Cosmic Tribe Tarot
IV - EMPEROR
All hail the father of our people, defender of the gates, builder of civilization. We sing proudly of his victories as our own. He sees the potential of consciousness and makes us agents of creation in the universe. He commands us to manipulate the elements; and from air we breathe our first words; and from stones the temple walls arise; and from rivers the irrigated channels flow, and from fire rockets pierce the heavens. We are given a place and a purpose. Long live the Emperor!
In the card, warm sun energy radiates down in reds and golds. The sun is the Emperor's symbol. It illuminates and organizes the universe. Another sun symbol burns beneath him in its role as the center of a solar system orbited by planets like ours. A hand, the tool that crafts civilization, encompasses the lower sun and holds the cosmic eye. The cosmic eye and the sun are symbols of order based on light. The cosmic eye emits, and the human eye receives the emission. Thus the hand, the eye and the sun depend on each other to build the empire. This is the vision of the Emperor and is the origin of his mythological divinity. The Emperor is enclosed by a carved stone frame of four-sides showing the strength and utility of architecture. The top of the throne is capped with two rams heads, symbols of Aries, the first sign of the zodiac and the beginning of the division of time into finite periods. He holds in his right hand a phallus-like sceptre. It represents his ability to direct the forces of nature in the manner of a conductor leading musicians. A mirrored metallic orb passes over his left hand as it moves elliptically around the sun above him. It symbolizes his dependence on the earth as the base for his ambitious projects. The lines of his arms and torso form a triangle that rests on a cross made by his lower body. This is the alchemical sign for sulfur, which the medievals believed to be the fiery aspect of the active male force in nature. His limbs and torso draw the number four with the numerological meaning of stability that also reflects the order of his card in the Tarot. In attitude, he looks back towards the Empress both to honor her and to keep a watchful eye on her. She provides the raw materials for his practical world, but she also generates the destructive agents that periodically reduce his best efforts to rubble.
The Emperor is the organizing and governing principle within each of us. He sculpts the profusion of nature into civilization with the tools of the eye and linear time. Through the languages of words, music and science, he orders experience. Human culture flourishes because peace creates the stability for procreation and artistic creation. But, ordering the Empress' garden for our own needs requires selection for some beings and exclusion for others. This is a delicate task and the Emperor excels at it by acting rationally and being responsible for the outcome. But the Emperor can become careless and greedy and order things for his own selfish aggrandizement. Then he is a tyrant. He forgets that the Empress is his equal and not his subject. His reason and her intuition must act in tandem in order for the garden to produce a sustainable environment for humanity and company.
