The Empress: Tarot Card Meaning

Meaning of the The Empress card upright

The Empress sits in a ripe garden among wheat, soft cushions and flowing water. She is the card of fertility in every sense: of the body, of ideas and of the home. It tells you to nourish what you have begun and to let yourself enjoy it.

The Empress reversed

• dependence
• creative block
• smothering care

Reversed, the Empress points to creative stagnation, neglect of yourself or over-protective care that smothers. You may be giving so much that nothing is left for you, or be waiting for others to look after you. Return to simple pleasures and to balance.

The Empress in love and relationships

In love this is warmth, tenderness, mutual care and sometimes pregnancy or the wish for a family. The relationship grows through attention and small kindnesses. Reversed, there is dependence, jealousy or taking the other person for granted.

The Empress in work and finances

At work she favours creative professions, projects that need nurturing and steady growth in income. Invest time in what is already growing. Reversed, she warns of a stalled project and of working at the cost of your wellbeing.

Symbolism of the The Empress card

The crown of twelve stars links her to the cycle of the zodiac. The sign of Venus on her shield is love and beauty. The wheat is harvest, the stream is life flowing, and the forest around her is fruitful nature.

The Empress in a yes or no reading

In yes or no spreads, The Empress upright reads as “yes” and reversed as “yes”. The answer comes from the general meaning of the card (abundance, care), so always take the wording of the question and the neighbouring cards into account. Try a yes or no reading.