Card 4:
The Emperor
© 2006 Honora Finkelstein
The Emperor sits squarely on a throne
of solid rock, in front of a vista of rocky mountains, all of which
signify solidity and strength. He is the monarch who rules the
kingdom, and when you get this card, it implies power over all
circumstances and success in all endeavors.
In the Waite-Ryder pack the emperor
faces forward, but in the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) pack, which
has some variations in symbolism, the Emperor looks to his right,
facing the direction where sits the Empress, should the cards be
laid out in order. The Emperor needs his Empress in order to be
whole, for a man cannot be master of his house until his consort has
children. This is a sort of Western version of the Eastern yin-yang
symbol, which requires a balance of the black and the white, the
masculine and feminine, in order for wholeness to exist.
The water that flowed from the High
Priestess (representing subconscious thought) and across the card of
the Empress (who represents self-consciousness) also flows behind
the Emperor, who represents reason or rationality. He symbolizes the
ability of the mind to take the mental images (generated by the
mistress of creative power, the Empress) and to build them in the
material world of form through reasoned thought. The card carries
the number four—in the Waite-Ryder pack as a Roman numeral, and in
the BOTA pack both as an Arabic number at the bottom of the card and
in the positioning of the Emperor’s crossed legs, which form another
Arabic number 4. This positioning of the legs was found among the
symbols of the Templars, who established one of the greatest
building programs of churches, cathedrals, towers, etc., across
Europe in the Middle Ages, all of which seem to have been built not
only with knowledge of architecture but also with knowledge of
astrology. Hence, what the Emperor builds is intended to make that
which is below correspond to that which is above and vice versa—it
is up to him to take the spiritual dimension and to build it into
the physical world.
The number four, sometimes referred
to as the number of the builder because it is the number of sides of
a square (and in the BOTA card, the Emperor’s throne is actually
just a cube of stone), is related also to order, regulation, and
supervision. The word “supervising” literally means overseeing,
and the physical sense of sight is often attributed to the Emperor.
And in both the Waite-Ryder pack and the BOTA deck, we find the
symbol of the ram on the Emperor’s throne, as well as the
astrological sign of Aries on the top of his crown. Aries, the ram,
is a fire sign, which is said to rule the head and the function of
sight.
As the yang to the Empress’s yin, the
Emperor is forever thrusting out into the world to make things new,
to build and rebuild his surroundings. He is a pioneer, an initiator
of new things, an adventurer, and a great leader. He is a
father-figure, the authority in charge, the master of all he
surveys. Hence, should you draw this card, you can expect that what
you are currently building will be solidly grounded, orderly, and
most of all, supportive of success. |
