4 - The Emperor Tarot Card
The Emperor is tarot card number 4, although it is the 5th card of the Major Arcana because the 1st of the 22 Major Arcana cards is number 0 (The Fool).
The Emperor tarot card is probably the most regal card in the tarot
deck (more so than any of the four Kings). A major theme of
this card is that of fair and logical authority arising from
discipline and a strong character.
The Emperor himself is usually depicted sat on an elabourate throne while holding symbolic objects that represent his royalty and authority.
When the Emperor tarot card appears in a reading, the card may refer
to a person - possibly the querent (which is another word for the sitter), or to a significant influence on the sitter - especially
a male person in authority such as a father, grandfather,
boss, business executive, or official.
Alternatively, the presence of the Emperor tarot card in a spread or reading might indicated the need for
a supportive authoritatively balancing influence in the situation.
It may also invite questions about the extent to which the
situation is sufficiently, or excessively, organized.
Note: The image of this tarot card shown on the right (above-right) is from an early French tarot deck that has been made available for general use via the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. This shows a distinctly different style of illustration from that of modern tarot decks but is of historical and artistic interest.
More about the Major Arcana
The cards of the Major Arcana are widely considered to be the
most powerful cards in the Tarot Deck. The 22 cards of the Major
Arcana tell a complete story when arranged in upright and numerical
order (beginning with 0 - The
Fool then progressing through the sequence of Major Arcana cards until 21 - The World).
This is a story of personal development and enlightenment
that is sometimes referred to as "The Fool's Journey".
Some texts also include meanings for "reversed
cards". These are for the situation in which the cards are shuffled in both
order and orientation. The theoretical advantage to this is that
it effectively doubles the number of possible "cards" in
the deck from 78 to 156. However, in terms of the calculation
of obtaining results according to chance alone, it is not a simple
mathematical doubling because once a card has been drawn it cannot be drawn again in the opposite orientation in the same reading.
Click here for more Major Arcana cards
