IV. The Emperor

[sweeneyish]

IV. The Emperor 

 

 

The Emperor sits up on a narrow, stone pedestal, striking a pose. I almost imagine he is posing for a picture or painting. He holds a thin, stone sceptre, topped with a crescent moon. According to Valenza, the crescent moon on the staff symbolizes the Emperor's materialization of dreams into reality. He points one finger at his head, signifying the importance he places on the mind over the heart. He has pinned a demon to the floor with his staff and his clawed boot. The demon looks quite tamed now (to me, anyways). He's kind of cute! According to Valenza, the Emperor has to maintain his pressure on the demon or it will get loose and wreak havoc on the city again. 

 

The checkered floor from the Empress card recurs here, and his boots are very similar to her's as well. The boot here has a higher heel, and reminds me of the claws of a velociraptor. He is very tightly put together. His clothes are very fine and exact, he has a deliberate pose, and every element of his presentation to the world seems preplanned. The city sprawls behind him, a labyrinth of red brick buildings. He is the portrait of confidence and strength, but he also appears to be so tightly wound that the smallest upset to his plans could cause him to explode. 

 

He and the Empress look away from each other when placed in order. I find it very interesting how they almost mirror each other with their hand implements, with each implement embodying their character. The Empress holds the glowing flower, a symbol of growth, fertility, and beauty, while the Emperor holds a narrow, thin, and rigid rod which he uses to submit others to his will. 

 

Keywords: intelligence, strength, domination, control, power, strategy, goal orientation, focus, brittle 

 

Some questions for your consideration: 

1. Was this Emperor democratically elected? Selected by some kind of monarchy? Or has he become ruler through pure conquest? 

 

2. What (if anything) do the Emperor and Empress have in common? How did their relationship come about? 

 

3. What exactly is he Emperor of? A city-state, a country, a particular suit? 

 

4. If you met the Emperor, what kind of wisdom would he share with you? 

[AnomalyTempest]

I will ponder these questions more later but when I read your question about how the relationship with the Emperor came about, a joke popped into my mind. Can't remember where I heard it but it's something along the lines of, "She said she wanted to be treated like a princess so I tried to marry her to the Duke of Moldavia to form an alliance." I think it's because they are not looking at each other. They just seem like it was an arranged marriage and they have not quite figured out how to combine their energies.

[sweeneyish]

20 hours ago, AnomalyTempest said:

I will ponder these questions more later but when I read your question about how the relationship with the Emperor came about, a joke popped into my mind. Can't remember where I heard it but it's something along the lines of, "She said she wanted to be treated like a princess so I tried to marry her to the Duke of Moldavia to form an alliance." I think it's because they are not looking at each other. They just seem like it was an arranged marriage and they have not quite figured out how to combine their energies.

 

I really like this! Definitely their energies are so opposed, and their body language so distant, that it's hard to imagine the marriage wasn't arranged or preplanned. 

[AnomalyTempest]

1. Was this Emperor democratically elected? Selected by some kind of monarchy? Or has he become ruler through pure conquest? 

    I have never really thought about an Emperor being elected. Does that even happen? I mean one might be elected and then make oneself emperor but that doesn't mean one was elected to be Emperor. It's always struck me as something taken.

 

2. What (if anything) do the Emperor and Empress have in common? How did their relationship come about? 

   Given the above could he have forced her into marriage to take her kingdom? I mean he might have a city but food and resources don't come from cities. They are taken from the surrounding areas.

 

3. What exactly is he Emperor of? A city-state, a country, a particular suit? 

    I guess I just assumed he was the Emperor of the city, and with the Empress he now rules the countryside as well.

 

4. If you met the Emperor, what kind of wisdom would he share with you? 

    You have MAKE things happen. Creation should have a purpose and not be done for it's own sake. (Personally I like creation for creation's sake so I side with the Empress here.) I just see him as being forceful. Not that he necessarily has ill will towards anything it's just his method and worldview.

•  

[Flaxen]

Great questions again @sweeneyish!

 

Here are my thoughts:

1. Was this Emperor democratically elected? Selected by some kind of monarchy? Or has he become ruler through pure conquest? 
My feeling is that this Emperor represents an older form of rulership - one where he may have been chosen by a small group of nobles on account of his strength. He was seen as strong, capable, disciplined, ruthless when needed  - qualities needed to hold a kingdom together (or even expand it).

 

2. What (if anything) do the Emperor and Empress have in common? How did their relationship come about? 

They strike me as very different people. She represents the Land and theirs is an old union - marriage to the ‘goddess’ of the land is what grants him sovereignty. He cannot rule without her blessing as she could withdraw her power at any time and leave the land infertile. Equally, he places some limits on her wild nature and tames it. The land needs some controlling/structured activity in order to produce enough food for the people. They bring necessary balance and limits to each other’s power.

 

3. What exactly is he Emperor of? A city-state, a country, a particular suit? 
I see him very much as a city person - he is happiest among the trappings of human civilisation. He likes its laws, structure and culture although he understands the need for wild places too. 

 

4. If you met the Emperor, what kind of wisdom would he share with you? 

He would remind me that I cannot always let things run wild. Structure, discipline and rules are important too as otherwise things can become chaotic. Maintaining strong boundaries is essential for personal integrity. 

[AnomalyTempest]

2 minutes ago, Flaxen said:

1. Was this Emperor democratically elected? Selected by some kind of monarchy? Or has he become ruler through pure conquest? 
My feeling is that this Emperor represents an older form of rulership - one where he may have been chosen by a small group of nobles on account of his strength. He was seen as strong, capable, disciplined, ruthless when needed  - qualities needed to hold a kingdom together (or even expand it).

 

 

2. What (if anything) do the Emperor and Empress have in common? How did their relationship come about? 

They strike me as very different people. She represents the Land and theirs is an old union - marriage to the ‘goddess’ of the land is what grants him sovereignty. He cannot rule without her blessing as she could withdraw her power at any time and leave the land infertile. Equally, he places some limits on her wild nature and tames it. The land needs some controlling/structured activity in order to produce enough food for the people. They bring necessary balance and limits to each other’s power.

I love your take on these two question. I definitely didn't think of the "Old Gods/Religions" angle but it does seem to better encapsulate what I was thinking. Definitely puts it in a more positive light at any rate.

[sweeneyish]

2 hours ago, AnomalyTempest said:

4. If you met the Emperor, what kind of wisdom would he share with you? 

    You have MAKE things happen. Creation should have a purpose and not be done for it's own sake. (Personally I like creation for creation's sake so I side with the Empress here.) I just see him as being forceful. Not that he necessarily has ill will towards anything it's just his method and worldview.

 

I like this a lot. He is definitely a "pull you up by the bootstraps" kind of person. Order! Make it happen!

 

58 minutes ago, Flaxen said:

Great questions again @sweeneyish!

 

Here are my thoughts:

1. Was this Emperor democratically elected? Selected by some kind of monarchy? Or has he become ruler through pure conquest? 
My feeling is that this Emperor represents an older form of rulership - one where he may have been chosen by a small group of nobles on account of his strength. He was seen as strong, capable, disciplined, ruthless when needed  - qualities needed to hold a kingdom together (or even expand it).

 

 

2. What (if anything) do the Emperor and Empress have in common? How did their relationship come about? 

They strike me as very different people. She represents the Land and theirs is an old union - marriage to the ‘goddess’ of the land is what grants him sovereignty. He cannot rule without her blessing as she could withdraw her power at any time and leave the land infertile. Equally, he places some limits on her wild nature and tames it. The land needs some controlling/structured activity in order to produce enough food for the people. They bring necessary balance and limits to each other’s power.

 

3. What exactly is he Emperor of? A city-state, a country, a particular suit? 
I see him very much as a city person - he is happiest among the trappings of human civilisation. He likes its laws, structure and culture although he understands the need for wild places too. 

 

4. If you met the Emperor, what kind of wisdom would he share with you? 

He would remind me that I cannot always let things run wild. Structure, discipline and rules are important too as otherwise things can become chaotic. Maintaining strong boundaries is essential for personal integrity. 

 

I was thinking along the same lines as you for the rulership - maybe because of that one massive TdM book, of which I can't remember the author or title right now (useful, right?). Anyways, he does a deep dive on the different kinds of Emperor, and that's how this one strikes me. 

 

I love the balance you found in the relationship. That is so interesting. His order can't survive without her wildness, and vice versa. Super cool - it brings a lot of new dimensions for me to both cards. 

 

I also appreciate how you made the Emperor feel more three dimensional and alive, and also less negative. Along with the Hierophant, this is not a card I relate to easily. You showed me his worth!

 

And finally, just an interesting observation for you all - I was going through the suits out of curiosity after this discussion of the Empress ruling the wilds, and the only suit that is shown in more rural/country/forest locations is the suit of Wands. The Pentacles and Swords are in cities, while the Cups are in this seaside city or on the beach. 

[AnomalyTempest]

Perhaps the wands, pents and swords are their previous subjects and the cups (being both in nature and and town) are the ones born under their joint rule.

[Flaxen]

13 hours ago, sweeneyish said:

And finally, just an interesting observation for you all - I was going through the suits out of curiosity after this discussion of the Empress ruling the wilds, and the only suit that is shown in more rural/country/forest locations is the suit of Wands. The Pentacles and Swords are in cities, while the Cups are in this seaside city or on the beach. 

That is interesting! It also fits with how I tend to see the Batons in Marseilles decks as an ‘earthy’ suit. 
 

One thing I would suggest also is that all inhabitants have that wild side - some are better at keeping up ‘civilised’ appearances than others. There are certainly a few cards which show a more wild, untamed nature despite being city dwellers. It’s like how our brain has older, instinctual parts and also the ‘thinking’ parts. The Emperor and Empress can be seen as those two parts of ourselves - an older programme and a newer ‘upgrade’ which try and run alongside each other.

 

Does that make sense to anyone else? This may just be my ramblings. 😀

[Flaxen]

12 hours ago, AnomalyTempest said:

Perhaps the wands, pents and swords are their previous subjects and the cups (being both in nature and and town) are the ones born under their joint rule.

I like this idea - the Cups seem like a natural fit for that sort of blending and merging. 

[sweeneyish]

5 hours ago, Flaxen said:

One thing I would suggest also is that all inhabitants have that wild side - some are better at keeping up ‘civilised’ appearances than others. There are certainly a few cards which show a more wild, untamed nature despite being city dwellers. It’s like how our brain has older, instinctual parts and also the ‘thinking’ parts. The Emperor and Empress can be seen as those two parts of ourselves - an older programme and a newer ‘upgrade’ which try and run alongside each other.

 

Does that make sense to anyone else? This may just be my ramblings. 😀

 

I like this - and in some ways, the appearance of the Deviant Moon has drawn out some of the wilder tendencies of all the inhabitants (see The Moon card where the King and Queen let loose in some jubilant dancing). 

 

Thank you both for all of your contributions to our little club so far. You've made me think about the cards in new and interesting ways, and each comment you all make helps deepen my connection to this wondrous deck. Much gratitude to you both!

[sweeneyish]

And the spread, and my chance to subject you to my horrible writing! I didn’t want to get my computer out on the weekend. The questions are (in case you can’t read my writing):

 

1. How can I take charge of my mind?

 

2. How can I harness my subconscious?

 

3. How can I transform my mental energy into victory?

 

 

[Flaxen]

Nice spread @sweeneyish! That looks very useful. 
 

I’m also enjoying the discussion with you both. It definitely helps to broaden my perspective on the cards. 

[AnomalyTempest]

I was looking for the Emperor in the this deck to be the significator for this spread as I have been doing with each of our study cards and I found myself saying, "Come on Mr. Fancypants. Where are you?" Why did I share this? Who knows. It might be important later.

 

I finally found him and thought, "He looks like he smells something bad."

 

At this point I decided to proceed with the reading and began to shuffle my cards. I shuffled while thinking of the overall theme of the spread (The Emperor) and then shuffling more as I pondered each question individually. I laid out the cards in the order shown above and positioned our Fancypants Emperor in the center. You will see all the cards flipped over but I turned and interpreted them one at a time.

 

1. How can I take charge of my mind?

    Knight of Wands: 🎼Here he comes to save the day! I laughed out loud. I forgot the question and had to look at my notes. Oh yeah, Take charge. 🤣 That's exactly what this emperor would say, especially as he's the significator and therefore cannot choose himself. Only this knight could get his message across. Kudos to you Emperor Fancypants. I see what you did there.

 

2. How can I harness my subconscious?

    Page of Swords: One does not usually associate swords with the subconscious but look at this guy shining a light out of his subconscious side. Now I have been considering an action that could be represented by this quite well but I have been debating in my head. Perhaps this course I've been debating is exactly what I need. You are beginning to look like a crafty one Emperor Fancypants. You can see beyond what the obvious and find the exact solution. (Swords for subconscious. pretty genius.)

 

3. How can I transform my mental energy into victory?

    The Devil:  SHUT UP FANCYPANTS! Do I have to admit I've been weighing the cost of the course against how many Deviant Inc decks I could get instead? And also why am I hearing The Devil Went Down to Georgia? He looks more like he's playing an invisible piano (a la Jerry Lee) instead. Looking at him under the Emperor we can see Fancypants appears to be engaged in a little sympathetic magic. He seems to have the Devil dancing to his tune. Talk about control. I need to grab my personal devil and stomp the crap out of it. OOORRR... It's okay to play with the Devil (i.e. get more Deviant decks) but I need to handle my responsibilities first. The course certainly falls under responsibility.

 

Looks like I was judging this guy from the point of view of the Empress being "forced" forced into marrying. Even with the "old gods" approach he was still coming off as a bit of a jerk. I mean this guy was maybe just as much a "victim" of this marriage as the Empress and perhaps how they can find common ground. Fate may have put them together but many arranged marriages work. At least he seems to get his job done well and with a lot more humor than I would have expected. 

 

@sweeneyishI had so much fun with this spread. It was an absolute blast. Thanks!

Edited May 2, 2022 by AnomalyTempest

[sweeneyish]

23 minutes ago, AnomalyTempest said:

I was looking for the Emperor in the this deck to be the significator for this spread as I have been doing with each of our study cards and I found myself saying, "Come on Mr. Fancypants. Where are you?" Why did I share this? Who knows. It might be important later.

 

I finally found him and thought, "He looks like he smells something bad."

 

At this point I decided to proceed with the reading and began to shuffle my cards. I shuffled while thinking of the overall theme of the spread (The Emperor) and then shuffling more as I pondered each question individually. I laid out the cards in the order shown above and positioned our Fancypants Emperor in the center. You will see all the cards flipped over but I turned and interpreted them one at a time.

 

1. How can I take charge of my mind?

    Knight of Wands: 🎼Here he comes to save the day! I laughed out loud. I forgot the question and had to look at my notes. Oh yeah, Take charge. 🤣 That's exactly what this emperor would say, especially as he's the significator and therefore cannot choose himself. Only this knight could get his message across. Kudos to you Emperor Fancypants. I see what you did there.

 

2. How can I harness my subconscious?

    Page of Swords: One does not usually associate swords with the subconscious but look at this guy shining a light out of his subconscious side. Now I have been considering an action that could be represented by this quite well but I have been debating in my head. Perhaps this course I've been debating is exactly what I need. You are beginning to look like a crafty one Emperor Fancypants. You can see beyond what the obvious and find the exact solution. (Swords for subconscious. pretty genius.)

 

3. How can I transform my mental energy into victory?

    The Devil:  SHUT UP FANCYPANTS! Do I have to admit I've been weighing the cost of the course against how many Deviant Inc decks I could get instead? And also why am I hearing The Devil Went Down to Georgia? He looks more like he's playing an invisible piano (a la Jerry Lee) instead. Looking at him under the Emperor we can see Fancypants appears to be engaged in a little sympathetic magic. He seems to have the Devil dancing to his tune. Talk about control. I need to grab my personal devil and stomp the crap out of it. OOORRR... It's okay to play with the Devil (i.e. get more Deviant decks) but I need to handle my responsibilities first. The course certainly falls under responsibility.

 

Looks like I was judging this guy from the point of view of the Empress being "forced" forced into marrying. Even with the "old gods" approach he was still coming off as a bit of a jerk. I mean this guy was maybe just as much a "victim" of this marriage as the Empress and perhaps how they can come together. Fate may have put them together but many arranged marriages work. At least he seems to get his job done well and with a lot more humor than I would have expected. 

 

@sweeneyishI had so much fun with this spread. It was an absolute blast. Thanks!

 

Thank you, and honestly, I think I may have enjoyed reading your reading as much as you enjoyed doing it! That was a great one - and wow, so spot on with the cards, especially those two Knights appearing in the positions that they did. I like that the Emperor was so helpful for you. I'm really changing my mind about this dude. 

 

And now I have the Devil Went Down to Georgia stuck in my head too! I dunno, he's one of my favourite cards. Look at him, delighting in all that evil.