The Empress in the Major Arcana
Fourth in the major arcana, the Empress carries the number 3 and marks birth and creation. The image of the Empress is often shown with growing wheat and flowing water, adorned with crown and scepter. She is marked as the mother earth and giver of life and abundance. The stars on her crown represent the planets. The Empress sits on the throne of earthly creation. Not the high goddess, but divine in her own authority. It is the Empress that exemplifies the feminine and the nurturing. In the fool's journey, the Empress is the combination of the Magician's mind and the High Priestess' intuition. Together, it is through the Empress that all things can be manifested.
The position of the Empress has a good deal of influence on the interpretation of this card. When referring to the querent directly, her traits are highlighted in the querent. This can, however, be for good or bad. Where abundance and nurturing are held in the positive - in excess they can be read as obsession and toxic positivity. A caring mother becomes smothering. A lover becomes possessive. When reversed, this may signify a lack of traits or a refusal to express them. If the Empress was revealed in the "obstacles" position reversed, I might say that compassion or nurturing was needed in the situation. Or that there would be none given if the querent were in need of the care. But if the card was upright, I might say that what first looks like compassion and care will quickly become obsession or possessiveness. Especially if the Emperor appeared somewhere in reverse (signifying someone being overly controlling).
The Empress and the Lovers
Paired together, this is a very powerful combination. But the caution given above is also amplified in the same breathe with this pairing. The bond of the Lovers - most notably in readings to do with love and relationships - makes the abundance of the Empress so powerful it threatens to cross the threshold into excess. Doubling this, any feeling that the Empress is lacking in the relationship begins to feel like it's not there at all. In the context of relationships, the Empress may also signify literally becoming pregnant. *Do not rely on tarot for medical diagnoses. The tarot can not predict medical conditions, and should not be relied on exclusively for medical decisions.*
When reading for wealth or business, the Empress and Lovers represent a project coming to fruition, or a raise/promotion. In these readings it's important to evaluate the surrounding cards for signs of "too much work". This can signal that the abundance that the Empress brings has also made an excess of responsibilities the person may not be able to maintain. In opposition to this, if the Empress is inverted it ma signify a demotion, pay decrease, or (especially if the Lovers are reversed as well) a firing or quitting.
The Empress and Manifestation
The Empress signifies manifestation of intention and giving life to thought. However, this manifestation is yet unstable. Raw and moving like the water she is often depicted sitting by, the Empress can be as destructive as she is nourishing. This is why the major arcana follows the Empress with the Emperor - authority and practiced discipline. Her image as Mother Earth is often seen as exclusively positive, but most folks will easily overlook the fact that natural disasters are as much the Empress as a gentle rainstorm or a bright spring day. What the querent receives from the Empress depends entirely on their own preparation and intention. When the Empress is in a spread it is not quite time to celebrate. Instead, the querent is being called to ready themselves for this abundance and make space for it or give it a direction to flow. Excess abundance can easily be redirected as generosity, and the overflowing cup can fill other cups. The Empress' manifestation echoes throughout the rest of the Fool's journey through the major arcana. When given the power of authority and council (from the Emperor and Hierophant), she becomes a source of inevitable change. Intentions begin to shape how the world reacts to the querent. As the querent adapts to the changes and grows, the nurturing Empress remains even in the darkest parts of the journey (as the hope of the Star following the fall of the Tower).
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