Victorian Romantic The Emperor

Eyeing this card carefully, I see him to be quite young as compared to the 'fatherly figure' the emperor usually denotes. He is surrounded by luxury and jewellery. He seems to be quite stylish and is the type who is very careful about how he dresses and carries himself. He seems to have conquered a lot and reached this stage after a lot of hardwork and dedication. And now he is relaxing and enjoying all the luxury he has acquired. This guy seems to have a lot of attitude and style to himself.

What about the red cloak surrounding him? Would you see him as a passionate guy?

I found this card to be an interesting take on the Emperor, but one that in a lot of ways makes sense. Emperors and Pharo's and such inherit their position so there are times when a young emperor will ascend to the throne.

In looking at this young man I see the burden and wariness of his responsibilities, while he still has his youthful ego. He appears to have charisma and by his comfortable pose I would say he is comfortable with his power and probably has good leardership qualities. Although having an ego, I do see him as competent.

The one time I had this card come up in a reading it referred to a young man that was at odds with his parents and stuck to his position regardless of whether it was right or wrong. Stubborn and proud.

As for the red cape, I see it as part of his oppulence and position. Actually I have never really thought about his cape *LOL*.

a_shikhs said:

He seems to have conquered a lot and reached this stage after a lot of hardwork and dedication. And now he is relaxing and enjoying all the luxury he has acquired. This guy seems to have a lot of attitude and style to himself.

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I see him as being kind of bored. Not having earned his station, but having inherited it, as Jewel said. Hopefully he's intelligent, compassionate and sincerely wants the best for his subjects, but he might be trucculent, spoiled and selfish, depending on what his character has always been.

a_shikhs said:

What about the red cloak surrounding him? Would you see him as a passionate guy?

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Well, youth is always passionate, I've found, in one way or another. Usually sexually passionate is a given, and they're passionate in the sense of being headstrong and invested in one or another or many interests.

Since this is the tarot Emperor, I think he must be what the tarot Emperor traditionally signifies-----someone who keeps his affairs in wise order and is passionate for the well-being of his holdings and his people. Being young, he's possibly also sexually and emotionally quite passionate.

I am the Emperor... MWAHAHA!

I am a 4/22 (Emperor/Death), so I tend to look at Emperors in most decks as my card.

This one gave me the following impressions:
- I do see the passionate side of him a_shikhs! Partly because of the red cloak, but also particularly because of the animal skin lining. This is passionate in the larger sense, a sort of animal side to him (could be sexual, could be aggresivity also... sort of keen to go to "war"...).
- He seems pensive, and somehow this card makes me think of the King Solomon (sp?) story...? You know, where the two mothers claim a baby and King Solomon offers to cut the baby in two and "share" the baby, the real mother refuses, hence the King Solomon recognizes her...? This makes me think of the idea that Power and "Dominion" (control over others potentially, and over one's world/life/self) brings responsibility in terms of choices.
- I also noted that there is a laying figure of a woman on the bottom of his throne, below his feet. This reminds me that sometimes control, power and structure is built at others expense and reminds me of a shadow side of the Emperor. It looks like steps too, which would hint at this happening during the progress/ascension...
- He is wearing a whole lot of gold for me! :lol: I'm a silver type of woman, so I find this interesting! (particularly when one compares this card to the Empress which I've often seen as quite lavish and sometimes - shadow - showy and superficial). I agree with the "into himself" take mentioned above, and this is enhanced for me by the mirror on the side table. "Marveling at oneself"... if that is correct grammar...! The flowers to his side remind me as well of some flowers in my (mother's) garden... Ylang or frangipani...? Can't remember... But this flowers smells incredibly good, and it enhances the "full of himself" potential, with the nicer and more positive "takes care of himself"...

I also noted a bird with incredibly big/long wings on the wall... Made me think of a bird that can't fly (I don't know why, maybe it can!)...

The youth aspect seems natural to me to some extent in that I feel that it was a time when you were made to rule very young. This also makes me think of the need to be well advised when in such position.

I also can't help but find that the shadow below his nose kind of makes me think of Hitler's moustache, so there is a potential for dictatorship/despotism...

His youth reminds me of many rulers across the world who make me think of how a spoilt kid (even if it's an adult behaving like one) is annoying, but one with power is a scary thing (I'm thinking of the Last King of Scotland, a movie that left me quite shook, and I found that Idi Amin (sp?) reminded me of a spoilt king/kid reacting instinctively/impulsively/selfishly... and being dangerous because he had the power to do what he bl**dy well pleased! Scary).

Of course, this Emperor can be one who takes the time to listen - he seems quite attentive to what is ahead of him -, weight things carefully, be well advised (by the Hierophant? The church/[pick belief system] was often the power behind the throne in those times for me), and take the time to learn to deal with power. Power in itself isn't dangerous, it is only when it is used in inconsiderate ways and without a sense of responsibility - ruling others, ugh! - that it is scary/dangerous...