The Empress [Nurturing]

Keywords: Mothering, care, fruitfulness, nourishment, luxury, indulgence, service.

The Empress is a deep nourishing presence that represents your ability to take care of yourself and others, in your own specific way.

She is everything prolific, whether that be a creation of new life or the formation of a new project. But more than just creating, The Empress is skilled in nurturing what she takes under her wing, seeing it safely into its completion. Self-care and indulging are important to her, she protects the things that bring us joy and make our soul sing, as she finds that essential to being truly productive.

The Empress represents compassion, support, and the ability to nurture others. She encourages you to embrace your caring side and foster growth whether in a creative project, personal relationships, or financial matters.

This card emphasises the importance of nature and the natural cycle of life. It encourages you to appreciate the beauty around you and connect with the earth.

Reversed: Neglect of self or others, the need to slow down and be present.

Planet: Venus (and Taurus and Libra by default)
Element: Water

Reversed meaning

Neglect and Lack of Nurturing: The feeling of emptiness or emotional detachment you’re experiencing is due to neglect of self-care or the needs of others. However difficult it might seem, you need to take care of other, more basic needs as well. You yourself, or someone close to you, is in need of your attention or some TLC.

Creative Blocks: You’re feeling uninspired or having difficulties being creative. It may be self-doubt or fear of failure that is holding you back. Take a day, a morning on just half an hour off, with no expectations. Just breathe and look for the beautiful details that surround you. If you can’t spot any, your’re not really letting go. Try with closed eyes, maybe you will find some within yourself. Only when you feel more relaxed, return to your task. You will see it differently, with fresh eyes.

Abundance Issues: You might be currently facing financial instability or lack of resources, indicating a time of scarcity or loss. Just remember, money always comes and goes. It is important factor in life, for sure, but try not to make it more than it is – it is just means to get by. A necessity, not the core value in your life. Hold on to other more important things, such as family and friends and you will get through this. Be smart, cut where you can, save when you can, but don’t get too overwhelmed. This too, shall pass.

Over-dependence: This is a warning you are becoming overly reliant on others for emotional support or fulfillment, Regain your independence, before you lose it entirely.

Imbalance in Relationships: The upside down Empress can indicate codependency or unhealthy dynamics in relationships, whether they are intimate, family or work related. It seems like nurturing or support is becoming closer to smothering and control.

Corresponding Female from History

Grandmother of Central Europe – absolute in her rule, but constant and effective in her reign.

Maria Theresia (1717-1780) was the archduchess of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, and the queen of Hungary and Bohemia. She was the only female ruler in the 650-year history of the Habsburg dynasty and one of the most successful ones. She bore sixteen children, of which 11 were girls, 10 bearing her name (among them Marie-Antoinette). She had a close and loving relationship with her husband, Francis I. After his passing in 1765, she resigned from public life and clad in black for the rest of her life. She restrained from gaining new territories and focused her efforts on maintaining peace and prosperity. 

Maria Theresia implemented significant reforms to strengthen Austria’s military, financial, and bureaucratic efficiency, among them the formation of the state administration, reform of the tax system, unification of the penal code (torture was abolished), formation of an independent supreme court, introduction of the Theresian cadastre and compulsory elementary schools, military draft, improvement of the position of farmers in the society (physiocracy). She commissioned the first population census and introduced house numbers and obligatory surnames for the state records. She advanced public health by promoting the study of infant mortality, countering wasteful and unhygienic burial customs, and inoculation of children.

Her form of rule, the enlightened absolutism, is a somewhat contradictory concept. She embraced the new, progressive ideas on natural law, liberty, science and progress, advocating education and rationalism, the separation of state and church, all to improve the living conditions of her people, unafraid of breaking the centuries-old traditions. But she did so by divine right, with the first most intention to strengthen the monarchy. By doing so, she further cemented the traditional social class division, in direct contradiction to the progressive ideas of the Age of Enlightenment.

Nonetheless, her reforms had many positive effects as they marked the beginning of modernization in all parts of the monarchy. Some of the reforms are (in their revised form) in effect till this day.