Tarot has been a part of Barbara Moore's personal and professional lives for nearly twenty years. Right from the start, tarot intrigued her with its marvelous blending of mythology, psychology, art, history, mystery, and magic. She has studied under...
Like the Empress, the Emperor is a creator, but of a different sort. The Emperor creates for the purposes of order, efficiency, prosperity, and stability. Infrastructures, systems of organization, distribution, accessibility, and storage are some examples of Emperor-like
accomplishments. He surveys the entire situation and makes decisions accordingly. His position is sometimes described as one of power, but it is more specifically focused on authority and responsibility. The role of the Emperor is not to impose his will, per se, but to create order in a way that benefits the larger picture.
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The Universal Waite Emperor is pictured in a desert. This symbolizes two things. First, that he makes limited resources stretch as far as possible. Second, it suggests the sun, representing solar (or male) thinking—that is, logic and rationality. His decisions are practical, not emotional. He chooses as his throne a cubelike structure, indicating the importance of a stable foundation.
Core meaning: Creating order and stability.
#ARMOR
i. Where there's armor, there are weapons and war.
2. Armor can be both practical and ornamental.
3. Armor has been around as long as war and is still here today. From the looks of both current research and science fiction, it will be around for an indefinite tomorrow
The astrological attribution of The Emperor is Aries, and his armor, of which all you can see are the feet, is a reference to the warrior god and a reminder that The Emperor is also a warrior.
#CROWN
i. Being set on the crown (or top) of the head makes it a symbol of overriding significance. It shares the quality of the head (the summit) and what is above the head, a gift from on high. It also sets the seal of transcendence on any great achievement or accomplishment.
2. Its circular shape is a symbol of perfection. It is a ring, worn on the head, that marries what is above to what is below.
3. The material of which a crown is made dedicates the wearer to the form of divinity associated with that material. A gold crown, for example, associates the wearer with the alchemical properties of gold (i.e., purity, perfection, and the attainment of the highest possible states, both inner and outer).
• domed crown (The Emperor, The Tower)
#CROSSES
From the intensity of the Tau cross of The Hanged Man we come to a very different sensibility in the Ankh of The Emperor.
An Ankh is a Tau cross with a circle or loop above it. This is a very old and much venerated Egyptian symbol and actually comes long before the cross. It is a hieroglyphic picture of the masculine vertical line rising through the feminine horizon and being transformed into the immortal rising sun. The Ankh has always been an amulet of pharaohs and kings that brings life, health, happiness, and fortune to those who possess it. The lesson of the Ankh is that simple.
Each of us learns the lessons of the same cards in a different way. Another secret worth telling is that the world, and the things in it, are as you see them. The things we're about to say are the lessons for us in the cards we mentioned. Whether they are the same for you remains for you to discover.
