The Empress: tarot card meaning

General meaning

The Empress is abundance, creativity, and growth. What you've planted is blossoming. It's a good time to nurture, to create, and to enjoy life's simple pleasures.

In love

In love it's one of the most fertile cards: the relationship grows, with tenderness and mutual care. It can point to commitment, building a home, or in its traditional sense, pregnancy and family.

At work

At work it announces projects bearing fruit and a productive environment. Creative ventures are especially favored. Tend your team and your work patiently: the harvest is coming.

The Empress reversed

Reversed, it speaks of creative block, of neglecting yourself while caring for everyone else, or of smothering dependence. Nourish yourself first: you can't pour from an empty cup.

Sources: Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911); tradición RWS

Frequently asked questions

What does The Empress mean in tarot?

The Empress is abundance, creativity, and growth. What you've planted is blossoming. It's a good time to nurture, to create, and to enjoy life's simple pleasures.

What does The Empress mean in love?

In love it's one of the most fertile cards: the relationship grows, with tenderness and mutual care. It can point to commitment, building a home, or in its traditional sense, pregnancy and family.

What does The Empress reversed mean?

Reversed, it speaks of creative block, of neglecting yourself while caring for everyone else, or of smothering dependence. Nourish yourself first: you can't pour from an empty cup.