Ep 11: Tarot Talk on the Power Couple

Today we look at the ideas behind the power couple of the Tarot, I’m diving into the themes of the Empress and the Emperor.  I know today is the lunar eclipse, there is a lot of intence energy in the air, I don’t go into that in this episode … if you are looking for some insights into this spring eclpise season give EP 10 a listen ❤

I started this episode with only the Empress in mind, it quickly became apparent that the best way to understand the ideas about the Tarot’s representation of the divine mother was by contrasting and comparing her to the divine father. Because our traditional decks typically show our pair regally sitting on thrones, I chose to look solely at the art of contemporary decks. Before we look at the decks together, let’s break down the meaning of these cards. 

Empress: 3rd card of the high arcana

• Number 3 is a number associated with manifestation, femininity and birth
• Triple Goddess (for a deeper dive into this archetype give EP 2 a listen) 
• Birthing something into being, a creative idea, business, a garden, writing your book 
• Initiation into a new phase of life, maiden to mother, leaving home for the 1st time, new career
• Cycles, the great cycle of life, death and rebirth
• our smaller cycles within our bodies and our lives

Emperor: 4th card of the high arcana

• number 4 is associated with stability, think of the 4 corners of a square 
• empowerment 
• taking control of your destiny 
• God energy – protector, giving shelter to those in need, stability, grounded-ness
• mainly Earthy energy but sometimes he is associated with Fire energy too, but think more of smouldering coal not a hot blaze 

It’s important to remember when we interpret these cards, that they can show up as the archetypal energy that we are being asked to embody or as a person in our lives. Typically, when they show up representing a person, they are a sort of diluted version of the archetype. For example, the Empress may represent a grandmother figure in your life, or the Emperor may show up as the head of the company you work for (obviously in a spread relating to your job) 

Ok let’s look at the art 

Wild Wood Tarot – where the power couple is depicted as the green man and green woman. This deck was my 1st introduction to the green woman. I find this representation of them to feel very assessable. It seems natural that we could tap into their energy, that they could be found within ourselves and the natural spaces around us, almost as if you could find them in your own yard… if you were still enough. Their connection to each other is obvious, their gifts are in balance and it is easy to imagine them working together and loving each other. Wild Wood Tarot

Wild Unknown Tarot – a deciduous tree represents the Empress, with a crescent moon hanging in the sky above. Right away we can see the connection of earthiness to motherhood in the choice to use a tree for this archetype. The idea of feminine mysteries of life, death and rebirth are represented beautifully and subtly here as this tree will lose its leaves flower again and bear fruit.  

The Emperor is a coniferous tree, with a solar eclipse adorning his sky. Right away we see that we are dealing with a pair. The archetype of the divine father can be understood when we contrast the symbolism with that of his mate. Her tree is one that cycles, his tree stays full and green all year. He is steady and dependable, within his boughs he offers shelter and safety.   Wild Unknown Tarot

Book of Shadows Tarot – I looked at both decks in this set, both the As Above and the So Below. This set of cards is a fun one to study, and I found with our power couple set you could really see how the energies from the As Above cards can be expressed in our mundane day-to-day. I think this is a fantastic set for any student of the tarot to study. We can often get caught up in the deep esoteric meaning of things and lose sight of the day-to-day expression of high vibrational energies. Deep spiritual truths are unfolding all around us… all the time 😊 Book of Shadows Tarot

As Above renamed the cards to Goddess and God. On the Goddess card is a Maiden and Mother, the Crone is represented by a photo of a Grandmother; with the ladies is a white rabbit that brought to my mind Ostara, Goddess of the returning light. We can see that the Goddess holds the secrets of life and re-birth. The God card had a lovely depiction of a horned God, it could be a Cronos or Pan. He looks directly at us and embodies the earthy energies of the divine masculine. You can also feel the fire of passion and inside him. He looks powerful almost formidable, yet totally in balance.  

The So Below deck shows a much simpler representation of these energies. This is such a fun deck to study! First, we look at the Empress card, it is tinted green the colour of life and growth, it shows a mother in a garden with tools around her. Beside her sits her child and she is tending to their skinned knee. This is Mother goddess energy, healing, nurturing, tending our gardens, bountiful love and compassion. I love how the artists chose to show active mothering in place of the voluptuous form of a woman with child, it’s a beautiful depiction. And I feel it reminds us how we call up Goddess energy all the time. Having the garden there, I feel, is a way to remind us that mothering is about more than tending to children, it makes the card inclusive to our sisters who choose not to be parents. There are many ways we can embody Mother Goddess energy and participate in the cycles of re-birth. 

Looking at the Emperor card from this half of the set, we see an entrepreneur who is hustling. She has her laptop out, she is on the phone, papers on the desk, coffee in hand, and a full calendar on the wall. She is channelling the energy of the God in the As Above deck and running her business like a boss! 

Antique Anatomy – being a collector deck the artwork in this one was more of an expression of its theme than symbology, however, the two cards were definitely a part, the only difference was that the Empress card had female anatomy and the Emperor male. Antique Anatomy Tarot

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See you soon loves for another Witching Half Hour or so…