IV - The Emperor

Description:

The Emperor in the Tarot of the Spirit is a bearded regal man sitting on a gray cubic throne.  His face is in profile, looking to his right.  On his head is a close-fitting gold helmet trimmed in red, with blue sides.  There is a white circle at the front of the helmet, positioned over the center of the Emperor’s forehead. He is wearing red armor, with yellow sleeves.  His legs are covered with what looks to be red-yellow chain mail.  The Emperor’s boots are in the form of bald eagles.  His right leg is crossed over and resting on his left leg, similar to the figure 4. 

In his right hand the Emperor holds a long gold staff, topped with a circle and cross bar (the sign of Venus).  In his left hand is a downward-pointing gold sword, with a rams-headed hilt. 

The Emperor sits behind/within/in front of (!?) a window, with the 4 panes intersecting in a white cross in the middle of the Emperor’s head, obscuring his eyes.  A vertical bar from the windowpane continues down in a line terminating at the Emperor’s groin.  Behind the Emperor is a light-blue upward-pointing triangle, and behind that a darker blue triangle, both of their apexes converging at the central point at the top of the window. 

The sides of the gray cubic throne are covered with small black marks.  On the bottom left of the cube is the Hebrew letter Heh, and on the bottom right is the symbol for Aries.  The ground in front of the cube has green and blue streams.  Behind the cube is pitch black. 

Symbology:

The Emperor is attributed to the Hebrew letter Heh, which means Window.  He is called the “Constituting Intelligence”, and is he who constitutes form and architects the universe.  He sits before/behind/within the window; he *is* the window, and frames the constitution of the world. 

The circle at the center of his forehead is the all-seeing third eye, the pineal gland connecting the autonomic and the spinal nervous systems.  This intersection of the physical and spiritual is also indicated by the 2 X’s on the walls to the right and left of the Emperor.  2 intersecting lines makes 4 lines:  2 X 2 = 4 = the 4^th Key of the Tarot = The Emperor.

The pyramids behind the Emperor frame him in descending Light from the Source above, and combined with his crossed leg depicts the alchemical symbol of sulfur, a symbol of the Divine Fire of Creation.  This is echoed in the rams-headed sword, and in the astrological attribution to Aries, dynamic beginnings. 

Divinatory Meaning:
(from "Tarot of the Spirit" companion book, by Pamela Eakins) 

• Build a firm base of clear knowledge

• Do not become too rigid

• Remain open and lucid

• To retain control, know and serve a higher force

• Build your world in beauty and light

• Do not forget that the Emperor remains Emperor because he has a global sense of things that others do not necessarily possess, yet he will be overthrown if he does not serve his constituents.

• To remain in power, use your insight and serve those around you

Personal Reflections:

The Emperor is 4:  1 is the point/source of Light (Kether), 2 is the line/father/phallus (Chokmah), 3 is the triangle/yoni and the gestation of form (Binah), and 4 is the square, form in actuality and stability.  The Emperor has matters firmly in hand, with the staff of Venus (Female Attraction) in his right-hand and the sword of Aries (Male Force of Creation) in his left.