Tarot card meanings › Major Arcana
The Empress Tarot Card Meaning
The Empress tarot card means abundance, care and creativity. Growth, comfort and plenty.
Upright
- Abundance
- care
- creativity
Reversed
- Smothering
- neglecting yourself
- creative block
Yes or no
Yes
The Empress is card III of the 22 major arcana.
What the card shows
A woman crowned with twelve stars sits on cushions in a field of ripe wheat. Her robe is patterned with pomegranates, a heart-shaped shield with the sign of Venus leans beside her, and a stream runs through the trees behind.
This is the card as drawn by Pamela Colman Smith for the 1909 Rider-Waite-Smith deck, which is in the public domain.
Upright meaning
The Empress is read as growth and plenty: things ripening, a home that feels good, a project or a person being well cared for. She is the tarot card most tied to nurture, nature and making things.
The Empress reversed
Reversed, she is read as giving so much there is nothing left for yourself, care that turns into control, or a creative dry spell.
Yes or no?
In a yes or no question, The Empress is usually read as a yes. Readers differ on some cards, so treat this as one common reading. You can ask a yes or no question and draw a card for it.
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More Major Arcana cards
The FoolThe MagicianThe High PriestessThe EmperorThe HierophantThe LoversThe ChariotStrengthThe HermitWheel of FortuneJusticeThe Hanged ManDeathTemperanceThe DevilThe TowerThe StarThe MoonThe SunJudgementThe World
‹ The High PriestessAll 78 cardsThe Emperor ›
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