Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The Earthy Power of the Empress

This morning I drew the Empress from my Stone Tarot deck. I absolutely love the rich, vibrant colors, and the slight imperfections in the proportions which give so many of the cards in this deck an earthy, rustic, handcrafted quality that attracts me so much. My favorite detail is the way in which the stars around her head appear to radiate light.

I've pulled the Empress many times over the past few months, and I like being in her company. There are many facets to her energy, and the theme of "motherhood" often comes to mind. Mother of children, of crafts, of ideas and special projects, mother of earth's rich bounty.
Stone Tarot/A. Stone
Incidentally, about five minutes after pulling this card, my son came to me complaining of an "ouchie" on his leg, so we went together to my herb shelf and I smoothed some homemade calendula salve onto his skin. The connection to the Empress was not lost on me, and in fact I was just considering this perhaps a week ago: the joy and satisfaction of being able to care for my family through the aid of the natural realm. One day not long ago I found myself soothing small wounds, and making herbal teas to help treat an upper respiratory infection that had afflicted a couple of the people in my home. As I moved from kitchen to herb cupboard, from person to person, I was filled with a certain empowerment that comes from being able to do something productive when one you love is not well. This is rich with Empress energy.
My herb shelf: salve, lemon balm, elder flowers (O. Destrades)
There is another quality of the Empress that is less spoken of: she is a leader. Of course, her very name denotes a woman of power but in Tarot we tend to think of the Emperor as in control of order - the great architect that provides structure to our lives. The Empress is a ruler, too, however. While she does, to some extent, consider form and structure (just as the Emperor does have a heart for humanity), her primary strength lies in her people-centered approach: wisdom, kindness, strength, caring and advocating for others in the context of larger organizations.

I have indeed found myself doing quite a bit of advocating in the past week, working diligently to make sure that the voices of my colleagues were heard by those in 'high places.' I was pleasantly rewarded with the satisfaction of finding a way to bridge the expectations of management with the needs of the faculty, a sensation very similar to the one I experience when applying carefully crafted salves to my children's cuts and scrapes.

As I type this post, a lamb and barley stew is simmering away on the stove, filling the house with a savory aroma. Every few moments I pause to mediate a sibling dispute, and as soon as I finish typing I'll be heading out to the backyard to weed my garden, full of rosemary, sage, mint, lavender, and lemon balm. The Empress, in these ways, lives within and through me. That, alone, is a comforting meditation.

6 comments:

  1. Your relationship to The Empress feels so natural and embodied. I love reading about your healing salves and herbs and how you are medicine-woman to your beloveds. I've had to learn to cultivate The Empress and mothering has allowed this archetype to shape me, to flourish into the beautiful and complex garden that being a mother is. The Stone Tarot Empress depiction is wonderful!

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    1. Thank you for your lovely, and very poetic, words! It is amazing how motherhood transforms us. It certainly is a complex garden - what a great analogy!

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  2. I love how you see the Empress in many different realms of your life, not restricting either her energy or your own. So amazing to create your own salves! :)

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    1. Thank you! I used to think that salve-making was so intimidating, until I made my first one and realized how simple it really is (and very satisfying, too!).

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  3. What an emotionally satisfying read. I feel a little more earthed just reading it. Thank you BB

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