"Set all things in their own particular place, and know that order is the greates grace.” – John Dryden
I met the Emperor a couple of weeks ago. No, he was not wearing any regales that could tell me that he belongs to a special cast of humans J I have this habit of asking the cards every time I meet a new person. So this time was no exception. “What does this person represent?” “What energy does this person bring to my life?” The answer was – The Emperor.
But it wouldn’t be that interesting if the guy I am talking about wouldn’t have read this blog. And after that, wouldn’t have googled one of those online tarot readings and wouldn’t have drawn the Emperor himself! He complained though that the brief description provided with the card did not resonate with him at all, meaning that he didn’t see himself as materialistic as the description suggested.
Funny enough, the first four letters of his name – “raja” – mean “king” in his language. The King, The Zar, The Emperor… Quite straightforward! He used to study IT and then switched to Business Administration – the disciplines that are not abstract and speculative. He is straightforward, bold, intellectually developed, eloquent, and full of poise. He claims that philosophy is his passion and that he’s good at psychological analysis people.
When I look at the Emperor, the 4th major arcana, I notice that his gaze is turned rightward, so that if you follow it, you come to see The Empress (card 3), his wife. However, if you look leftward, you’ll see the Hierophant (or the Pope). The ruler of the kingdom is squeezed in between the material, earthly, motherly influence of the Empress and the spiritual, religious, philosophical, and highly traditional influence of the Hierophant, thus representing both of them as a result. This being said, I do not agree with those Taroists who perceive the Emperor as a purely material actor.
For some reason the card number 4 evokes the image of the famous King Solomon who was known to be great in wisdom, wealth, and power. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Solomon is commemorated as a saint, with the title of "Righteous Prophet and King." As any king, Solomon indulged himself in many sinful pleasures, the biggest of which being idolatry, while building temples (on most Russian icons he’s portrayed holding a model of a temple in one hand).
The Emperor is a card of leadership, often at a higher level. It represents stable government, worldly wealth and power, authority, self-discipline and the rule of law. There is passion (signified by red as the dominant color of the card), but intellect dominates intuition. He is a leader with gravity, authority, and dignity who is parental in attitude. The knight’s armor under his clothes indicates that although now he is just sitting on his throne, he’s ready to get up any minute and fight for what is important to him, be it of physical or spiritual value.
The qualities assigned to the Emperor's archetype include organization, analysis, leadership, categorization, problem-solving, logical and strategic planning.
