The Empress~Lo Scarabeo Tarot

Under the clear skies sits The Empress. She is pregnant. With 12 stars as her crown, the gold royal scepter and the zodiac symbols in her dress, She sits on a pillow-cushioned throne in the open air, surrounded by piles of wheat. To her left, a small fruit basket. To her right, near the tip of the image border, some flowers. There seems to be some bees fluttering.

Birds chirping on the air. In the background, there's a vineyard with grapes growing. Further, a little hidden perhaps, but here we can see the tree of knowledge and life like the ones seen in the Lovers.

Image:
http://www.albideuter.de/html/lo_scarabeo_3.html

What is that animal featured in her belly?

What is the animal featured in The Empress' belly? Can't seem to figure it out though.

An eagle? It kind of looks like one if you squint.

(I have dug this deck out after not looking at it for a long time. I am so happy to have it!)

That's it!

Queen of Disks said:

An eagle?

Click to expand...

Now that you mention it, I remembered the Marseilles version has an eagle too.

I thought it was an eagle, but wasn't sure.

In the past, eagles was the symbol of the armies of Rome, it is also the symbol of Holy Roman Empire. It is now the symbol we see as the symbol of the U.S.A. It also stands as the symbol for the might of earthly powers.

Because the Empress is so very associated with the earthly growth and development, we can say that the eagle in her belly might stand as the ever-growing nature, always ready to show its power, even in the tiniest form of life. But even so, nature cannot always exist on its own. Sometimes nature needed to be nurtured by man's hand. Other times, it is nature that nurtures us.