Excerpt from Queering the Tarot by Cassandra Snow: "The Empress brings so much of the *heart* to the queer community. The Empress queered is gay or queer bars that are inclusive. The Empress queered is queer open mic nights where anything goes. The Empress queered is letting friends crash on your couch because they have nowhere else to go, buying your friend who doesn’t have a job a coffee to perk them up, handing down your old clothes to someone who’s transitioning. The Empress is also art and creativity. She is, then, any space where queer art thrives or people are creating from their souls. In this concept of creativity, we break down that word and get create. This card shows up when we can have any future we want, and it’s time for us to set that into motion."
I love how you compared the Magician energy vs, the Empress. This makes a lot of sense, and I can see how these two creators are different. I am honored that you mentioned me! I feel heard, so thank you. I like your real life Empress energy examples. I almost showed the Mystical Cats! 💜
Thank you for your Empress video, too, Amy!! Lately I've been noticing and appreciating all the ways Magician and Empress energy show up in the world! It's awesome that we're out here Magicking our videos into existence, adding to our collective knowledge and understanding 😀
Your research, stories, and reflection here have added so much to my understanding of the Empress! I'm still in my first big study of tarot, so I am not a newbie, but not yet intermediate either. I appreciate hearing about challenges with relating to the pregnant Empress, as I find it challenging too. I also found it difficult being pregnant and relating to the pregnancy books that were available (19 years ago). I felt very alienated from them, and their normative, gender-essentialist assumptions. I had to DNF (did-not-finish) and return some of the books because I found them intolerable. I was so grateful for those books that were anti-sexist and/or up-to-date about women's lives and experiences. We also need many more gender-neutral and/or gender-inclusive options for pregnant people! I also appreciated @StrengthReversed 's video. It's true that pregnancy and motherhood/parenthood can cause such far-reaching changes!
Yes to more gender-neutral and gender-inclusive options! Pregnant people come in all shapes and sizes, not just long-haired voluptuous cis women. And we can mother & nurture more things beyond just children. Laura of @aquamarine18 also spoke of cisheteronormativity in the tarot and in depictions of the Empress -- highly recommend watching their Top Tarot Trumps, too! Glad you found this helpful! 💞
I love your crochet flower crown! 💐 I really appreciate your tarot memoirs - I like hearing other people's perspectives on the card meanings 😊 The panda empress is too cute omg 🐼
"la de da, pick a flower, and they're good" 🤣In all seriousness, this is SUCH a great dissection of the Empress archetype. I have many, MANY thoughts. So I think I'm gonna break my comment up into a few replies to get it out of my brain ❤
I too, felt resistance to the Empress (almost in a 'not like other girls' type of way tbh) because motherhood was always something expected of me. I spent years pushing motherhood away to try and shake off my midwest catholic upbringing, but ten years after saying I wouldn't be a mom, I intentionally started planning my family with my partner. It has been the hardest thing ever; I had a fairly straightforward pregnancy and birth, but sustained an injury during delivery that I'm still not healed from six months later. The ways in which motherhood changes you goes so much farther than I could have ever anticipated - I feel like an alien in my own body sometimes, it doesn't work like it used to and I'm facing many challenges while also caring for a little one. My hormones have vastly changed, my hair and nails have changed, and I experienced five months of intense sleep deprivation which just makes your brain work SO differently. I chose to breastfeed but also I work full-time; pumping milk and working with a lactation consultation comes with a whole slew of new challenges. It has transformed every single atom of my existence beyond what I could of imagined. And I did it on PURPOSE which is the wild part.
Something that I think is very distinct about the Magician energy versus the Empress, is when I feel the Magician, I feel at the top of my game, I feel confident, and maybe a little bit brash. I am ready to use the skills I have to create something or be clever in some way. The Empress energy for me is a life changing, upending type of energy, one where I pour my heart and soul into something but I don't necessarily feel comfortable or know what I'm doing. I learn and grow with the Empress the same way whatever I'm working towards grows.
Finally, I think of the 'give and give and give until you have nothing left' energy as an Empress Reversed, or Empress in shadow. I give my heart and soul to raising my sweet baby because I love them and they fill my cup in other ways. But there are days where I feel more in shadow because I'm exhausted and want some time to myself. When you're breast or chest-feeding there is not a single day all to yourself until they are weaned (usually around 12 months or 18 months old) because even if you're separated from them, you have to pump milk to keep up a healthy supply (not to mention it gets super uncomfortable!) Other things in life that have felt like this for me were my Senior thesis in college, Wedding Planning (lol), and fostering kittens. Rewarding, creative, & nurturing endeavors for sure, but experiences that took up a ton of my time. Sometimes I felt like Empress Upright and sometimes I felt like Empress Reversed during those projects.
My favorite Empress cards are from the Lili White Tarot and the Cozy Witch Tarot. The Lili White depicts an Empress with flowers for hair which I think is really cool and shows a wildness element to the card that I want to explore more. The Cozy Witch depicts a person breastfeeding their baby while wearing a face mask. I resonate strongly with this image as someone who as had a child during the era of covid19, and although I haven't gotten covid yet, I DID get really sick when my child was about four months old and for a week I wore a mask whenever breastfeeding them or taking care of them in close proximity. It was tough, but I was determined to keep my child as safe and healthy as possible 💗
Thank you for sharing your journey in family planning and being a mother/parent. I knew that bodies changed during/after pregnancy, but have never heard such detail on how so. Of course there are drastic changes... your body created a whole 'nother human!! "And I did it on PURPOSE which is the wild part" made me laugh 😂 I think that's Empress energy summed up perfectly. We break our backs for the things we love... but we do it ON PURPOSE! And we would do it again! And that sort of love/desire isn't explained, it's just *felt*. Your distinction of Magician vs. Empress makes sense! Magician does feel impulsive and instantaneous, whereas Empress is a much deeper, longer process. Yesss we learn and grow alongside whatever we're creating. 100%! I'm taking notes on this in my commonplace notebook 😀 Always appreciate your kind and insightful words, Jo! What a joy it is to connect with you and share this space together!
Hi Sarah, Thank you for this video and a great insights into how you understand The Empress. Also, thank you for being vulnerable and sharing your personal story about your mum and how you feel about motherhood. 🙏
Hi Sarah! Love the Empress headband!! Almost did not click on this one because, like you, I've never connected to the Empress archetype. I'm over 70 and your monologue could be mine, almost exact same story. Knew from a young age I would never have children. Except my two four-legged ones, that is...that's been a better fit for me! I relate more to the Magician angle of creating ~ really thoughtful discussion, not many channels doing this type of analysis. Thanks for this!
Excerpt from Queering the Tarot by Cassandra Snow:
"The Empress brings so much of the *heart* to the queer community. The Empress queered is gay or queer bars that are inclusive. The Empress queered is queer open mic nights where anything goes. The Empress queered is letting friends crash on your couch because they have nowhere else to go, buying your friend who doesn’t have a job a coffee to perk them up, handing down your old clothes to someone who’s transitioning.
The Empress is also art and creativity. She is, then, any space where queer art thrives or people are creating from their souls. In this concept of creativity, we break down that word and get create. This card shows up when we can have any future we want, and it’s time for us to set that into motion."
I love how you compared the Magician energy vs, the Empress. This makes a lot of sense, and I can see how these two creators are different. I am honored that you mentioned me! I feel heard, so thank you. I like your real life Empress energy examples. I almost showed the Mystical Cats! 💜
Thank you for your Empress video, too, Amy!! Lately I've been noticing and appreciating all the ways Magician and Empress energy show up in the world! It's awesome that we're out here Magicking our videos into existence, adding to our collective knowledge and understanding 😀
Your research, stories, and reflection here have added so much to my understanding of the Empress! I'm still in my first big study of tarot, so I am not a newbie, but not yet intermediate either.
I appreciate hearing about challenges with relating to the pregnant Empress, as I find it challenging too.
I also found it difficult being pregnant and relating to the pregnancy books that were available (19 years ago). I felt very alienated from them, and their normative, gender-essentialist assumptions. I had to DNF (did-not-finish) and return some of the books because I found them intolerable. I was so grateful for those books that were anti-sexist and/or up-to-date about women's lives and experiences. We also need many more gender-neutral and/or gender-inclusive options for pregnant people!
I also appreciated @StrengthReversed 's video. It's true that pregnancy and motherhood/parenthood can cause such far-reaching changes!
Yes to more gender-neutral and gender-inclusive options! Pregnant people come in all shapes and sizes, not just long-haired voluptuous cis women. And we can mother & nurture more things beyond just children. Laura of @aquamarine18 also spoke of cisheteronormativity in the tarot and in depictions of the Empress -- highly recommend watching their Top Tarot Trumps, too!
Glad you found this helpful! 💞
I love your crochet flower crown! 💐 I really appreciate your tarot memoirs - I like hearing other people's perspectives on the card meanings 😊 The panda empress is too cute omg 🐼
Thank you!! It took some time for these reflections to sink in; I'm glad the way I put it together is helpful!😀
"la de da, pick a flower, and they're good" 🤣In all seriousness, this is SUCH a great dissection of the Empress archetype. I have many, MANY thoughts. So I think I'm gonna break my comment up into a few replies to get it out of my brain ❤
I too, felt resistance to the Empress (almost in a 'not like other girls' type of way tbh) because motherhood was always something expected of me. I spent years pushing motherhood away to try and shake off my midwest catholic upbringing, but ten years after saying I wouldn't be a mom, I intentionally started planning my family with my partner. It has been the hardest thing ever; I had a fairly straightforward pregnancy and birth, but sustained an injury during delivery that I'm still not healed from six months later. The ways in which motherhood changes you goes so much farther than I could have ever anticipated - I feel like an alien in my own body sometimes, it doesn't work like it used to and I'm facing many challenges while also caring for a little one. My hormones have vastly changed, my hair and nails have changed, and I experienced five months of intense sleep deprivation which just makes your brain work SO differently. I chose to breastfeed but also I work full-time; pumping milk and working with a lactation consultation comes with a whole slew of new challenges. It has transformed every single atom of my existence beyond what I could of imagined. And I did it on PURPOSE which is the wild part.
Something that I think is very distinct about the Magician energy versus the Empress, is when I feel the Magician, I feel at the top of my game, I feel confident, and maybe a little bit brash. I am ready to use the skills I have to create something or be clever in some way. The Empress energy for me is a life changing, upending type of energy, one where I pour my heart and soul into something but I don't necessarily feel comfortable or know what I'm doing. I learn and grow with the Empress the same way whatever I'm working towards grows.
Finally, I think of the 'give and give and give until you have nothing left' energy as an Empress Reversed, or Empress in shadow. I give my heart and soul to raising my sweet baby because I love them and they fill my cup in other ways. But there are days where I feel more in shadow because I'm exhausted and want some time to myself. When you're breast or chest-feeding there is not a single day all to yourself until they are weaned (usually around 12 months or 18 months old) because even if you're separated from them, you have to pump milk to keep up a healthy supply (not to mention it gets super uncomfortable!) Other things in life that have felt like this for me were my Senior thesis in college, Wedding Planning (lol), and fostering kittens. Rewarding, creative, & nurturing endeavors for sure, but experiences that took up a ton of my time. Sometimes I felt like Empress Upright and sometimes I felt like Empress Reversed during those projects.
My favorite Empress cards are from the Lili White Tarot and the Cozy Witch Tarot. The Lili White depicts an Empress with flowers for hair which I think is really cool and shows a wildness element to the card that I want to explore more. The Cozy Witch depicts a person breastfeeding their baby while wearing a face mask. I resonate strongly with this image as someone who as had a child during the era of covid19, and although I haven't gotten covid yet, I DID get really sick when my child was about four months old and for a week I wore a mask whenever breastfeeding them or taking care of them in close proximity. It was tough, but I was determined to keep my child as safe and healthy as possible 💗
Thank you for sharing your journey in family planning and being a mother/parent. I knew that bodies changed during/after pregnancy, but have never heard such detail on how so. Of course there are drastic changes... your body created a whole 'nother human!! "And I did it on PURPOSE which is the wild part" made me laugh 😂 I think that's Empress energy summed up perfectly. We break our backs for the things we love... but we do it ON PURPOSE! And we would do it again! And that sort of love/desire isn't explained, it's just *felt*.
Your distinction of Magician vs. Empress makes sense! Magician does feel impulsive and instantaneous, whereas Empress is a much deeper, longer process. Yesss we learn and grow alongside whatever we're creating. 100%!
I'm taking notes on this in my commonplace notebook 😀 Always appreciate your kind and insightful words, Jo! What a joy it is to connect with you and share this space together!
These are really good 👍
Hi Sarah, Thank you for this video and a great insights into how you understand The Empress. Also, thank you for being vulnerable and sharing your personal story about your mum and how you feel about motherhood. 🙏
Hi Sarah! Love the Empress headband!! Almost did not click on this one because, like you, I've never connected to the Empress archetype. I'm over 70 and your monologue could be mine, almost exact same story. Knew from a young age I would never have children. Except my two four-legged ones, that is...that's been a better fit for me! I relate more to the Magician angle of creating ~ really thoughtful discussion, not many channels doing this type of analysis. Thanks for this!
It's sweet to hear you're enjoying your life with pets and no children! 😊 Thank you, glad my reflections are insightful for you!