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The Emperor Tarot Card

In the fourth Major Arcana Tarot Card, we encounter The Emperor, counterpart to The Empress. Here we meet our self sovereignty and sense of agency, our independence and ability to lead. It is a strong card of taking ownership of ones life and situation, handling the reigns with confidence.

Read on to find out more meanings of The Emperor and what it can signify if it shows up for you as a reversal, and in a general, career, or love Tarot reading:

Emperor Tarot Card Meanings

As the fourth Tarot card, The Emperor points to our sense of capability and ability to take up space. Like the mountain, this is not about encroaching on others or dominating by force, but of simply filling up to our most authentic selves, because we know it is our birthright to do so.

The Emperor represents our inner authority, the power to take action and command our lives. It is a card of strength, bravery, and autonomy.

Like all of the Major Arcana, this is an essential component and a lesson me must learn to integrate with balance. As a counterpart to The Empress, we can see it as an archetypal father figure and take it as a call to explore what that means to us and what might it look like to re-parent ourselves?

Sometimes there comes moments where we need strategy and level-headedness, to do the hard things that are not easy. It takes great fortitude to be a leader.

We can see the figure on the card in the Smith Rider Waite Tarot deck is aged and was once a warrior, they are seated in the middle of a dry, arid desert (Aries is ruled by Mars, a hot and dry Planet). Within the message of The Emperor we can heed a warning to ensure the way we are going about things is worth it, do we want to isolate ourselves, and a reminder that it can be lonely at the top.

The Emperor in an upright meaning can be a symbol of what it means to truly serve (yourself and others). To lead for the good of all. To be a powerful ruler, you must be open and receptive to the needs of others, without bowing your own morals, ethics, and values in return, a reciprocity of respect is needed.

It is a card of righteousness in action. The Emperor card is an invitation to embrace our fearlessness and integrity, making brave decisions and doing things that we feel called to, even when they’re scary.

Astrology of The Emperor Tarot Card

Astrologically, this is the first card assigned to a Zodiac Sign, rather than a Planet, corresponding to Aries, which we can see represented as the rams’ heads on the throne. As the start of the Astrological New Year, Aries teaches us how to boldly step forth and assert ourselves with healthy ego. It is the embodiment of our ownership over ourselves and worth. As Cardinal Fire, it initiates change with ferocity and energy.

Numerology of The Emperor Tarot Card

In Numerology, the four is a number of stability, structure, safety, and groundedness. Like a house or table, the number four brings a container of support. It is also indicative of the four elements, seasons, and directions, symbols of completeness.

Historically, The Emperor may have held more colonial, imperial, patriarchal themes of dictatorship, extraction, or oppression. It can conjure up tyranny or fascist tendencies, with notions of war or being over-thrown. In more modern times, we can re-imagine the symbol of The Emperor and ask ourselves what does a true leader look like, what does it take lead in a way that makes others want to follow us?

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The Emperor Tarot Card Reversed

A reversed Emperor Tarot card may indeed point to just this- perhaps an over-bearing figure in your life or even you who is being dictatorial or dogmatic in something.

Generally, I take a reversed position to mean a resistance to the energy and so in this case would be an invitation to step up to the plate and your calling and to take charge with self-assurance. And so The Emperor reversed can be a message of opportunity for you to step forward with more courage and own your power.

The Emperor in a General Reading

In general, the Emperor upright represents authority, leadership, autonomy, agency, sovereignty, power, confidence, and assurance. It can be an invitation to embrace your inner resources and take up space, a reminder that you have the capacity and courage you need to oversee your kingdom.

It can also simply be a message of being on the right path and track, that you have everything under control in your dominion. On the flip side, sometimes The Emperor can be a gentle nudge to temper our arrogance. Are you shrinking or making it hard for others to breathe?

The Emperor Love Meaning

This could represent someone with these qualities, male or female-identified, or a facet of the relationship. Again, this can go either of two ways. On the one hand it can be a message to show a little courage yourself- make your needs, wants, and values known, ask that person out on a date, initiate the next stage of the relationship. On the other hand, it can be a symbol of dominance, a power imbalance.

The Emperor Career Meaning

As with the nature of all of the Tarot cards, the meaning of this card will depend on your personal intuition on the moment based on the spread, question being asked, surrounding cards, and context; but if The Emperor shows up for you in career reading it can often be seen as a sign to embark on a leadership role or take on more responsibility, to ask for that raise or launch that company!

It shows that you know the value of hard work and are self-standing. If it has come up in a negative position, it can indicate that maybe someone at work, or your boss, is being domineering, or that you are either being invited to be more forthright yourself or tone down the entitlement a little.

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So those are some significations of what The Emperor Tarot card represents in a general, love, career reading and as a reversal. Let me know in the comments section below if you have any questions or anything else to add!

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