Meaning and interpretation Empress

Women of power in the Renaissance

To understand the original iconography of the Empress, it must be placed in the context of women of power from the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Contrary to common beliefs, many women then exercised real political power, either by inheritance or as regents of their absent husbands.

Barbara von Celje (1392-1451), wife of Emperor Sigismund, administered his lands in Hungary and served as imperial regent during her husband's frequent absences. Queen of Hungary and Bohemia in her own right, she perfectly embodied this figure of the Empress holding autonomous power. The rumors about her private life and religious beliefs testify to the difficulties encountered by these powerful women in a patriarchal world.

Similarly, Queen Theodolinda of the Lombards (around 570-628), immortalized in the frescoes of Monza Cathedral by the Zavattari brothers around 1440, shows a striking resemblance to the first Empresses of the Tarot. These women presided over their own courts, controlled vast territories and, once their dynastic duty was accomplished through the birth of heirs, often enjoyed considerable freedom.

The evolution of the Empress reveals a major conceptual transformation in the history of Tarot: the gradual passage from a representation of concrete political power towards a universal archetype of the feminine creative principle. This mutation operates in several distinct historical stages, each marked by the concerns of its era.

First phase (15th-16th centuries): The political Empress. In the first tarots, she literally embodies imperial authority, with all its attributes: crown, scepter, orb and heraldic eagle. This representation corresponds to an era when the Holy Roman Empire still structures Europe and when women of power exercise real political authority.

Second phase (17th-18th centuries): Marseille codification. With the Marseille Tarot, the Empress keeps her imperial attributes but begins to develop more maternal and protective aspects. The coat of arms held in her arms rather than placed on the ground already suggests a more intimate, more nurturing relationship to power.

Third phase (19th century): Esotericization. French occultists, notably Éliphas Lévi, transform the Empress into a cosmic figure: she becomes the "Woman of the Apocalypse" crowned with stars, incarnation of the universal creative principle. This mutation marks the definitive passage from political to spiritual.

Fourth phase (20th-21st centuries): Archetypal motherhood. The modern Empress definitively abandons her imperial attributes to become the universal Mother, symbol of fertility, natural abundance and artistic creativity. This evolution reflects the social transformations of the feminine condition and the rediscovery of the "sacred feminine".

The contemporary interpretation of the Empress must take into account the radical transformations of family and motherhood models since the 1960s. The card can no longer be content to represent the traditional mother at home, but must integrate the diversity of modern feminine experiences: single mothers, blended families, late motherhood, medically assisted reproduction, international adoption.

The modern Empress embodies a chosen rather than endured motherhood, creative rather than reproductive. She represents the woman who consciously decides to give life, whether biologically, artistically or spiritually. This evolution reflects the gradual conquest of feminine reproductive autonomy and the redefinition of motherhood as a personal project rather than as a social destiny.

In the context of new family models, the Empress also symbolizes the nurturing function beyond biological bonds: benevolent stepmother, adoptive mother, feminine mentor, or even a man assuming a maternal role. Her archetype transcends gender to embody the psychological function of protective and nurturing "container".

The sociological evolution of the Empress also testifies to the emergence of new values: sustainable development (she becomes an ecological goddess), collaborative economy (she inspires mutual aid networks), feminine entrepreneurship (she embodies the business creator). These mutations make her a particularly relevant archetype for understanding contemporary aspirations to reconcile personal fulfillment, social responsibility and creativity.

The philosophy of the Empress rests on a fundamental distinction between two modalities of power: dominating power (traditional masculine) and generative power (archetypal feminine). Unlike the Emperor who imposes his will through force and authority, the Empress exercises a creative power that brings forth novelty through gestation, maturation and birth.

This major philosophical difference opposes creation to procreation. Procreation reproduces the existing according to determined biological patterns, while creation brings forth the radically new. The modern Empress embodies this pure creativity: she does not content herself with reproducing life, she invents new forms of existence, whether artistic, intellectual or spiritual.

The archetype of the Empress also questions the notion of "sacred feminine" rediscovered by contemporary spiritual movements. This concept goes beyond the simple valorization of biological motherhood to explore the cosmic dimensions of the feminine principle: creative receptivity, intuitive wisdom, connection to natural cycles, capacity for alchemical transformation.

In a Jungian perspective, the Empress represents the positive anima, this feminine dimension of the psyche that enables creativity, empathy and connection to the sensible world. She embodies the reconciliation between nature and culture, instinct and consciousness, individuality and universality. This synthesis makes her a particularly relevant archetype for contemporary quests for authenticity and integral fulfillment of personality.

From the first versions of tarot, the empress card is present, and at its position #3 which will remain definitive.

Only the master craftsman of the Paris tarot allows himself a variation by representing the Empress standing (just like the Emperor). It is mainly about representing the character, in a classical way, as was done in antiquity. Although here, the empress walks and places her hand casually on her hip (as does the prince of the Chariot). One would think she is participating in a fashion show! But let us not be mistaken, she is indeed parading! This differs from the Emperor card of this same tarot, also standing, but very static. Here, was the engraver's intention to attribute qualities of impulsiveness or even seduction to the character?

The esoteric transformation of the Empress finds its origin in the works of Alphonse Louis Constant, known as Éliphas Lévi (1810-1875), who revolutionizes the interpretation of Tarot in his "Dogma and Ritual of High Magic" (1854-1856). For Lévi, the Empress is no longer a temporal sovereign but the incarnation of the "Woman of the Apocalypse" described in the Apocalypse of Saint John.

"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars" (Revelation 12:1). This biblical vision provides Lévi with the conceptual framework to transform the Empress into a universal cosmic figure. She becomes the divine Mother, the Christian Isis, the one who gives birth to the spiritual world.

This reinterpretation relies on an ancient hermetic tradition that associates the Empress with Venus-Urania, the "Queen of Heaven" who "dwells in the sublime heights of the ideal, above all contingency". Her static posture and her foot placed on the lunar crescent indicate that she has risen above the changing sublunar world to reach the sphere of eternal fixed stars.

Lévi's innovation consists in maintaining the link with Christian tradition while enriching it with hermetic elements. The eagle of her coat of arms no longer symbolizes imperial power but the soul and the Holy Spirit. This synthesis between esoteric Christianity and ancient hermeticism opens the way to all modern interpretations of the Empress as cosmic Mother and universal creative principle.

The 20th century marks a decisive break in the evolution of the Empress: she gradually abandons her last imperial and esoteric attributes to become an accessible figure, embodying contemporary concerns around motherhood, creativity and feminine fulfillment.

This transformation operates in a context of profound social changes: feminine emancipation, questioning of traditional family models, development of modern psychology and rediscovery of alternative spiritualities. The Empress then becomes the receptacle of new aspirations: she no longer embodies institutional power but personal fulfillment.

The passage from the "cosmic" Empress of occultists to the "psychological" Empress of modern tarots reflects a broader evolution: the displacement of spiritual authority from institutions towards the individual. She is no longer the distant Queen of Heaven but the mother, the artist, the creative woman that everyone can meet in their daily life.

This democratization of the archetype is paradoxically accompanied by a deepening of its psychological dimension. The modern Empress integrates the discoveries of Jungian psychology on feminine archetypes, anthropological research on universal mother-goddesses, and contemporary questioning about feminine identity. She becomes a mirror of the transformations of the feminine condition in Western societies.

The source of life: the creative abundance of fertility

Positive aspects

• Creativity and Expression: The Empress is the arcana par excellence of creativity in action. She favors artistic expression, clear and inspiring communication, as well as the harmonious shaping of ideas.
• Femininity and Abundance: Symbol of the sacred feminine, she embodies fertility, universal love, prosperity and respect for natural cycles. She nourishes and makes grow everything she touches.
• Leadership and Diplomacy: Through her charisma and emotional intelligence, she inspires and guides gently. She resolves disagreements with tact and favors relational harmony.

Negative aspects

• Dependence and Overprotection: The need to protect can become suffocating, creating relationships of emotional dependence and a desire to make oneself indispensable.
• Manipulation and Subtle Control: The reversed Empress can use charm, seduction or discourse to dominate and influence for personal ends.
• Materialism and Vanity: In her excesses, she places luxury, appearance and material comfort above human and spiritual values.
• Creative Blocks and Dispersion: Creative energy can be dispersed in multiple projects, or be restrained by paralyzing perfectionism leading to inaction.