Card of the Week "The Empress"

The Empress

Happy Monday everyone! As promised I am writing a 2nd weekly blog discussing the artwork, history and meaning of a tarot card from my deck. Hope it is helpful! and again, if you have a card you would like to request for next week, let me know! 

Card Inspiration and History

When I began the  theme and the artwork for the Empress I'd already been thinking about doing a beauty queen piece anyway mostly inspired by the following-
 I was watching an old Vincent Price movie from the 60's and kind of fell in love (artistically speaking) with this one woman who looked evil and hot in a big black beehive. I wanted to know who she was! I found out that she had been crowned Miss USA in the 50's but had the crown taken from her because it was discovered that she was A.) too young B.) married and C.) had many children already. I thought it was a fun idea for a piece and when I started the deck, looked at more reference photos of beauty queens I had to use the idea for my Empress. 

When I consider "American Royalty" in a modern and twisted Americana sense, I think of Beauty, queens, celebrities, ceos, tycoons and mobsters more than I do politicians. We are all loyal subjects to only an idea and a dream of totally unrealistic proportions and lowering taxes does not fall in that category. A beauty queen is something to worship for sex appeal, beauty and sparkle and an idea for the woman in question to worship as well. So naturally with that comes big highs and lows. I feel that the Empress embodies both abundance and bitter retreat depending on the card orientation. Which brings me to the card meaning and why I made the Empress handless (since it seems to be a common thing people ask me)

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The light and dark side of the Empress

The Empress is about fertility and abundance. Love of oneself and feeling beautiful.  The woman in the front of the card represents the woman I mentioned in the last paragraph and the confident side of the Empress. She is pregnant and feels beautiful. She is deformed and a little more sinister than the other woman but she is confident, she has won the pagant and she is beautiful to herself. The other woman represents the upset, dark, brooding and lack of abundance that the Empress can feel when things do not go her way. I used the same model for both the women because we can all be both open to abundance and confident or doubtful and self loathing depending on the attitude we have. The Empress does not, not have hands to SCARE you or UPSET you. She is waving with her nub confidently and she is scared and traveled a hard road and made it through everything to this. Scars and deformity are a part of life and honestly, a large part of American culture in the mines, factories and adventures we all have. There's nothing that anyone should be ashamed of in these things especially if there is a good story to attach to it ;) 

card meaning Straight from the book

This card is all about beauty, sexuality and fertility. Yes that's right fertility-although apparently the Miss USA judges didn't think so. The figure portrayed resembles venus, the goddess of love, more than she does a chaste Virgin Mary. She represents everything that is creation. The creation of life, love and art. Upright this card signifies abundance, whatever that might mean to you. She celebrates beauty, life and abundance. However, a word of caution. She can take wealth or other abundance away as easily as she gives it if her feelings get hurt. 

Reversed, the card might mean that you are putting too much emphasis on the negative attributes of the Empress. If so, it is important to see the world as a big place full of opportunities and just be yourself! The right things will come if you are open and embody all that is the Empress. Negativity and jealousy could get in the way of getting what you want. The world is your oyster if you can let go of the reins a little.