The Emperor

In the Rider Waite deck The Emperor, like the Empress is depicted sitting on a throne but unlike her he is not surrounded by greenery. Instead you can see mountains in the background with a river running through the bottom of the card. He is holding an ankh in his right hand, the Egyptian symbol of life and an orb in his left - is this meant to represent the world and his command over it? The throne is made of stone perhaps symbolising his solidity and strength. There are rams' heads on the throne symobolising his connection with the zodiac sign of Aries, representing strong will. He is wearing armour symbolising his strength and rigidity. This person isn't going to bend to anyone elses' will! He also looks to be fairly old and with age comes wisdom but also inflexibility. 

 

 

 

 

So this card is a representative of authority, the father figure of the deck. He has the power to command others. He is proud, strong, determined, responsible but rigid and unbending. He is wise and has great experience but cross him at your peril! He is focused and ambitious and doesn't suffer fools.  

 

You will see in the card to the right, in the Classic Tarot he sits amongst lush vegetation much as the Empress and the orb in his hand is seen to be crystal ball. He almost klooks to be challenging you to look into the ball and see what lies there. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I collect Tarot decks and am often given them for presents. The reason I like to have lots of different decks is that often the cards will be quite different and this in turn will inspire new thoughts and ideas. In the card to the left from the Black Cats Tarot ( a great deck if someone is a little worried about the occult feelings that a standard deck might create) we see he is sitting on a throne with bags of money at his feet. So successful but perhaps, unwilling to share. Of course this could relate to his emotions too. Is he aloof and unwilling to unburden himself, keeping himself apart from others? Or is that just a facade erected to put off people who are not worthy? 

 

Next week - The Hierophant