Welcome to this meditation working with the archetype of the Emperor tarot card.
This card usually depicts a very masculine man who is projecting power and confidence.
If you have pulled this card,
You may want to have it in front of you during this meditation,
Taking it in with your eyes open or imagining and feeling with your eyes closed.
Feel free to shift between open and closed eyes depending on what feels most right to you.
Before we talk too much about the meaning of this card,
Let's sit with the image.
Gaze at it if you have it there or think of it in your mind's eye.
Take a moment to notice which details pop out at you.
What's your first thought about what this card means to you,
If you have one?
What is the mood of the card for you?
Do you like this card?
Dislike?
What do you notice about the posture of the figure depicted on this card and maybe the items he's holding or surrounded by?
Do you relate to the Emperor?
Does he remind you of anyone?
Do you feel distance from this card like you don't quite get it?
Take a moment to notice what you feel in your body as you were looking at this card.
Whatever this is for you,
Just take a moment with it.
Your feelings about the card reveal more about its meaning than anything I'm about to tell you.
The magic of the tarot is that it pulls forward knowledge you already have but maybe just didn't realize it.
We'll pull it all together in a moment but for now,
Trust your conscious and unconscious mind to give you some information about what this card means to you.
Now,
Let's take all of that information that your own mind and body gave you and we'll talk about it a little bit.
The Emperor is the masculine aspect of power,
Directly in opposition with the Empress,
Which is a gentle feminine abundance.
Here,
The Emperor has power over,
The power of might,
I can't help but think of the patriarchy here,
The major system that overshadows us all and requires that we behave in certain ways that align with that structure.
What systems are in place for you that are requiring you to act in a certain way?
When you look at this card,
Do you feel an excitement about bringing that masculine power forward within yourself?
Or does it feel more like needing to fight someone or something external,
Like the man,
In order to do what you need to do?
Do you feel like you need to fight someone or something external?
Like the man in order to do what you need to do?
What is your relationship with masculine energy within yourself or outside of yourself?
Is masculine energy useful,
Safe,
Comfortable,
Enviable,
Scary,
Something else?
If you are working on a problem or a project,
What is the attitude that you're approaching this problem with?
What would it feel like to embody the Emperor a bit more as you are attending to this project?
What does that feel like in your body?
If it feels more like the Emperor represents something standing in your way,
What would it feel like to remember that his powers are mostly imaginary?
What would it look like to subvert that masculine energy,
To do it another way,
Maybe pulling in an energy like the Empress instead?
Feel free to write down any questions you have in the comments section below.
Feel free to write down any reflections that are coming to you as you settle with the meanings of this card for you today.
Remember to trust your own reactions more than any meaning someone else has written down.
Thank you for listening,
And good luck working with the archetype of the Emperor.
