spoonbender
7/1/2004
In the World Spirit Tarot lies a beautiful Empress on a bench under a flowering tree. As on the Fool card, seven birds appear. Seven is a spiritual number and links this card to the Chariot, a card of personal growth and stability. The Empress looks to me like an island goddess. She wears a crown with several little stars, linking her to heaven, showing hope and the Empress’ personal shining. And this Empress is shining: she’s lying comfortably on the bench, unashamed of her nudity (and why should she be ashamed?), enjoying her body and sensuality. In her right hand she holds a large flower, showing how she is consciously aware of growth and the beauty of all living things. In her left hand she holds a sceptre, showing that the Empress rules out of intuition and with gentleness. The sceptre looks Egyptian, especially in connection with the scourge lying on the ground. The sceptre ends in a little snake, though, and coiling around a branch of the tree is a real snake. It associates the Empress with ancient Goddess-based religions, and also links the Empress to the High Priestess... On the ground, next to the Empress, stands a bowl with little hearts. It’s filled with all kinds of exotic fruit: a pineapple, a coconut, a peach, grapes, bananas. Like the bowl, the whole card is overflowing with love and abundance. Farther on the ground lies an apple, symbol of wholeness, but also seen as a symbol of sexuality and fertility. On the ground also stands a pair of scales, naturally a symbol of balance. Lying there is also something like a pulse (I couldn’t find the right word in English, so I looked it up in the dictionary, hope this is the right word, because it doesn’t sound familiar) with a hard stone. I think it shows that, although the Empress is about love and abundance, she has a hard core. A lady with character... In the background is a little pond with a waterfall, showing the flowing and receptive nature of the Empress. Around the pond grow plants and hovers a dragonfly. This card is about life in all its forms. (You can see her here.)
8/1/2004
The first thing that struck me seeing L’Impératrice from le Tarot de Marseille (Hadar), is that she appears much “cooler” than other Empresses. She isn’t in the outdoors, but rather indoors – I can see a floor with tiles there. She looks like a strong, confident and powerful woman – she’s an Impératrice after all! On the shield she holds is an eagle depicted and her throne appears to give her wings. I read that the eagle was believed to be the only bird able to look straight at the sun: he therefore symbolises the ability to see Truth and Perfection. It also shows that this Impératrice is about the flight of our spirit, about intelligence and about thinking. She isn’t as cool as she may seem, though: aware of her shield, she embraces it with her right arm, holding it by her side. Her right arm actually seems pretty long. Isn’t there a saying in French about “avoir le bras long”, having a lot of influence? It could be just a mistake in dimension, but I think that ties in rather well with the rest of the card... L’Impératrice holds her sceptre loosely with her left hand, so that it leans even more to the left, showing that she rules with gentleness and intuition. The sceptre of l’Impératrice is crowned with an orb and a cross, symbolising the spirit prevailing over the mundane. Yet she is sitting, meaning that she doesn’t rush into things: she thinks everything through and is rather controlled.
L’Impératrice teaches you to think about things, to show your power, but to be controlled. She shows intellect, reflection, the power of thought and understanding. She shows us the phase before that of the Emperor (materialisation). I hope she will help me to study when I need to, and to concentrate when I’m distracted.
9/1/2004
The Empress from the Secret Tarots is much in the line of the Tarot de Marseille, but seems to take the idea even further. She seems closed in by the dark walls around her – only one window provides light, and gives a view on a mountain peak. Because of the contrast with her bright red dress, the Empress looks extremely pale. She is young and beautiful, and sits on an elaborate, crowned throne, but she looks sad and melancholy. She looks extremely alone. As an Empress, she probably has to be independent and has to be able to count on herself... She doesn’t hold her shield by her side – on the contrary, the shield is part of a large column and she doesn’t even look at it. The eagle on it looks hard and frightening. Maybe its protection lies in the fact that it keeps others away? The Empress holds her golden sceptre with her right hand, showing that she’s isn’t afraid to take decisions or to show her authority... The Empress looks contemplative and distant – I’d love to know to what she’s thinking of... I can’t get over how lonely she looks. Maybe she scares others of with her cold appearance, or maybe she wants to be alone, so that no one can hurt or distract her... Firemaiden said in another thread that she thought this was Persephone/Proserpina, the Queen of the Underworld, and I think that fits perfectly for this card. (You can see her here.)
10/1/2004
The Empress from the Tarot of Dürer is beautifully and elaborately dressed in soft pink and blue. Pink is red, but lighter and softer. This Empress has thus learned to control her passions. Blue is the colour of emotions, intuition and spirituality. This means that though she looks refined and controlled, she isn’t out of touch with her feelings. In the same way, she holds her sceptre with her left hand – ruling with intuition and gentleness. It’s strange, but at the same time, this Empress looks quite sexual too... I’m probably obsessed, but the way she holds her sceptre (a phallic symbol) seems to bring this to mind. And on the fur of her cape, I see a bunch of little black sperm cells... Her sceptre is crowned with what appears to be an egg. To me, eggs are a symbol of creation and fertility, and represent the conception of ideas. Either way, it fits perfectly with this Empress... I think she’s sitting on a throne, but she could just as well be standing. That’s appropriate for this card, when you think about it: she has active power and control, but just as well shows her femininity and sensuality. She has her left foot on a large orb... well, I guess it could also be an egg. The orb shows again that the Empress is a ruler – she wouldn’t be an Empress if she didn’t have some authority! The fact that it’s her left foot once again shows the gentleness with which she rules... On her throne sits, strangely, a monkey! Monkeys are active animals, they are curious and want to try everything out. They are playful as well, and very agile. And monkeys are very smart too: they are innovative and you could be surprised as to what they are able to do. Having said that, the monkey first kind of stumped me, but now it makes a lot more sense on this card... The Empress appears to sit outside in the sun. A little farther from her hangs a screen that could protect her from the sun, but she chooses not to sit underneath it. She wants to feel the sun, symbol of Truth and Perfection... At the bottom of the card is a Latin saying: “Nemo potest omnia scire”, “Nobody can know everything”. It shows once again the intellectual side of the Empress, and at the same time shows that some things cannot be known, but can only be felt and experienced. (Found this great link!)
11/1/2004
I used to link this card to the Greek goddess Demeter, the kind, warm-hearted mother goddess of harvest and fertility. But another goddess came to mind: the Norse goddess Freya. I don’t know a lot about Norse mythology, but it seems that she was a caring, beautiful goddess of fertility and sensuality. But there was also a link to the air-element: she was said to have a cloak of bird feathers, which allowed her to change into a falcon, and it was believed that winged cats pulled her chariot... On top of that, Norse gods seem to bring to mind much 'harder' and 'colder' gods than those of other cultures. So to me, Freya reconciles both aspects of the Empress.
In the World Spirit Tarot lies a beautiful Empress on a bench under a flowering tree. As on the Fool card, seven birds appear. Seven is a spiritual number and links this card to the Chariot, a card of personal growth and stability. The Empress looks to me like an island goddess. She wears a crown with several little stars, linking her to heaven, showing hope and the Empress’ personal shining. And this Empress is shining: she’s lying comfortably on the bench, unashamed of her nudity (and why should she be ashamed?), enjoying her body and sensuality. In her right hand she holds a large flower, showing how she is consciously aware of growth and the beauty of all living things. In her left hand she holds a sceptre, showing that the Empress rules out of intuition and with gentleness. The sceptre looks Egyptian, especially in connection with the scourge lying on the ground. The sceptre ends in a little snake, though, and coiling around a branch of the tree is a real snake. It associates the Empress with ancient Goddess-based religions, and also links the Empress to the High Priestess... On the ground, next to the Empress, stands a bowl with little hearts. It’s filled with all kinds of exotic fruit: a pineapple, a coconut, a peach, grapes, bananas. Like the bowl, the whole card is overflowing with love and abundance. Farther on the ground lies an apple, symbol of wholeness, but also seen as a symbol of sexuality and fertility. On the ground also stands a pair of scales, naturally a symbol of balance. Lying there is also something like a pulse (I couldn’t find the right word in English, so I looked it up in the dictionary, hope this is the right word, because it doesn’t sound familiar) with a hard stone. I think it shows that, although the Empress is about love and abundance, she has a hard core. A lady with character... In the background is a little pond with a waterfall, showing the flowing and receptive nature of the Empress. Around the pond grow plants and hovers a dragonfly. This card is about life in all its forms. (You can see her here.)
8/1/2004
The first thing that struck me seeing L’Impératrice from le Tarot de Marseille (Hadar), is that she appears much “cooler” than other Empresses. She isn’t in the outdoors, but rather indoors – I can see a floor with tiles there. She looks like a strong, confident and powerful woman – she’s an Impératrice after all! On the shield she holds is an eagle depicted and her throne appears to give her wings. I read that the eagle was believed to be the only bird able to look straight at the sun: he therefore symbolises the ability to see Truth and Perfection. It also shows that this Impératrice is about the flight of our spirit, about intelligence and about thinking. She isn’t as cool as she may seem, though: aware of her shield, she embraces it with her right arm, holding it by her side. Her right arm actually seems pretty long. Isn’t there a saying in French about “avoir le bras long”, having a lot of influence? It could be just a mistake in dimension, but I think that ties in rather well with the rest of the card... L’Impératrice holds her sceptre loosely with her left hand, so that it leans even more to the left, showing that she rules with gentleness and intuition. The sceptre of l’Impératrice is crowned with an orb and a cross, symbolising the spirit prevailing over the mundane. Yet she is sitting, meaning that she doesn’t rush into things: she thinks everything through and is rather controlled.
L’Impératrice teaches you to think about things, to show your power, but to be controlled. She shows intellect, reflection, the power of thought and understanding. She shows us the phase before that of the Emperor (materialisation). I hope she will help me to study when I need to, and to concentrate when I’m distracted.
9/1/2004
The Empress from the Secret Tarots is much in the line of the Tarot de Marseille, but seems to take the idea even further. She seems closed in by the dark walls around her – only one window provides light, and gives a view on a mountain peak. Because of the contrast with her bright red dress, the Empress looks extremely pale. She is young and beautiful, and sits on an elaborate, crowned throne, but she looks sad and melancholy. She looks extremely alone. As an Empress, she probably has to be independent and has to be able to count on herself... She doesn’t hold her shield by her side – on the contrary, the shield is part of a large column and she doesn’t even look at it. The eagle on it looks hard and frightening. Maybe its protection lies in the fact that it keeps others away? The Empress holds her golden sceptre with her right hand, showing that she’s isn’t afraid to take decisions or to show her authority... The Empress looks contemplative and distant – I’d love to know to what she’s thinking of... I can’t get over how lonely she looks. Maybe she scares others of with her cold appearance, or maybe she wants to be alone, so that no one can hurt or distract her... Firemaiden said in another thread that she thought this was Persephone/Proserpina, the Queen of the Underworld, and I think that fits perfectly for this card. (You can see her here.)
10/1/2004
The Empress from the Tarot of Dürer is beautifully and elaborately dressed in soft pink and blue. Pink is red, but lighter and softer. This Empress has thus learned to control her passions. Blue is the colour of emotions, intuition and spirituality. This means that though she looks refined and controlled, she isn’t out of touch with her feelings. In the same way, she holds her sceptre with her left hand – ruling with intuition and gentleness. It’s strange, but at the same time, this Empress looks quite sexual too... I’m probably obsessed, but the way she holds her sceptre (a phallic symbol) seems to bring this to mind. And on the fur of her cape, I see a bunch of little black sperm cells... Her sceptre is crowned with what appears to be an egg. To me, eggs are a symbol of creation and fertility, and represent the conception of ideas. Either way, it fits perfectly with this Empress... I think she’s sitting on a throne, but she could just as well be standing. That’s appropriate for this card, when you think about it: she has active power and control, but just as well shows her femininity and sensuality. She has her left foot on a large orb... well, I guess it could also be an egg. The orb shows again that the Empress is a ruler – she wouldn’t be an Empress if she didn’t have some authority! The fact that it’s her left foot once again shows the gentleness with which she rules... On her throne sits, strangely, a monkey! Monkeys are active animals, they are curious and want to try everything out. They are playful as well, and very agile. And monkeys are very smart too: they are innovative and you could be surprised as to what they are able to do. Having said that, the monkey first kind of stumped me, but now it makes a lot more sense on this card... The Empress appears to sit outside in the sun. A little farther from her hangs a screen that could protect her from the sun, but she chooses not to sit underneath it. She wants to feel the sun, symbol of Truth and Perfection... At the bottom of the card is a Latin saying: “Nemo potest omnia scire”, “Nobody can know everything”. It shows once again the intellectual side of the Empress, and at the same time shows that some things cannot be known, but can only be felt and experienced. (Found this great link!)
11/1/2004
I used to link this card to the Greek goddess Demeter, the kind, warm-hearted mother goddess of harvest and fertility. But another goddess came to mind: the Norse goddess Freya. I don’t know a lot about Norse mythology, but it seems that she was a caring, beautiful goddess of fertility and sensuality. But there was also a link to the air-element: she was said to have a cloak of bird feathers, which allowed her to change into a falcon, and it was believed that winged cats pulled her chariot... On top of that, Norse gods seem to bring to mind much 'harder' and 'colder' gods than those of other cultures. So to me, Freya reconciles both aspects of the Empress.
OK, I thought, guess she is trying to tell me something.
