.

empress in work

In the professional context, the Empress appears in tarot readings when you feel creative and inspired by the people around you and your passions. The Empress Card is designed to bring forth new ideas, companies and projects in your life.  

She can represent a motherly mentor or a dynamic business woman, who successfully manages others through her communication skills and emphasis on cooperation and team work.

empress as a person

The Empress is one of the archetype of female power; she is watery and earthy, warm, indulgent, fertile and sexual. She urges us (men, women, non-binary) to come into contact with our feminine side, listen to our intuition and give priority to our emotions and passions.   

She is a reminder not to ignore your creative and intuitive side. If you give priority to self-care and take care of your material needs, you can express this in the Empress. This card can represent a pregnant woman, a mother or an entrepreneur.

empress as advice

If asking what the Empress wants from you - love and take care of yourself. Feel the relaxing power of nature by practicing herbalism, hiking, collecting flowers at the table, watching the sunset or sitting in the park. She loves adorning herself ,so go shopping, get your nails and hair done or get a massage. The Empress reminds you that you are fertile and she urges you to use your imagination to ideate and create more love, more connection, more healing and more fullness in your life.    

She indicates that this is a good time to nurture your spiritual and creative gifts. Take a moment to reflect on the abundance of resources that surrounds you, so that you can build on it and bring your ideas into fruition.

Connect with your feminine side. You may be in a relationship with an Empress who loves Tarot, which encourages you to spend time together and look after each other. Being an upright empress will give your career a boost.    

empress reversed

In readings, the reversed empress represents illness, infertility, issues getting pregnant, or conflict with a mother. She can also represent a women who does not want to have children.

The card can indicate that you are disconnected from the feminine aspect of creation, which has a domino effect on other areas of your life. Due to role swapping, when the reversed Empress finds her way in your life it means that you rely on others to take care of you and to make decisions for you.    

The reversed empress indicates that you suppressed or neglected your feminine side and need to embrace it to rebalance your masculine and feminine energies. You need to embrace them completely in order to rebalance your energy. The reversed Empress represents detachment from the most important emotional elements in your life.    

empress in love   

The Empress represents someone that facilitates the growth and cooperation of ideas and people. When this card shows up in a love reading, it asks you to focus on your relationships. How are you giving and receiving love and nurture from others? If asking how someone feels about you, you may remind them of their mother. They may see you as a caretaker and as a great mother.

The Empress is very generous, and necessitates a lot of give and take - so if you see this card in your readings, you may want to check if you are in a two-way street of giving, caring and support. The Empress loves the emotional side of things, and for this reason she has a need for balance in her relationships.