The Emperor sits upon his throne of stone, the architect of civilization channeling Wisdom into the golden heart of Tiphareth. He is stability, power, aid, protection. A great person, convicted, reasonable. His authority is earned, his structure protective, his law absolute. Reversed: Benevolence and compassion, credit, but also confusion to enemies, obstruction, immaturity -- the shadow side of rulership without wisdom.

UPRIGHT: Stability, Power, Protection, Conviction

REVERSED: Benevolence, Compassion, Obstruction, Immaturity

The Emperor is power incarnate, the protection of the laws that you make by speaking them into the reality you inhabit. Wielding power takes constant vigilance. Your throne is anywhere you choose from, your realm (or God) is anything you give your bounty of conscious attention to. How are you ruling so far? Everyone wants to be king but few comprehend the responsibility. Authority must be earned and it should be removed when irresponsibility reigns. Every great king must be a philosopher, a diplomat, a linguist; and yet Plato’s political projects failed. Power and corruption are born at the same time; in this, emperorship requires discernment, the astral eyes of True Authority. Try to see with them when facing down any false realities; elsewise, those eyes will see right through you, perturbing you enough to enforce giving too much, or too little, of yourself to the other powers around you.

On the journey, the hero meets true power, or gains some, his choices are challenged and his motives resolved…(or shattered.)

Bottom Line: When he arrives, steel yourself, find a bearing, mark your attention, and stand strong.

Tree of Life Path: Chokmah to Tiphareth -- Wisdom connected to the heart produces a strong civilization.

A.E. Waite quote: “He is the virile power, to which the Empress responds, and in this sense is he who seeks to remove the Veil of Isis; yet she remains virgo intacta…[Empress & Emperor] signify also the higher kingship, occupying the intellectual throne. Hereof is the lordship of thought rather than of the animal world.”

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