The Emperor : Discipline and Authority

The Emperor and the Major Arcana

    Marked with the number 4, the Emperor stands in a position of authority and power. Where teh Empress brought intention to life, it is in the discipline of he Emperor that raw potential power is harnessed into change. He sits on the throne of emotion, under the stability of earth and the power of fire. In one hand is a censor, symbolic of domination and control. The other holds a staff with the symbol of life. Truly, while the Empress is the source of creation, it is the Emperor that controls it and protects it. In relation to the Fool, we find that coming form the rush of creation in the Empress, the Fool seeks to hold tight to his own thoughts and intentions. Suddenly free from their sway, the return of force is a wanting to wrestle those thoughts firmly into his own control. However, the negativity of the card, as there is in all cards, can warn that the Fool is fighting his own inner voice. Much as suppressing intrusive thoughts only causes them to grow stronger, the Fool wrestling his own intentions only sends him further into his own mind, undoing the freedom he had only just found a taste of.

    When the Emperor card appears it marks a time for self discipline and finding the confidence to stand in one's own authority. As the querent card, the Emperor is firm and forceful. In a positive light this is confidence. The querent is sure in where they stand and practiced in their own being. the negative to this is a false belief of that very confidence. Suddenly that power becomes stubborn arrogance. The question of what the card reads can only be answered with the surrounding context. As an abstacle, the Emperor could be that same false confidence mentioned - or it could be the influence of someone in a position of authority over the querent, someone that stands arrogant and doesn't take any answers but what they want to hear. As an outcome card, the Emperor often signals stability and power in the situation. Things coming to fruition are not going to quickly fall away. A job is going to turn toward a promotion. However, if the card or context is inversed, the stability becomes its own trap. Suddenly what felt like security now feels like prison, and change can only come when the Emperor realizes he is actually wrong.

The Emperor and the Fool Together

    If the Emperor and the fool are paired, the implication of false confidence is intensified. This could be by the querent's own shortcomings, or by the influence of someone else. The biggest factor in discerning the meaning of these comes in the question of which cards are directly about the querent. If, say, the Emperor is the querent card, and the outcome is the Fool, the implication is that the querent is going to be made to look like a literal fool. I'd be evaluating the spread for cards signifying deception or lies. The meaning easily translates into the fable of the Emperor wearing no clothes. However, if the positions are swapped, then the querent could be seen to be stumbling into a position of power. This would be the idea of "fake it 'til you make it". In this situation, the direction of the emperor card also has implications. A reversed card could mean the new position of authority is too much and the querent might need to step back.

    If the cards fall in relation to the querent's timeline (past to future), it marks the progression or stumbling in a life lesson. This part of the journey is, after all, the time most often stumbles and relapsed on. Folks realize they've embraced the potential power of the Empress and then fail to hone and control it - causing them to question whether they'd ever had it to begin with. Others  find that they were already self disciplined enough that when they came into their own power, the control they needed over it was present and ready for them.

The Emperor as a Spiritual Authority

    There is question over whether the Emperor holds his power of the querent's spiritual/faith life; or if that role is exclusive to the Heirophant. The answer is yes he does hold power, but not high authority. If the Emperor is appearing in relation to questions over faith and the querent's spiritual journey, it may be a calling for them to spend more time studying their faith and putting it into practice. This means deepening their intellectual learning, while at the same time using what they already know to help their community. It does not mean teaching the faith to folks not already following that path.

    As an example for comparison - each of the figures of authority could be perceived as part of one's spiritual practice. In wicca/pagan practices, the Magician marks a person learning the core principles of the path. This is where all the research and the most basic practices come in. The person may not know what type of practice they want, or where they are being called yet. That comes with the High Priestess. With the High Priestess, the beginner has learned enough to find what they feel drawn toward on a surface level, but perhaps they haven't discerned a specific deity or pantheon to follow. The Empress is the calling of the deity. Here the person knows who they worship, and will typically focus on altar practices, but not much more. It is then, with the Emperor, that they begin to learn the more specific rites and practices of that spiritual path, and what nuanced principles differentiate it from other paths. Then, the Heirophant marks the final point of the learning journey. The Heirophant is a leader of a community - able to take what he's learned and teach it to others.

        For a more Christian-centric example : The Magician is the person that attends church on Sundays, because "that's what good Christians do"; the High Priestess is the person that builds from that to bible study, seeking their own deeper understanding of scripture; The Empress is when the pwoer of teh holy spirit moves a person to begin taking part in the greater church body, volunteering for Sunday school or serving in one of the other facets of the church function; The Emperor is the church elders, folks that have served the body and while are not honed enough to give sermon they are able to spread the joy of the Word; and Heirophants are literally the leaders of the church, and the missionaries spreading and teaching the Word in other countries.