The Emperor
The Emperor is major arcanum IV of the tarot. It represents structured authority, the archetypal father, law, discipline, order and leadership. Associated with Aries and the planet Mars, it embodies patriarchal power in its constructive form.
Origin and symbolism
In the early decks, The Emperor appears as a crowned male figure on a throne, with sceptre and orb. In the Rider-Waite-Smith, he is seated on a stone throne adorned with ram heads (symbols of Aries), with armour visible under the imperial robe. He holds a sceptre shaped like an Egyptian cross (ankh) and a golden orb. The background landscape is mountainous and arid, not fertile like the Empress's: the Emperor's domain is structure, not life.
The number IV is that of the square: four legs of the throne, four seasons, four elements, four cardinal points. It is the number of stability and organised matter. The card symbolically inaugurates civil order: after the Empress (fertile nature) comes the Emperor (the civilisation that organises it).
Meaning in a spread
Appearance in a reading: legitimate authority, necessary structure, time to take charge, discipline, conscious masculine, father, boss, mentor, firm decision, clear law. It appears when the situation calls for order, direction and adult commitment. It is the card of one who takes responsibilities rather than evading them.
In shadow: authoritarianism, rigidity, inflexibility, abuse of power, machismo, domination, tyrannical father. The Emperor's trap is to confuse order with absolute control, or authority with imposition. His karmic lesson is that true power serves, does not subjugate.
Also known as
- L'Empereur
- The Emperor
- The Archetypal Father