IV The Emperor

From our first experience of Nature and Mother and the realm of the senses, we now move to Major Arcana card number four, The Emperor, representing Father and Society. Society can be seen as abstract laws and authority that exist in accordance with or, in some undesirable cases, in attempted dominance over, the physical laws of nature. These laws and authority create order and stability out of the sometimes chaotic natural world.

One might see society as married to nature. In the best cases human society co-exists in harmony with nature, stewarding it for the good of all beings. This harmony, this stability and wisdom, enable a society to function and people to flourish. In the worst cases, society’s unjust laws take precedence over morality, and repression takes hold. But, again, in the best cases, the Emperor archetype provides for our physical needs. He provides order, provides a place, provides a system, in which the seeds of civilization and culture may grow.

Let’s look at the symbolism within the card. Notice that the Emperor is wearing a suit of armor. His armor protects but is also cold, hard, and rigid. The mountains behind him are solid and imposing. They represent wisdom, but here nothing grows. Their barrenness indicates a sense of sterility that comes with a life of rules.

The river running through the background of the card is a thin trickle. The idea being that we may find some emotion in the laws of society but not much. The river here is nothing like the free-flowing river of life we see in The Empress. This is, after all, a card of order not of emotion.

The Emperor wears a crown, indicating his authority. In his right hand he holds an ankh, signifying the power of life but also the power of death under the law. In his left hand he holds an orb, representing the world over which he rules. His beard represents wisdom. His robe is red, the color of action. His cape is purple, the color of royalty. His throne of stone is solidity itself.

The ram heads on this throne represent Aries, the first sign of the Zodiac, and symbolize the new life that emerges from a stable society. They also represent force, aggression, and the power to make war.

The Emperor sits in the middle of the first row of the Major Arcana, at its balancing point, if you will, symbolizing the balance that is a hallmark of a just society.

At this point in our journey through the archetypes we are absorbing the rules. Here we form an understanding of our society, its codes, laws, and norms. After having absorbed these, we can move past them into a more personal code of conduct. But that comes later, first we must learn the societal structures into which we’ve been born.

And that is The Emperor.