A stately figure, seated, having rich vestments and royal aspect, as of a daughter of heaven and earth. Her diadem is of twelve stars, gathered in a cluster. The symbol of Venus is on the shield which rests near her. A field of corn is ripening in front of her, and beyond there is a fall of water. The sceptre which she bears is surmounted by the globe of this world. She is the inferior Garden of Eden, the Earthly Paradise, all that is symbolized by the visible house of man. She is not Regina Coeli, but she is still refugi um peccatorum, the fruitful mother of thousands. There are also certain aspects in which she has been correctly described as desire and the wings thereof, as the woman clothed with the sun, as the Gloria Mundi and the veil of the Sanctum Sanctorum; but she is not, I may add, the soul that has attained wings, unless all the symbolism is counted up another and unusual way. She is above all things universal fecundity and the outer sense of the Word. This is obvious, because there is no direct message which as been given to man like that which is borne by woman; but she does not herself carry its interpretation.

In another order of ideas, the card of the Empress signifies the door or gate by which an entrance is obtained into this life, as into the Garden of Venus; and then the way which leads out therefrom, into that which is beyond, is the secret known to the High Priestess: it is communicated by her to the elect. Most old attributes of this card are completely wrong on the symbolism--as, for example, its identification with the Word, Divine Nature, the Triad and so forth.

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.--A.E. Waite

In readings the Empress can refer to any aspect of Motherhood. She can be an individual mother, but as a Major Arcana card, she goes beyond the specifics of mothering to its essence - the creation of life and its sustenance through loving care and attention.

The Empress can also represent lavish abundance of any kind. . . . The Empress asks you to embrace the principle of life and enjoy its bountiful goodness.

The Empress (3) represents the world of Nature and sensation. . . . It is natural to delight in the abundant goodness of Mother Earth who surrounds us with her support.--Joan Bunning

In this card, she is shown in her most general manifestation. She combines the highest spiritual with the lowest material qualities. For this reason, she is fitted to represent one of the three alchemical forms of energy, Salt. Salt is the inactive principle of Nature; Salt is matter which must be energized by Sulphur to maintain the whirling equilibrium of the Universe. The arms and torso of the figure consequently suggest the shape of the alchemical symbol of Salt. She represents a woman with the imperial crown and vestments, seated upon a throne, whose uprights suggest blue twisted flames symbolic of her birth from water, the feminine, fluid element. In her right hand she bears the lotus of Isis; the lotus represents the feminine, or passive power. Its roots are in the earth beneath the water, or in the water itself, but it opens its petals to the Sun. Perching upon the flamelike uprights of her throne are two of her most sacred birds, the sparrow and the dove.--Aleister Crowley

The union of above and below is evident in Key 3, since the Empress wears a starry diadem of twelve stars for the zodiac, while she wields the sceptre of earthly autonomy. . . . Sprinkling her gown are blossoms in the shape of Venus glyphs to suggest the erotic element that entices spirit to wed matter. . . . Three is a product or active offspring of the action of one on two. . . . [In the Waite card,] the water falls to earth, uniting above and below. As does the Empress, earth becomes fertile from spirit's action, resulting in the flourishing wheat surrounding her.--Richard Roberts, "Tarot Revelations"

As Mithra, this deity represents the feminine principle; the mundane universe is recognized as her symbol. She represents Nature as receptive and terrestrial, and is fruitful only when bathed in the glory of the solar orb.--Alexander Wilder, "Philosophy and Ethics of the Zoroasters"

See also: Grandmother Earth

Grand Mother Nature

IMHO

The Vision

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