The Empress: Modern RWS Tarot Card Meanings
RWS Cards In Context › Major Arcana › KEY III: The Empress
‘KEY III: The Empress’, Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.
RWS Empress: Upright Meanings
Feminine, Love, Nature, Harvest, Seasons, Birth
Generally
A successful harvest in your garden, the birth of a new creative project, a period of comfort and security, feeling cared for by a maternal figure. The Empress is the mature feminine archetype of the Major Arcana.
In a Love Context
Taking care of a partner, the decision to move in together, a pregnancy, expressing love through physical affection and acts of service.
In a Money/Career Context
A successful business launch, receiving a generous salary or bonus, a flourishing creative career, a supportive and nurturing work environment.
In a Spiritual Context
A profound experience during a walk in the woods, the practice of selfless service, honouring the creative principle of the universe, the nurturing aspect of the Divine Soul.
In Common Spread Positions
As Advice
Spend time in nature. Dress to impress. Relax. Express gratitude.
As (Ultimate) Outcome
A successful creative project, a loving relationship, a period of prosperity.
As Obstacles
A smothering influence. A sprawling, unfocused project. Stagnation from too much comfort.
As Hidden Energy
An untapped potential for growth, creative inspiration or abundance.
As Resources/Alliances
A mother figure, a supportive female boss, a strong and independent woman. A creative collaborator. Abundant financial support.
RWS Empress: Reversed Meanings
Dependence, Scorn, Desolation, Excess, Vanity
Generally
Stalled creativity, feminine immaturity, femme fatale, lack of self-respect and/or boundaries, misandry.
In a Love Context
Neediness, disrespect or contempt, self-neglect, abusive partnership.
In a Money/Work Context
Failed business, procrastination, budget restraints, toxic workplace culture. Like the Knight of Pentacles reversed.
In an Intellectual Context
Pessimism, uninspired, procrastination.
In a Spiritual Context
Asceticism, overgiving, ineffective spiritual practice; spiritual consumerism and commercialization. Like the 6 of Pentacles reversed.
In Common Spread Positions
As Advice
A warning against neglect or control. Address a creative block. Give the situation space to grow.
As (Ultimate) Outcome
Despair. Literal or metaphorical infertility or bad soil (e.g. failure due to poor timing or comedy made for a different crowd).
As Obstacles
Dependency, unconducive environment, damaged relationships, etc.
As Hidden Energy
The coming winter, impending downfall. Ignorance.
As Resources/Alliances
Patience, timing, resilience, resourcefulness. Like the Queen of Pentacles.
RWS Empress: Paired Combinations
Combinations with Major Arcana
The Empress & The Hierophant
The Empress (↑) & The Emperor (↑): This pairing often signifies a lasting union built on both affection and stability. It can point to marriage, the founding of a family, or the running of a household where love and authority work in harmony.
The Empress (↓) & The Emperor (↑): Here, control outweighs care. It may describe a marriage where duty replaces warmth, or a workplace where compassion is dismissed as weakness. Domestic life can become overly rigid, with rules stifling comfort. The father or leader may seek to protect but ends up confining.
The Empress (↑) & The Emperor (↓): This union often speaks of care offered without firm guidance. One partner may nurture tirelessly while the other drifts without purpose. In a family, it might describe a mother holding the home together while the father withdraws from responsibility.
The Empress (↓) & The Emperor (↓): It can indicate a family or partnership where no one leads and nothing grows. Resources may be wasted, duties neglected, or affection lost through apathy. The pair can foretell a household falling into disorder or a legacy collapsing through carelessness.
The Empress & The Devil
The Empress (↑) & The Devil (↑): A powerful union of desire and indulgence. This pair can signify a relationship driven by passion yet bound by possession or excess. It may also denote success or gain achieved through temptation, or the enjoyment of life’s pleasures without restraint.
The Empress (↓) & The Devil (↑): Overindulgence leading to depletion. The pair can warn of attachment that drains rather than sustains, or pleasures that conceal dependence. Health and peace may suffer through excess or misplaced devotion.
The Empress (↑) & The Devil (↓): Liberation from binding desires or unhealthy attachments. It can mark the restoration of harmony after temptation, or renewed balance between pleasure and discipline. In relationships, it often shows renewal once control has loosened.
The Empress (↓) & The Devil (↓): The fading of passion or worldly interest. Bonds may weaken through neglect or loss of attraction. At its best, it shows release from temptation; at worst, indifference that denies growth or warmth.
Combinations with the Suit of Pentacles
The Empress & The Four of Pentacles
The Empress (↑) & The Four of Pentacles (↑): Material wealth carefully guarded. This pairing can show a successful enterprise managed with caution, or prosperity maintained through restraint. It may also describe a protective or controlling figure whose care extends to financial matters, sometimes too tightly held.
The Empress (↓) & The Four of Pentacles (↑): Possessiveness and restriction. It may mark a relationship where affection is bound by material control, or comfort valued above emotional truth. In some readings, it warns of generosity withheld through fear of loss.
The Empress (↑) & The Four of Pentacles (↓): Release brings reward. This combination often foretells financial gain or support received through kindness. It can signify abundance shared freely, or the easing of material tension within a generous exchange.
The Empress (↓) & The Four of Pentacles (↓): Instability in both affection and resources. It may show wasted potential, loss through neglect, or a bond weakened by poor stewardship. The card pair cautions against carelessness with love or money alike.
A.E Waite’s original Empress Meanings
“Upright: Fruitfulness, action, initiative, length of days; the unknown, clandestine; also difficulty, doubt, ignorance. Reversed: Light, truth, the unravelling of involved matters, public rejoicings; according to another reading, vacillation.”
Additional Notes: RWS Empress
The Empress Rider Waite Smith (RWS) card symbolism.
A.E Waite’s Empress card shows a serene, maternal figure seated comfortably on a throne in a lush, natural setting. She wears a crown of twelve stars, representing the signs of the zodiac and her dominion over the cycles of the year. In her hand, she holds a sceptre, signifying her power, and she rests on a heart-shaped shield bearing the symbol of Venus. The field of ripe wheat at her feet and the verdant forest behind her are symbols of fertility, growth, and abundance. The entire scene depicts the generative power of nature and the principle of creative nurturing.
The Esoteric Meaning of the RWS Empress.
The heart-shaped shield bearing the symbol of Venus is a key to the card's esoteric meaning. Venus is not just the planet of love, beauty, art, and harmony.
In Western Occultism it is Lucifer, the morning star/lightbringer. In exoteric Judeo-Christian traditions, Lucifer is equated with pride and evil. But in Western Occultism, he is reinterpreted as a saviour figure, come to help humanity overcome ignorance of it’s Divine nature.
Question: Is The Empress always about pregnancy?
No. Putting aside the ethics of predicting pregnancy, I will say this. While she can represent a literal pregnancy or motherhood, she more broadly represents the principle of fertility in all its forms: the birth of a new idea, the growth of a business, or the nurturing of a loving relationship.
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