The Empress!

mothering
giving birth
nourishing life
nurturing and caring for others
cherishing the world
expressing tenderness
working with children

welcoming abundance
enjoying extravagance
receiving lavish reward
luxuriating in plenty
having more than enough
feeling rich

experiencing the senses
giving and receiving pleasure
focusing on the body
appreciating beauty
feeling vibrantly healthy
being earthy
doing physical activity

responding to Nature
relating to plants and animals
embracing the natural
feeling connected to the Earth
going outdoors
harmonizing with natural rhythms

OPPOSING CARDS: Some Possibilities

Emperor - fathering, order and discipline, regularity
Death - principle of death
Four of Pentacles - miserly possessiveness
Nine of Pentacles - refinement, sophistication

REINFORCING CARDS: Some Possibilities

Lovers - sexual fulfillment, pleasure
Star - generosity, free-flowing love
Nine of Cups - enjoying the senses
Seven of Pentacles - material reward
Ten of Pentacles - affluence, luxury, physical comfort

DESCRIPTION

The Empress and the High Priestess are the two halves of the female archetype in the major arcana. The Empress represents the fertile, life-giving Mother who reigns over the bounty of nature and the rhythms of the Earth. From her comes all the pleasures and joys of the senses and the abundance of new life in all its forms. The Empress encourages you to strengthen your connections with the natural world which is the ground of our being. Too often false sophistications and pleasures take us far from our roots. Let the Empress remind you to keep your feet firmly planted in the Earth.

In readings the Empress can refer to any aspect of Motherhood. She can be an individual mother, but as a major arcana card, she also goes beyond the specifics of mothering to its essence - the creation of life and its sustenance through loving care and attention.

The Empress can also represent lavish abundance of all kinds. She offers a cornucopia of delights, especially those of the senses - food, pleasure and beauty. She can suggest material reward, but only with the understanding that riches go with a generous and open spirit. The Empress asks you to embrace the principle of life and enjoy its bountiful goodness.