The Empress (L'Impératrice): meaning of tarot arcanum III

In brief: number, names and keywords

The Empress carries the number III in every tradition. After the High Priestess, who is silent and inward, she opens the card outwards: connection, expression, creation. With the Emperor (IIII) she forms a pair of archetypes often read as mirror images.

The name does not vary from one tradition to another, but some authors call her “the Queen” or “the Mother”, and in some older decks she is simply named “the Empress” without any further addition.

Keywords: creation, care, expression, abundance, fertility of ideas, sensitivity.

The image in the Marseille tarot

In Marseille, the Empress is a crowned woman, seated three-quarters or in profile, with her head and shoulders turned towards us. In one hand she holds a sceptre topped with a globe and, in the other, a shield bearing an eagle. Her clothes are decorated with patterns: a coloured dress under a cloak.

The setting is simple: the eye is drawn to the crown, the sceptre and the eagle, signs of power. She is a sovereign, but a seated one, calm and unarmed: the strength of this card is not the strength of conquest.

The image in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck

In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the Empress reclines on cushions in a lush garden, dressed in a flowered gown decorated with pomegranates. She wears a crown of twelve stars, a pearl necklace and holds a sceptre. At her feet lies a field of ripe wheat, a grove of trees and a stream that becomes a waterfall.

Beside her, a heart-shaped shield bears the sign of Venus. The mood is that of welcoming nature and of time that stretches out: the card speaks of fertility more than of power.

Symbolism of the elements in the image

These are the details that come up most often in traditional readings. They are lines of interpretation, not official definitions.

• The crown (stars in Waite’s deck): a gentle sovereignty: ruling over one’s own domain, not over others. The twelve stars are often linked to the twelve months or the twelve signs.
• The sceptre and the globe: calm authority, mastery of the material world.
• The eagle on the shield (Marseille): an imperial emblem, a reminder that the card’s gentleness does not rule out dignity.
• The wheat and the garden: the harvest, abundance, the cycle of the seasons.
• The sign of Venus: in the tradition of the Golden Dawn, the planet of beauty, connection and pleasure.
• The flowing water: sensitivity, what circulates and nourishes.

Upright meaning

Upright, the Empress traditionally evokes creation in all its forms: a project taking shape, a work, ideas maturing, but also taking care of oneself and others. It carries abundance in the broad sense, the pleasure of what nourishes, sensuality and generosity.

In a spread, she may suggest that it is time to let things grow rather than force them. If the High Priestess keeps a knowledge, the Empress makes it flourish. She is also the card of listening to the body and the senses, of nature and of welcome. She does not necessarily represent a woman: she describes an energy that can express itself in anyone.

Reversed: two schools of reading

School 1: the opposite. Reversed, the Empress speaks of over-protection, possessiveness, comfort that lulls, waste or scattering of creative energy.

School 2: a block. Creation is there, but cannot find its path: lack of inspiration, difficulty receiving, neglected need for care. The card then invites us to allow ourselves rest or pleasure without guilt. Other tarot readers do not read reversed cards.

In common areas of reading

The tarot does not say what will happen: it offers images for reflection. Here, in symbolic terms, is what this card may bring up depending on the theme of your question.

• Personal reflection: nourishing oneself in the broad sense: with rest, beauty, creativity. Possible question: what would I like to help grow, and what do I need in order to do so?
• Relationships: tenderness, welcome, generosity; but also care not to smother the other with too much attention. The card speaks of relationships that nourish.
• Work: creation, projects that bear fruit, a welcoming team, professions of care, art or teaching. The card evokes the fertility of a project, not its guaranteed success.
• Money: an image of abundance and generosity; an invitation to look after what one has rather than waste it. It predicts no gain and does not replace an adviser.

Combinations with neighbouring cards

A card is rarely read on its own: its neighbour nuances it. Here are a few common pairings, to be taken as starting points.

• The High Priestess: from silence to expression: what was kept finds its form.
• The Emperor: the pair of archetypes: welcome and structure, creation and its frame.
• Strength: gentleness and courage: two ways of holding on without dominating.
• The Star: abundance and hope: a generous creativity, without calculation.
• The World: maturity: the project comes to fruition and nourishes those around it.

To learn how to combine cards, try the three-card spread. To place this card among the 22 Major Arcana, see our guide to the Major Arcana.

Keyword of the day, question and practice

Keyword of the day: Nourish. For the day, do one thing that truly nourishes you: a meal eaten without rushing, a moment outdoors, a few minutes of creating without any expected result.

Question to ask yourself: What would you like to help grow at the moment?

Writing (10 minutes). Draw an imaginary garden on a page, then name three “plants”: a project, a relationship, a habit you wish to water. For each one, note a simple gesture of care for the week.

Short meditation. Sit comfortably and imagine the garden in Waite’s card. Become aware of your breathing, then of the weight of your body and the warmth of your hands. Silently give thanks for what already nourishes you.

History and variants of the card

The Empress appears in the earliest Italian tarocchi, alongside the Emperor, the Popess and the Pope: these are the figures of power from the late Middle Ages, a world of courts and popes. In the game they were high-value trumps, without this implying any precise symbolic weight.

19th-century occultists saw in her fertility, nature and the Mother. In the Golden Dawn she is linked to Venus and to the letter Daleth (“the door”). In Waite and Smith’s version, the Empress becomes a figure of nature, far from the imperial eagle of Marseille. In the 20th century, psychological readings saw in her the archetype of the mother, in the broad sense.

The variants are numerous: sometimes a sceptre with a fleur-de-lis, sometimes an ermine cloak, sometimes a shield without an eagle. In both traditions she forms with the Emperor the royal couple that frames the Popess and the Pope, a group of four figures often read together.

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to The 22 Major Arcana, card by card.