MOTHER HAS ARRIVED. Yes, today is the day of our lady savior, The Empress. Profound in her feminine ways and wiles, the Empress is here to keep you grounded while also telling the world is baby-makin' time! Yes, plants! Make that pollen! Misery ensue!
So who is this Empress? Who is she? Who would play her? Let's look at her traits and characteristics:
- Warm and comforting, very much the emotional equivalent of a loaf of fresh bread
- Emotionally nurturing
- Dripping fertility (that sounds kinda gross... cleanup on aisle three!)
- Emotionally sensitive, yet grounded in reality
- A lady who loves math, especially multiplication...
- Some would say she's whorish and ready to spread her legs at the drop of a... sheath of wheat, ready to play the role of "courtesan" for her strict and powerful Emperor husband. (This is actually a pretty wild ride if you look at the Madonna-Whore Complex with The High Priestess figuring as the "Madonna" - not the singer, derp - and the Empress as the "Whore." Vile masculinity at its worst, lemmetellyou.) I honestly don't know why people choose to portray her that way - especially in Tarot, but there are decks out there that reference her as "The Whore" instead of "The Empress.")
Traditionally, The Empress calls on us to embrace our feminine energy and ground ourselves in the world around us. She rules over the suit of Pentacles (earth energy), and all things physical. She encourages the birthing of new ideas, projects, hobbies - anything to create new beauty in your life. She also encourages you to bring out your "motherly" energy by being more nurturing and emotionally sensitive to those around you. You don't need to be a woman or a mother to have these traits. Tarot is not gender-restrictive, even though The Empress is often represented as a woman. Our world would be SO <clap> MUCH <clap> BETTER <clap> if men would be willing to embrace their feminine side rather than rejecting it as a bunch of qualities that make them weak or lesser.
The Empress playlist is available in Spotify.
Message of the Day: Spring is in battle mode here in southeast Texas. We've had a week of 85° days and the mold and pollen are off the charts. I blame lady Empress for this as she is as close to "Mother Nature" as we get with Tarot. She can stop with the multiplication side of things for a hot minute so we can remember what breathing is like.
The Empress strongly encourages being one with nature and grounding yourself in the external world. I struggle with that. Why you (didn't) ask?
- I'm a redhead and detest the sun. Even looking at photos of the beach causes me to burn.
- I'm photosensitive (visually) and generally dislike bright things - they give me migraines.
- I am also heat-intolerant - which ALSO gives me migraines. (I know, I know... why the fuck do I live in Texas? I blame my parents.)
- I have (undiagnosed) reverse SAD (seasonal adjustment disorder) - and spring/summer tends to make me depressed (whereas I thrive in fall and winter).
I guess I really am just a boy who desires a cold, dark cave. Perhaps that's part of why I relate so well to The Hermit...
But as this card is about looking internally, we have to ask ourselves... what part of me needs some help? How can The Empress come in and provide comfort and solace? When do you actually take time for yourself, and what does that look and feel like? Are you doing it frequently enough?
Personally, when I feel stressed and over it all, I usually go make a bath. It's not even a fancy bath with bubbles or bath bombs or candles. It's literally just a hot tub of water, dark, and my kindle. I lay there, scrunched like a boy in a womb, reading until the water becomes tepid or my skin has shriveled to the point that I look like Ian McKellen.
I know that Tarot, for the purposes that I enjoy it, often says "take care of yourself. Self-love, /hug /hug /hug, have a cry, /squish /squish." And it's easy to begin to roll your eyes and be all "I know, I know... enough already." But Tarot wouldn't repeat the message if it weren't important, and - as the rest of the week has shown us - this is cyclical. You don't "self-care" and be done. It's a routine and a habit. I mean, look at the Empress in The Modern Way Tarot (or the original RWS deck). The Empress has hauled a cushiony-fuckin' chair out into the forest. Clearly, she plans on being there frequently enough that she wants something comfortable and to not have to sit in the dirt and bugs and shit.
As for who would play her? I think Olivia Coleman would do a fantastic job...
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