IV - The Emperor: Empowered
A man sits on a stone throne adorned with carved rams heads. He has long white hair, and beard and stares directly ahead. He wears a gold but bejeweled crown, and a bright red gown. A dark red mantle, that’s embroidered with a rams head insignia, drapes his shoulders. Beneath his clothes, full metal armour can be seen covering his lower legs and forearms. He holds a gold sceptre in his right hand and a golden orb in his left. Behind him a thin stream of water passes between low lying sand, and a high craggy mountain range. The whole background of sand, mountain and sky are shades of orange.
IV - The Emperor from the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot
Here we have the archetypal father of the tarot. Not just a King (there are 4 other kings of each suit in the tarot system) - he symbolically represents supreme leadership, and a pure masculine element. The Emperor carries authority, and the responsibility of maintaining not just the laws of society, but holding its vision. He’s ambitious, successful, logical, and holds power with absolute confidence, and can be trusted to be unwavering and direct.
Phew! Can you feel the heat?! Surrounded by fire and even cloaked in it. He’s able to sit contained, without a flinch or blink and meet your gaze.
What is it like for me to stand before, and face the power from another?
What’s my relationship to authority?
All that power has the potential to be intoxicating, and as a culture the misuse, misdirection and misunderstanding of this vital and life giving force has resulted in patriarchal dominance and a power-over- power- under dynamic. And this is not just men vs women - we have all been as Marion Woodman says “sons [and daughters] of the patriarchy”.
So we are being asked to reconsider and reimagine how these masculine qualities can support the growth and transformation of individuals, communities and society.
How might I overcompensate and misuse, or decompensate and repress, my own power?
How can I be ambitious and achieve in a way that’s socially responsible?
Where could I or my community benefit from structure, clear limits, and boundaries?
Archetypes being pure or perfect representations of a thing, means that we aren’t meant to embody them absolutely or permanently. For instance, when we place these superhuman ideals of what a father is, on everyday human fathers, then we as individuals in a child-father dynamic might have felt anything from mild, to extreme deficiency in the relationship if father didn’t meet up to the ‘expectation’. As you observe the image notice what arises in body-mind when you consider …
What’s the relationship I have to my own father? or father figures in my life?
To push this point a little more, archetypes are dynamic representations of human experience, and used consciously we can actively engage or call on its energy to support, guide or inspire. While the Emperor’s direct consort in the tarot is the Empress - the archetypal mother, whose essence is one of love and feeling, the earth and nature, nurturance and giver of life - and gives him balance. I feel like his direct match, is the other feminine archetype of the tarot - The High Priestess - who came up a couple of months ago. Just as she’s the keeper of the deep and unconscious, he’s the keeper of the conscious and external world. Both suffer no fools. They’re like siblings or the oldest of friends who will not take shit from others, and will hold each other to account also. So just in that trio, you can see how these energies work cooperatively, collaboratively.
One isn’t better than the other. It’s not either/or … but both/all. It just might be very useful to activate and call one - the Emperor energy - to step forward for now, to support you navigate a moment where his authority is needed.
What circumstance or situation in my life could use more vitality, motivation, leadership, logic or calculated risk taking?
Much love,
Mendy xx
If you enjoyed this reflective practice, and would like to do more depth exploration using the tarot, consider booking a tarot counselling session.