tarot decks

The Empress – from the Sakki Sakki Tarot Deck

The Empress

The Empress has been appearing lately in my last two full moon tarot readings for Virgo and Leo. And she is popping up in other ways as a guiding goddess right now. I’m still working through all this wonderful energy! So thought I’d do a deep dive into The Empress, her powers, how she is showing up for me right now and share this with you as I work through.

In this first post of two on The Empress, we explore her appearances recently in tarot spreads and the symbolism of The Empress in various tarot decks as an insight into her meaning for us.

In the second post to follow, I’ll be sharing thoughts and intuitive writing on the messages of the Empress to help growth in creativity and healing for me and for you at this time.

The Empress appears – Full Moon Leo, Jan 2017

The Empress has been appearing pretty frequently in my daily guidance draws but has made cameos appearances in my last two Full Moon tarot readings – for Virgo and Leo.

She first appeared in the Full Moon in Leo Reading with the Sakki Sakki tarot deck in the final position around:

What positive energies will come to fruition from this Full Moon?

I made some intuitive notes around:

It’s the right time to birth creative potential and plant seeds for the future.

It was also a lunar eclipse coinciding with the Leo Full Moon so the shadow side of creativity and self-expression and our doubts were also in there.

Revisiting the insightful Leah Whitehorse’s writing for this Leo Full Moon accessed via Mystic Mamma, these words jump out and sing to me:

Sometimes you have to go out there and show what you’ve got or stand up for what you believe in. The skills and talent you have are yours and yours alone. No one sings or paints like you. No one has your own special way of seeing the world. That’s what makes you unique and extraordinary…

Sometimes it’s about showing what you’ve got regardless of all the fear. Shine as you were meant to shine. This isn’t a rehearsal. Giving the best of yourself can be a great gift to the rest of humanity.

This thought is part of the DNA of Quiet Writing and my life’s work and passion – shining a quiet light, shining as we are meant to shine, helping others to do the same. And writing this and into this. So it’s a great message to come from this reading and confluence of the constellations.

The Empress reappears – Full Moon in Virgo,  Feb 2017

Leah Whitehorse notes about the Leo lunar eclipse:

As Leo often represents the entertainer, I feel like this eclipse is like a pilot episode of a new drama series – a taste of things to come.

So it seems to have turned out with the Empress appearing again in my Full Moon in Virgo tarot reading in prime position, now setting the scene and focused on:

How can I seek the greatest vision of myself?

My intuitive notes:

So I can seek out that greatest vision of myself just by being myself, celebrating what I love, relaxing into the creative process. I can connect with nature and spirit, allowing the vision to gently emerge over time, living it as I go.

Along with the other cards from the reading, I worked up a page with the cards and key messages with these words as the summary:

Raw, yes, – I never could cut in straight lines, and it’s messy but that is not the point. Or maybe it is – just being raw, real and ready, authentic not perfect! I love those words that connect with uniqueness, shining and showing up. And patience to self-nurture, learning as I go, feeling into my vision as it emerges.

Exploring The Empress and her many guises

I love seeing how the symbols and imagery of The Empress plays out in different interpretations and I use this to guide and weave in with my impressions and intuition. It’s rich fuel for the fire and such brilliant learning. And I’ve developed this sense further through the fabulously wise and rich 78 Mirrors e-course I worked through recently with Susannah Conway.

I mainly work with six tarot decks so here is The Empress in her guises across these six decks:

1. Rider Waite Tarot
2. Robin Wood Tarot
3. Sakki Sakki Tarot
4. Fountain Tarot
5. Dame Darcy Mermaid Tarot
6. The Wild Unknown

Here is The Empress as she appears visually in each of these decks:

Top row left to right: Rider Waite, Robin Wood, Sakki Sakki

Bottom row left to right: Fountain Tarot, Dame Darcy Mermaid, The Wild Unknown

Here are the standout images, symbols and thoughts for me from these different decks and their interpretations:

Rider Waite

The Rider Waite tarot Empress is solid, front facing, with a mature growth and sharing focus around her. Pomegranates feature on the robe of the Empress, symbolising the “eternal renewal of life” according to The Book of Symbols. In ‘The Pictorial Key to the Tarot’, Arthur Edward Waite refers to The Empress as “the fruitful mother of thousands”.

Robin Wood Tarot

In The Robin Wood Tarot, The Empress is spinning, with images of green and gold and a basket of produce at her feet. The imagery symbolises fertility, growth, competence and security, weaving a sound future.

Sakki Sakki Tarot

The Sakki Sakki Tarot Empress, speaks to me directly with her orange robes and richness. According to the Sakki Sakki Tarot guidebook, she symbolises the “mother of all, creativity, femininity, fertility, abundance, Mother Nature.” In essence, the mother of all creations whatever they be: “a baby, business or the world itself”.

Fountain Tarot

The stunning and ethereal Fountain Tarot Empress appears to be standing in a pond or pool, cloaked in gold, her rainbow energy around her. She is abundant creation and from the Fountain Tarot guidebook…

invites you to water your new creation with love and patience.

Again that theme of creativity, passion, what you love, nature and patience connecting. I love these words from the Fountain Tarot accompanying book:

As the ultimate mother, she will nurture you through the unique moments of each particular stage of growth – through the cycles of life, death, create and destruction. Relax into the safe glow of her embrace, and begin what there is to begin. Now is the time to act.

Dame Darcy Mermaid Tarot

The Dame Darcy Empress is all about mermaids, feminine energy and the pearls of wisdom to be found in the depths of the sea and elsewhere. It’s a message about exploring those depths, going there and speaking of them.

The Wild Unknown

And in the beauty of The Wild Unknown – a deck I have been working with a lot lately – the energy is all about trees, growth, reaching out branches, creation, nature and the mother. The Empress is described as:

the mother, or goddess of the tarot

She emphasises maternal relationships, connecting with our feminine side and especially nature, encouraging us to get outside to ground ourselves and activate our senses. I am finding this is really critical to forming vision, needing that quiet space in nature to find myself and hear my inner voice.

Image from Shutterstock via pexels.com

Stay tuned for the second post on The Empress….

…in which we weave all this rich material together as she starts to appear more actively to me through channelled messages and night thoughts with intuitive writing guidance! Exciting times!

Your turn – would love to hear your thoughts about The Empress…

• What’s your favourite Empress image and symbolism?
• Has The Empress appeared for you with any special messages?
• Has this piece stirred anything for you?
• What card is showing up for you lately with special messages?

Would love to hear your experiences and thoughts here or on Instagram or the Quiet Writing Facebook page where I’ll post a link to this post.

Do share to stimulate this beautiful and powerful feminine energy in the world!

Thought pieces and references:

Symbols in The Empress Tarot card – Janet Boyer – is a fabulous deeper dive into the symbolism of the Rider Waite Smith Empress card – fascinating reading!

Leah Whitehorse’s beautiful blog Lua Astrology

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You might also enjoy: Dance to a new beat – Full Moon in Virgo