Suppose you sat down at a table, with a great cup of coffee or a delicate tea, and the Empress was seated on your left-hand side, and the Emperor on your right-hand side. What do they have to tell you? What insights do they have to share with you? What do they know, that you don’t?
The Empress and the Emperor represent different complementary and opposite guiding forces in our lives. These archetypes work together by pulling and pushing against each other to achieve balance.
In this divinatory tarot spread, we are consulting with two incredibly powerful archetypes privately, honestly, and unreservedly.
Meet The Empress and The Emperor
The Empress is the embodiment of the nurturing powers and energies of the sacred feminine power. This energy she offers is raw but offers the unlimited fertile opportunity for others to grow and develop.
The Emperor is the other side of her coin. He is the embodiment of what is sacred of masculine power that creates stability through order and authority. Where the Empress is artistic and aesthetically inspiring, the Emperor is regimented and governs through rigid rules.
Where the Empress allows for natural growth and creative energy, the Emperor will identify the strength in individual components, separate them, and build them into something new. The Empress gives and feeds, and the Emperor is ambitious, rational and firm.
Benefit from the feminine and masculine energies influencing your life
This reading is designed to help tap into the feminine and masculine energies to gain insight into our lives. We are whole when both are balanced, and if we make ourselves aware of where is one dominating we can then focus our intentions to improve our situations.
How to get the most out of this reading
I prefer to go into this reading without having a specific issue I want to focus on. Instead of using this for guidance through a particular problem or issue, I prefer to let the Empress and the Emperor speak to me. This will let them show me what area or aspect of my life needs more balanced consideration and approach.
Find the Empress and the Emperor cards
Pull the Empress and the Emperor cards from the deck.
Before we begin we want to internalize and make sure our understanding of the meanings and nuances of these cards are at the forefront of our minds.
Look at the Empress and consider your recent efforts that have used or benefited from your nurturing qualities? If you prefer, consider instead (and try to list) what exactly are you current nurturing qualities. Are you working on any creative projects, and what is currently inspiring you?
Next, move on to the Emperor, and articulate your ambitions. What do you want? Where do you see yourself in love, life and work in the next 3 years? What about 5 years from now? Do we dare to think about 10 years from now? Where in your life do you benefit from being orderly, and are you the creator of this order and rules? What is your source of discipline and how did you develop that.
It is best if you take some time to meditate on this, ruminate on it. You want to articulate the opposite forces between these two archetypes, and how they are reflected in your personality, your actions and the people around you. Set the Empress and Emperor down where you intend to lay your cards down for the reading.
The reading
Find a place for the Empress card and the Emperor on the surface you intend to lay your cards down for the reading. Imagine that they are seated at the table with you, and are looking over your shoulder – the Empress on the left-hand side, and the Emperor on the right. Shuffle the rest of the cards according to your personal ritual and prepare for the reading.
- Card one represents the Seeker presently
Use this card to identify your role in the situation that needs to be addressed. Remember that this reading will guide you to what situation needs to be addressed.
- A Major Arcana card is going to indicate a theme of your life
- A Minor arcana card is going to indicate a specific situation, so the suits will be super helpful here in helping you narrow down what area of your life this spread is addressing.
- Wands will speak to your motivations, passions and you present and future actions.
- Cups will point to your relationships with other people.
- Swords will give some insight into your mental state of being, and
- Pentacles will focus your attention on your wealth and material possessions.
- The Court Cards are going to point to a part of your personality is coming through and taking front and center stage.
Card Position Meanings
1. Card one represents the Seeker presently
Use this card to identify your role in the situation that needs to be addressed. Remember we are consulting, so we want them to tell us what to focus on and what needs our attention.
This card will give you an objective view of your role in this situation. Are you in control of what’s going on, or are you being victimized? Are you positioned confidently and without reserve, or are you withdrawing inwards? What are you primarily concerned with, or what part of your life are are you principally concerned with?
2. Issues situations at hand
This card will highlight what is happening and will describe what is happening to you at this time. Are you facing obstacles? Is there a decision to be made? Is this a time of action, or reflection?
Don’t forget:
- A Major Arcana card is going to indicate a theme of your life
- A Minor arcana card is going to indicate a specific situation, so the suits will be super helpful here in helping you narrow down what area of your life this spread is addressing.
- Wands will speak to your motivations, passions and you present and future actions.
- Cups will point to your relationships with other people.
- Swords will give some insight into your mental state of being, and
- Pentacles will focus your attention on your wealth and material possessions.
- The Court Cards are going to point to a part of your personality is coming through and taking front and center stage.
Being able to express this card in a relatable way is the first step to a successful reading with this spread. You need to know what you are talking about before you start to look at what’s being said about it!
Those familiar with the Celtic Cross Tarot Spread will be able to handle these cards with ease. Once you have an objective, bird’s eye view of the situation, and how you fit into it or how it is affecting you, then you can move on.
3. Challenges and obstacles
These are problems that must be resolved or issues or situations that cannot be ignored and need to be addressed.
When studying this card, it’s important to come to the negative end of the spectrum of the card to properly articulate what the challenge or issue is. This does not mean to automatically take the reversed meaning of the card, as some cards are positive in meaning when they are reversed. You want to consider the meanings of cards that initially have a very positive interpretation, and explore its experience to find the negative.
Consider the Nine of Pentacles, an incredibly positive card that illustrates enjoyment of solitary leisure, and good results from efforts. In this position, this card would not indicate an obstacle or a block preventing you from enjoying in these luxuries. Rather, it would indicate most likely not knowing how or when to enjoy in the fun, or not fully enjoying what is in front of you.
4. Helpful influences and resources
These are outside influences that you can turn to help you overcome your challenge or issue described in card #3.
In this case, court cards would point to a specific person, so use the characteristics of the court card to find who in your life is the Queen of Swords, and the Knight of Cups, etc, etc.
5. The inner or unorthodox path: What the Empress has to say.
This is the Empress’ contribution to the conversation.
- What needs to be created, healed or nurtured?
- What do you need to let control of?
- Rather than destroying, can it be saved?
- What of yourself can you give to see growth in others or the situation?
6. The outer conservative path: What the Emperor has to say.
This is the Emperor’s contribution to the conversation.
- Are emotions over-clouding the situation?
- Is there need of an organized structure?
- Are problems being considered logically?
The conversation
You need to weight the card against the speaker. This is where you are conversing with both polar opposites. If you pull the Page of Wands, this means that the Empress is telling you to consider your impulsiveness or frank and uninhibited speech. Whether you she is saying you should ramp it up or tone it down would be clarified by cards 1 and 2 in the spread. If you pull the Two of Cups instead, then she is telling you to compromise with what is opposing you, join forces and come together for a higher purpose.
Interpret the card from the Empress and then the card from the Emperor and then weight the messages in these cards against each other. You should go back and forth between these cards, as though it were a pro and con list. Allow the conversation to unfold in your mind.
Do the Empress and Emperor agree or are they in conflict over this situation? Do they compliment each other, or allow you to build on what they are saying? Do they come to a consensus or some sort of hint of a plan?
7. Advice or additional considerations.
The last card serves to wrap up the conversation. This card will help you to decide which side to lean more to if the Emperor and the Empress are in disagreement. It might clarify what happens next or how a plan to move forward should be devised. After everything is said and done, what the effects of the issue will be wrapped up here.
Final Thoughts
I champion this spread because, as a person that tends to overanalyze life situations, this helps me to guide a conversation to conclusion privately, without involving others. This is particularly helpful if you don’t have anyone to turn to that knows all the aspects of the issue, or if secrets are involved.
Please share your thoughts in the comments below! I would love to hear how tea with the Empress and the Emperor went for you!
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