Key Words: The Boss, The Master, The Power, Authority

Astrological correspondence: Aries, Sun in Capricorn,

Emperor is personifying a sense of responsibility, order, structure, as well as consistency and perseverance.

The occult meaning of the card is INBORNATION

The traditional meaning of the Fourth Arcana is stability, reliability, patronage, help, promotion of growth and implementation of plans; setting boundaries, accepting great responsibility. Clear, useful and effective actions, prudence, proximity to reality.

The presence of Emperor in the spread immediately adds strength and constancy to the matter. Emperor is a symbol of firmness and power.

It could not be not easy to deal with the most august person like Emperor.

The main meaning of this Arcana is the realization of plans.

These are real prospects, continuous activity, the will to act, the persistent implementation of a clear concept based on proven methods. The emperor in the alignment tells the questioner about the logic of actions at the present time, about achieving the goal, about the correctness of the chosen path.

The energy of the Emperor helps, as they say, “to bring the matter to mind”

Emperor also gives strength and protection of a “heavenly patron”, help from the heaven.

Personal state

Solid and definite. What is called, “in a clear mind and solid memory.” This is a card of maturity and understanding of reality.

Courage, perseverance, pragmatism, logic, certainty, practical earthly wisdom, initiative and independence in decision-making, the ability to solve life’s problems

As a personality, the Emperor is strong, powerful and fortunate. This person is a leader at work and the head of a family.

Often, according to the Fourth Arcana, such qualities prevail like discipline and amazing endurance.

On a Deeper Level

It is contact with the Father archetype (male charisma and sense of humor) and experience

This is the crystallization of willpower – with all its gifts and shortcomings. But there is no point in running away from the energies of the Emperor as they are – disciplining, rational and obliging, they keep the fundamental laws of the universe on themselves.

The emperor is associated with the Great Deity worshiped by the Pythagoreans in the form of a tetrad. The realization of the ideas of being is commensurate with the quadruple work of the mind: Affirmation, Denial, Discussion, Decision.

The symbols say that the Emperor is the demiurge, the great King of the Lower World, the Architect of the Universe.

The emperor is dressed in armor, and on his stone throne you can often see the image of a phoenix. The Emperor personifies the “fire of life” that feeds on the Sulfur of the Alchemists. His cross-legged posture is a symbol of sulfur, the sign of the ancient “alchemical monarch” (this symbol is also found in the Hanged Man and the World). The stone throne indicates that the Emperor’s exceptional vital energy and indefatigable thirst for action are subject to Reason. He holds either a scepter in his right hand and a ball in his left (the ball is evidence that he is the main ruler of the world), or a scepter with a ball at the end, shaped like an Ankh (Crux Ansata, a symbol of life in the Egyptian tradition).

On the chest of the Emperor are depicted the sun and the moon (symbolic eyes of the supreme Deity). The Lamb is often depicted on the Arcana, either on a throne or in the form of a wand-head. The Lamb indicates that he rules by humbly renouncing his lower self. This is also a correspondence to the astrological sign Aries. Esoterically, the Emperor corresponds to the month of Nisan – this is the month of the birth of the Jewish people, the month of the exodus from Egypt, the month of suffering on the Cross and redemption. The sign of Aries symbolizes both the sacrificed Lamb and the flock of sheep obediently following the Shepherd.

Professional situation

Authority, influential position in society, leadership, great power, first roles are related to the questionnaire.

Solving legal issues, managing finances, real estate and other solid occupations are ruled by Emperor. The emperor often points to the seriousness, thoroughness, continuity of some processes, the duration of projects – one can safely assume that the business will withstand any difficulties.

Personal relationships

The emperor often describes a man who married not the woman he loved, but the one he decided to marry for one reason or another (the reasons can be very diverse, from pragmatic to dramatic). Traditionally, this is a very “manly” card, but after all, such an emotional experience can easily manifest itself in the fate of a woman – in the form of a “smart marriage”.

The raging heart is tamed, responsibility and will prevail over personal turmoil, and the Emperor becomes an honest husband/wife, strictly observing marital duty, a responsible parent, a practical and thorough master.

The emperor often turns out to be almost a despot – demanding, prudent, firm, strict and emotionally closed. He had to curb his restless feelings, because of this he may seem somewhat harsh, but in fact he is secretly grateful to the one who allowed him to enjoy his own male maturity.

The Emperor has a good potency, thanks to which he never doubts himself as a man, but his peculiarity lies in the fact that in fact he is very conservative and reserved, and there are many taboos for him. Therefore, the only place where he is still lost is the sensual realm of the bedroom. Here he cannot establish any boundaries – here the Empress rules him.

Health Matters

The emperor is the ruler of the human body, “creating and animating.”

The reversed Emperor can be a signal of headaches, lack of vitality (or sometimes vice versa, hypertension), specifically for men – about problems in the genital area like prostatitis. Occasionally indicates injuries as a result of an accident.

Reversed Emperor

The villain archetype of the Emperor is Darth Vader from Star Wars.

Here “a sound mind and a solid memory” are in short supply. Insufficient clarity of thoughts, indecision, lack of specific actions, weakness of will.

At a given moment, someone (or the questioner) who was perceived as a hero, now overthrown from a pedestal.

Traditional interpretation: war, conflict, injury, insult.

With other cards

With the Empress – guardianship and care.

With the Hierophant – adherence to the rules and principles

With Lovers – the need to make a choice

With Justice – attraction to transparency

With the Tower – the need to protect your business from great danger

With Temperance – advice to moderate activity and choose flexible tactics

With the Two of Wands – the growth of authority

With the Seven of Cups – a bad combination, a disorderly life, pointless spending

With the Three of Swords – defiant behavior, causing pain to others

With the Five of Swords – circumvention of rules, violation of laws

With the Four of Pentacles – a huge craving for control and order

With an reversed Ten of Pentacles – a big win