The Emperor (tarot card)

The Emperor (IV) is the fourth trump or Major Arcana card in traditional tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

Description

The Emperor sits on a ram-adorned throne, a symbol of Mars. Another ram head can be seen on his cloak. He holds an Ankh scepter in his right hand, and a globe, symbol of domination, in his left. The Emperor sits atop a stark, barren mountain, a sign of "sterility of regulation, and unyielding power."^[1] He symbolizes the top of the secular hierarchy, the ultimate male ego. The Emperor is the absolute ruler of the world.

In astrology, the Emperor is associated with the masculine, cardinal-fire sign of Aries, the domicile sign of Mars which is symbolized by the ram.^[2]

Interpretation

According to A.E. Waite's 1910 book, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the Emperor card carries several divinatory associations:^[3]

The Emperor Keywords
UPRIGHT: Authority, establishment, structure, a father figure
REVERSED: Domination, excessive control, lack of discipline, inflexibility

Works cited

Crowley, Aleister (1991) [1944]. The Book of Thoth: A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians. San Francisco, CA/Newburyport, MA: Weiser Books. ISBN 978-0-87728-268-6.
Gray, Eden (1988) [1960]. The Tarot Revealed: A Modern Guide to Reading the Tarot Cards. Signet. ISBN 978-0-451-15673-0.
Waite, A. E. (1979) [1910]. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. New York: Samuel Weiser. ISBN 0-87728-218-8.

External links

Media related to Emperor (Major Arcana) at Wikimedia Commons

[FOOTNOTEGray1988-1] Gray (1988).

[FOOTNOTECrowley1991-2] Crowley (1991).

[FOOTNOTEWaite1979-3] Waite (1979).

[1]

[2]