Week IV | The Empress | Class

[mol]

And now the next card in the lineup...

http://www.mysticwicks.com/img/tarot/riderwaite_empress.gif

So lets have it...what do you see...what do you feel?

Class is in session....

[BrightStar]

Hi all!
What's that at her feet?Wheat,grain?I'm thinking fertility.But also feminine power.Maybe the power of nature,since her throne is outdoors.
Peace and Love
Rain BrightStar

[Rosabelle]

a woman of nature! in a field of weat and the forest behind her. water flows over pebbles as problems with a spiritual person. she has a shiels with the female sign on it. Her thrown is in nature and so is she!
Rosabelle

[mol]

The Earth is her Throne!

[Rosabelle]

that is what i mean when i say 'her thrown is in nature'. oh well, you just aren't clever enough to follow my trail of thought mol (hehe :D)
Rosabelle

[mol]

Originally posted by Rosabelle
that is what i mean when i say 'her thrown is in nature'. oh well, you just aren't clever enough to follow my trail of thought mol (hehe :D)
Rosabelle

Nonono.. ;) You said her Throne is IN nature..I say it IS nature. :P

[mol]

Hmmmm....where is all the discussion here...I guess semele will have to liven everyone up in here...

[Semele]

I am too tired at the moment to liven anything up, but my pillow!!! Aggghhhh the thought of a whole week without work! Heaven indeed, I say as I take the phone off the hook. I will say no Iwill say no!!! I'm sorry but no I can't come to work I have far too much work to do in the community!!

You guys are right on track with the nature thingy!! I always feel intune with nature when I view this card. Keep going...what does she say to you???

Film at eleven!
Semele

[Shatav]

Twelve stars in her hair, twelve months in a year, the cycle of the year, hence birth/death/rebirth are hers.

Also, she's holding the scepter of rulership loosely, it's not a harsh rule, but a just one.

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

interpretation by Dagda
Robin Wood Tarot Deck

The Empress is sitting an the base of a tree with a spinning wheel infront of her. The wheel has the astrological sybols on it. Hanging from the tree is a hear with the female symbol on it. There is wheat, fruit and flowers in the scene too. Her headband shows the moon phases, stars and what appears to be a flower. She is also, it appears pregnant.

This card indicated femininity and fertility. She is a stablility in the family unit. She the caretaker, the nurturer.

okay....how was my take on that one??
Oh, and when are the key words be posted for each lesson?


Dag
:)

[Semele]

Very good posts. I think Dagda hit upon a key phrase in calling her the nurturer. To me she is the motherly symbol of the female architypes. I usually try to give everyone a chance to post thier interpretations before I post the key words. There is no definate schedule. What does everyone make of the heart shield at her feet?
Semele

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

The heart shield is hanging from the tree in my deck, and I would think of it as a protection symbol. She would go to great links to protect her family. Or could it be her coat of arms shield? Then that would indicate pride in heritage.

Am I close? LOL

:)

Dag

[Semele]

This card is full of symbols. Shatav pointed out the twelve stars in her hair for the signs of the zodiac. She also has nine pearls on her necklace for the number of planets. She wears the universe as her jewelry. The heart shield bears the sign of Venus, the roman version of the great goddess. To me, she is very beautiful sitting on her thrown. Sexy and loving. All things passionate. As a mother she gives us unconditional love in its strongest, purest form. The overall attitude I get from this card is emotion and feelings taking over. Letting go and releasing yourself to the passions in life.

Semele

[wiccamags]

In one of the decks I have she is very heavily pregnant, this would add to the nurture and fertility symbol.

[Semele]

ACTIONS

mothering
giving birth
nourishing life
nurturing and caring for others
cherishing the world
expressing tenderness
working with children

welcoming abundance
enjoying extravagance
receiving lavish reward
luxuriating in plenty
having more than enough
feeling rich

experiencing the senses
giving and receiving pleasure
focusing on the body
appreciating beauty
feeling vibrantly healthy
being earthy
doing physical activity

responding to Nature
relating to plants and animals
embracing the natural
feeling connected to the Earth
going outdoors
harmonizing with natural rhythms

DESCRIPTION

The Empress and the High Priestess are the two halves of the female archetype in the major arcana. The Empress represents the fertile, life-giving Mother who reigns over the bounty of nature and the rhythms of the Earth. From her comes all the pleasures and joys of the senses and the abundance of new life in all its forms. The Empress encourages you to strengthen your connections with the natural world which is the ground of our being. Too often false sophistications and pleasures take us far from our roots. Let the Empress remind you to keep your feet firmly planted in the Earth.

In readings the Empress can refer to any aspect of Motherhood. She can be an individual mother, but as a major arcana card, she also goes beyond the specifics of mothering to its essence - the creation of life and its sustenance through loving care and attention.

The Empress can also represent lavish abundance of all kinds. She offers a cornucopia of delights, especially those of the senses - food, pleasure and beauty. She can suggest material reward, but only with the understanding that riches go with a generous and open spirit. The Empress asks you to embrace the principle of life and enjoy its bountiful goodness.

[Wildwood]

Me again

Legend: The Arthurian Tarot.

The Empress, is the most famous female ruler in the
Arthurian Myth - Guenevere or Guinevere etc.
Arthur's beloved wife and the lover of Lancelot.

In this card she is seated on a throne made of wood, but
unlike the priestess in my deck the throne in inside (a
striking role reversal to the priestess and empress in the
Rider-Waite deck, wonder why that is.)
The steps leading up to her throne are strewn with apple
blossoms (which according to Anna-Marie Ferguson
represent regeneration).
On the right hand side of the throne (same side as the
Priestess I posted earlier) there is a harp.
She is wearing a green dress with gold trimmed false sleeve
and purple real sleeves (you know the sort of medieval
dress with two sleeves) the front of her dress is a panel
in white and purple. Her cloak is purple (symbolic of royalty
and there are flowers in her hair.
She carries an orb and a sceptre (symbolising to me the
tools of secular power) and wears a gold crown and
a gold torc around her neck.

The throne is intricately carved with an eagle at the top, with
cresecent moons facing each other on either side of it.
The eagle's feet hold the symbol of the male element which we
saw in the heart on the Rider-Waite version.
there is a snake rearing up either side of the throne, almost
as if to strike at the Empress' head.
there s also a centre piece of leave carved.

There are many symbols of the natural world in the card
but it is curious her throne is not set outside given the
closeness of this card to nature. I think the reason for is
partly is that although the Priestess is outside the setting
is very magical and thus not necessarily a part of the
real world. However the Empress in a palace is very much
in the centre of the real world, but also a world of politics.
I find Guenevere an interesting choice for this card since
in many versions of the Arthurian myth she come's off
quite badly (i.e. The Mists of Avalon) however she is a
woman who is very in touch with her sexual side (which
did unfortunately lead her to cheat on poor Arthur). She
was also caught in a terrible love triange between Arthur
and Lancelot for many years, and this emphasises that she
has felt the pain of loving too much.

The green and brown colouring of the card denote the
fertility of the natural world, she looks as if she is sitting
in earth. But this card seems to have a dual nature to me
the role of women as Mother/Lover and the role of women
as leader/guider of the people. (of course there is a bit of
cross-over). I feel that this is a positive card about the
strength of the feminine aspect through all types of love
painful as they may be.

Guenevere is crowned by her people just as Nimue is crowned
by the fairies.

Enjoy.

Wildwood

[Semele]

Wildwood,
I like your idea of mother/lover balanced with leader/guider. Again I think this shows a trend toward leading and guiding through love rather than force. I just may have to get a deck like yours, as it seems to be calling to me. Thanks again for sharing.

Semele

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

Semele,

Later this evening ( about 8:30ish), I will scan up a couple of the cards from the Autherian Legend if you would like. (this is a deck I also have! :D) Just let me know a couple of the cards you'd like to see, and I'll scan them into my computer and attach them on a post! :D


Dagda

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

:D

[Semele]

So what do you make of the harp???

Semele

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

I don't know....maybe harmony, or being 'in-tune' with the surroundings??

[Semele]

I like the idea of harmony. Also I wonder if there is any symbolism to the gold color of it.
Semele

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

This is what the accompanying book says about the harp: "The harp at her side symbolizes her attraction to things of beauty; she is an appreciative and generous patron of the arts."

:)

Dagda

[Jazzmine]

The Empress is sitting in ga field of grass with flowers around on the ground. The flowers are
white and pink, which to me shows feminine aspects. She is wearing a pink gown and is very
pregnant, which shows fertility and nurturing. Her necklace has a pendant with the female sign
on it. She also has a red cloak around her shoulders and wears a gold with red crown. She is
also barefoot and holding a flower in one hand which to me shows her love of nature. And behind
her there is a flowering tree with pink buds. The sun and moon are both out at the same time
and the moon is full. I think this may also show a balance with nature maybe. What do you think?

[Tigerwallah]

I just made it to class, so, I'm late again. I just had a few observations of the Emperess and the Emperor. I have read (When God Was A Woman - by Merlin Stone) that women were the first to learn agriculture - Hence the bounty of wheat surrounding the Emperess. I think the card symbolizes creativity. Women are the creators, men the destroyers. Women grow food, create life, decorate their surroundings, etc. Scientists believe that in early human history, we were vegitarian, mostly. Man introduced hunting for food and are associated with war. Also notice the stark difference in the Cards. The Emperess card is full of beauty and bounty. The Emperor card is austere. I think that that might be the reason for the three bones mentioned at the emperor's feet. Maybe it's a dual symbol of war and eating flesh.

[Semele]

Tiger,
Join in whenever you can. I find your insights very interesting. Vegetarians and flesh eaters!!! Excellent observation!! Thanks for sharing!

Semele

[Illyandra]

What an observation Tigerwallah!

I hadn't made that connection between the hunter/gatherer roles and the obvious fertility/agriculture depicted on the Empress card and the arid desert-like background of the Emperor card.

Makes a lot of sense though!

I see the Empress as a Family Matriarch, motherhood role, Ostara/Eostre time of the year. Some of the symbols of the planets and astrology are emblazoned on her cape (in the Robin Wood deck). She is very symbolic of the next day of power that we are approaching, the Vernal Equinox. Fertility, the awakening of the earth, and plants, and animals to spring and growth and warmth and nuturing and birth.

I also believe that the Heart shield with the symbol of venus/feminity on it is a sign of her protectiveness for those she loves/nutures/creates.

How'd I do??? :D

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

Still doing good! ...the question is ....are you remembering it all?? lol


:D

[Illyandra]

Actually ... YES!

It's the minor arcana that I have the most difficulty remembering, but I am still trying to remember to handle, play with, and read my cards daily to improve on that. I am improving, I used to draw a complete blank on many of the cards. Now I at least intuit something even if it ends up being a very loose interpretation of the card that barely hints at what I've read about... LOL! :D

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

Hey Illy!

That's great! I just don't want you to go forgetting! I'll be expecting a reading from you when you get home!! ...and I'll be expecting to give you one as well!! :D

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

*bump*