Introduction

Kingdom: A country ruled by a king (or queen).
Empire: A group of countries (under one ruler).

The Empress is the Queen of Queens. Each Queen in the Minor Arcana reigns over one elemental domain. The Queen of Cups is the feminine ruler of Water. The Queen of Pentacles is the feminine ruler of Earth. The Empress is ruler of all 4 Elemental Kingdoms.

In the Rider Waite Smith (RWS) Tarot deck the direction in which the Empress and Queens look is a significant detail. The Queen of Swords faces right, or East, and gestures with her left hand in that direction. She is focused entirely on the future. Her back to the past, no interest in the present. The Queen of Wands is almost with us in the present. Her body is facing front though her attention is drawn to the future with her head turned to the right. The other two Queens are both lost in the past, facing left, or West.

The direction in which a character is facing is an important, subtle and often missed, detail in cartomancy's symbology. It tells us about the querent's state of mind and where their attention and focus is. If someone is unhappy they tend to be lost in the past or worrying about the future. They are never fully in the present moment. If you look closely at each of the RWS's Queens you'll see that they each lack something. The Queen of Wands has no water, The Queen of Swords no vegetation.

The Empress has it all. She is beautifully dressed, wearing a crown, holding a sceptre, has a water running through rich fertile lands, trees in the background and a clear bright yellow sky. There is something missing though. In Tarot you must also be aware of what’s not in the picture, what’s missing, as well as what is there. The tall trees behind her protect her, and her lands, from strong winds. This is the element of Air kept in check and controlled.

Her attention is fully with us. She sits relaxed looking directly at you. She is content and happy with what she has right now. The Empress often represents where a woman wants to be in life.

The Empress embodies femininity, fertility, beauty, creativity, self expression and feminine desires. Her empire is a harmonious blend of all the elements which nurture creativity and growth. Although the RWS deck's Empress shows no child or pregnancy, other decks often depict her either pregnant or nursing a baby or both symbolising fertility. This card can point to a pregnancy or the desire to be fertile and pregnant. The symbology often contains references to Venus, the Greek and Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility. Venus in Latin translates as love or sexual desire. The appearance of The Empress can indicate plans, events or endeavours that have not yet come to fruition but are gestating, growing and receiving, or needing, nurture. As a person she can be a mother, or mother figure.

Numerology: The Empress is card number 3 of the Major Arcana. This is the number of creativity, joy, good fortune, self expression and social gatherings.

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The Empress in a Tarot Reading

The Empress describes the conditions in which life, creativity and contentment can flourish. As the Queen of Queens, she combines the four elemental domains rather than attending to only one. Her abundance is a living environment, with nourishment, beauty and room for growth working together.

Her attention is also in the present. Unlike the Queens whose gaze is drawn towards past or future, she meets the viewer directly. In a reading, this can ask whether you are able to receive and enjoy what is already here while caring for what is still developing.

Upright Meaning

Upright, The Empress can indicate creativity taking a tangible form. A project, home, relationship or personal endeavour may be growing because it is receiving the right mixture of attention and practical support. Development is underway even if the finished result is not yet visible.

The number 3 connects this growth with expression, enjoyment and social life. There may be pleasure in making something, sharing it or creating a place where other people feel welcome. The card's richness is broader than material display: it includes the ability to feel at home in what you have created.

The Empress can represent a mother or nurturing figure, or bring parenting and fertility themes into a question already concerned with them. The image alone cannot establish pregnancy. Its wider principle is the care that helps something new become established.

Upright keywords: nurture, creativity, abundance, growth, beauty, motherhood, expression, contentment, fertile conditions.

Reversed Meaning

Reversed, The Empress may suggest that growth lacks something essential. An idea might receive enthusiasm without practical care, or a household might function efficiently while leaving little space for warmth and enjoyment. Consider which element of nourishment is missing.

Another possibility is care that becomes excessive. Doing everything for someone can prevent their independence, while pouring attention into others can leave your own resources depleted. The reversal can therefore concern either insufficient nurture or a form of nurture that no longer supports healthy development.

It may also describe difficulty enjoying the present because attention remains fixed on what is missing. This is different from pretending real needs do not exist; the task is to see both available abundance and genuine gaps clearly.

Reversed keywords: neglected growth, creative blockage, depleted care, overprotection, discontent, imbalance, dependence, difficulty receiving.

Love and Relationships

In relationships, The Empress can suggest affection expressed through warmth, physical closeness and a welcoming shared life. The partnership may be developing a home, considering family life or simply becoming more comfortable and generous in everyday ways.

Its nurturing quality should circulate between people. Reversed, one partner may become the permanent caregiver while their own needs go unnoticed. Alternatively, comfort may be taken for granted. Ask what makes the relationship feel alive and cared for, rather than assuming that a beautiful appearance or established routine is enough.

Work and Career

At work, The Empress favours developing an idea through patient attention to the conditions it needs. Creative work, a growing business or a collaborative environment may benefit from resources, encouragement and time to mature. The emphasis is cultivation, not forcing an instant result.

Reversed, a project may be launched before it has sufficient support, or constant interference may prevent it finding its own form. Consider what the work actually needs at this stage. More attention is not always better attention, especially when it replaces the freedom to develop.

Money and Finances

For money questions, The Empress can concern material comfort and the use of resources to support a satisfying life. Spending may be directed towards home, food, beauty or the development of something valuable. The question is whether resources nourish lasting wellbeing.

Reversed, purchases may imitate abundance without creating contentment, or generosity may exceed what you can comfortably sustain. Review the balance between enjoying what you have and maintaining the resources that make such enjoyment possible. The card's symbolism of growth does not promise financial returns.

Advice from The Empress

Provide the conditions that make growth possible, then allow it time. Include your own needs within that care. Take notice of what is already flourishing instead of measuring every moment against a future in which everything is finally complete.

Ask yourself: What needs nurturing now, and am I allowing myself to enjoy what has already grown?

The Empress's abundance is most meaningful when it can be lived in, shared and sustained.

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The Empress According to A. E. Waite

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
Arthur Edward Waite (1911)

A stately figure, seated, having rich vestments and royal aspect, as of a daughter of heaven and earth. Her diadem is of twelve stars, gathered in a cluster. The symbol of Venus is on the shield which rests near her. A field of corn is ripening in front of her, and beyond there is a fall of water. The sceptre which she bears is surmounted by the globe of this world. She is the inferior Garden of Eden, the Earthly Paradise, all that is symbolized by the visible house of man. She is not Regina coeli, but she is still refugium peccatorum, the fruitful mother of thousands. There are also certain aspects in which she has been correctly described as desire and the wings thereof, as the woman clothed with the sun, as Gloria Mundi and the veil of the Sanctum Sanctorum; but she is not, I may add, the soul that has attained wings, unless all the symbolism is counted up another and unusual way. She is above all things universal fecundity and the outer sense of the Word. This is obvious, because there is no direct message which has been given to man like that which is borne by woman; but she does not herself carry its interpretation.

In another order of ideas, the card of the Empress signifies the door or gate by which an entrance is obtained into this life, as into the Garden of Venus; and then the way which leads out therefrom, into that which is beyond, is the secret known to the High Priestess: it is communicated by her to the elect. Most old attributions of this card are completely wrong on the symbolism--as, for example, its identification with the Word, Divine Nature, the Triad, and so forth.

Related Tarot Cards

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Introduction

"It's no use crying over spilled milk"

The Tarot imagery for this card is, in general, one of a sad figure lamenting over turned, empty, cups. The spilled water symbolising emotional loss. In the Rider Waite Smith (RWS) deck the person stands with their head bowed, facing left or west, looking at 3 over turned cups. A character who is facing left is focused on past events and, as the spilled cups are on the left, this is a past emotional loss and not something about to happen or in the future. In the RWS card we can't see their face and they wear a black cloak as someone who is in mourning. They have shut themselves off from others. On the right, in the future, are 2 upright cups. If our sad character was to put the past behind them, turn around and move on they'd see that the future offers something new emotionally.

In Numerology the negative aspects of the number 3 are unhappiness, sorrow, heart ache and loss. (See the 3 of Swords). The positive, emotional, attributes of the number 2 can be found in the 2 of Cups. In such a negative card as the 5 of cups these two full cups give hope, pointing to a brighter future. They represent something new to look forward to. The message here is to let the past go, accept what is and move on and embrace new, emotional, possibilities and partnerships.

The 5 of Cups is a card of emotional loss, regret, melancholy, self pity or feeling blue. The element here is Water which relates to love and emotions. In numerology the number 5's positive traits are change, detachment, adaptability and freedom. The negative traits are instability, irresponsibility, carelessness, thoughtlessness and over indulgence.

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5 of Cups in a Tarot Reading

The 5 of Cups looks towards an emotional loss that has already occurred. The figure's attention is on the spilled cups, making the past the centre of the present experience. This is an important distinction: the card need not be forecasting a fresh loss ahead.

The two upright cups remain part of the image even though the figure does not see them. They allow for connection and emotional possibility beyond the disappointment. Their presence does not cancel grief; it asks whether grief has become the only part of the situation receiving attention.

Upright Meaning

Upright, the 5 of Cups can describe sadness, regret or the difficulty of accepting that an emotionally important experience has changed. The loss may concern a relationship, an expectation or a period of life that cannot simply be restored. Its significance deserves acknowledgement.

The number 5 brings instability to Water. Feelings may make it difficult to recognise what remains dependable or what could develop next. The black cloak and turned back suggest withdrawal, which can provide privacy but also reduce access to companionship.

The card's invitation is gradual reorientation. It does not require pretending that the spilled cups never mattered. Recognising the remaining cups means allowing the present to contain more than the loss, including people and possibilities that are not repetitions of what has gone.

Upright keywords: emotional loss, regret, grief, disappointment, past-focused attention, withdrawal, remaining possibilities, acceptance.

Reversed Meaning

Reversed, the 5 of Cups can indicate beginning to turn towards what remains. A conversation, renewed interest or moment of acceptance may make a future connection imaginable again. This can happen while sadness is still present rather than only after it disappears.

Alternatively, regret may become deeply fixed. You may repeatedly revisit what should have happened or isolate yourself from experiences that could provide a different perspective. The reversal can therefore describe either loosening the past's hold or becoming more enclosed within it.

Context and actual behaviour help distinguish the two. Notice whether your life is gradually making room for other feelings and relationships. A hopeful moment is meaningful without needing to prove that the entire process of grieving is complete.

Reversed keywords: acceptance, renewed connection, gradual recovery, persistent regret, emotional isolation, releasing blame, turning towards possibility.

Love and Relationships

In love, the 5 of Cups may concern a separation, disappointment or an old hurt that shapes present expectations. A person can be physically present in a new connection while emotionally facing the one that ended. Recognising this can prevent unfair comparisons.

For an established couple, attention may remain fixed on what went wrong while current attempts at repair go unseen. Reversed, a conversation may reopen emotional contact, or regret may continue to dominate. The card does not require reunion; a different future can be meaningful without restoring the former bond.

Work and Career

At work, this card can describe the emotional impact of a missed opportunity, failed project or ending that mattered personally. The material result is only part of the experience; disappointment may also affect confidence and willingness to participate again.

Reversed, you may begin recognising useful relationships or opportunities that remain. Alternatively, comparison with the lost role can make every current option seem inadequate. Allow the past to inform your choices without requiring the next opportunity to recreate it exactly.

Money and Finances

For finances, the 5 of Cups can concern regret attached to an earlier decision or loss. The emotional response may narrow attention so that remaining resources and present choices are difficult to assess. Separate what has already happened from what can still be managed.

Reversed, a clearer view may begin to emerge, or shame may keep the matter unexamined. The card does not promise that lost money will return. Its practical value is in making room to work with current circumstances without repeatedly reliving the same disappointment.

Advice from the 5 of Cups

Acknowledge what has been lost, then look gently at what remains. You do not have to replace one bond with another or feel ready on a timetable. The next step may simply be allowing someone or something in the present to receive a little attention.

Ask yourself: What is still available emotionally that I cannot see while all my attention remains on the loss?

The 5 of Cups leaves room for a future that honours the past without remaining entirely turned towards it.

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5 of Cups According to A. E. Waite

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
Arthur Edward Waite (1911)

A dark, cloaked figure, looking sideways at three prone cups two others stand upright behind him; a bridge is in the background, leading to a small keep or holding. Divanatory Meanings: It is a card of loss, but something remains over; three have been taken, but two are left; it is a card of inheritance, patrimony, transmission, but not corresponding to expectations; with some interpreters it is a card of marriage, but not without bitterness or frustration. Reversed: News, alliances, affinity, consanguinity, ancestry, return, false projects.

Related Tarot Cards

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Introduction

The thief card. Tarot imagery for this card is, in general, one of an act of theft. In the Rider Waite Smith (RWS) deck a man tip toes away to the left while looking over his shoulder to the right. He's stolen 5 swords leaving only 2 behind, but why didn't he take them all?

The numerology in this imagery is very important and of note. The 7 of Swords is related to the 5 of Swords. In the 5 of Swords our character has achieved his goal through force and direct confrontation. Here in the 7 of Swords the character has used stealth and cunning to achieve the same ends. The remaining 2 swords, that he has turned his back on, represent diplomacy and negotiation. He could have asked for the swords, and been honest about his intentions, but he has chosen to turn his back on that option. These two swords also serve as a link to Judgement and Justice in the Major Arcana. Both cards have numerological values of 2 and this symbolic connection may carry a warning of the consequences of his actions.

Is he smarter than the character in the 5 of Swords? He's avoided the bad publicity of the 5 of Swords open conflict. He would probably argue that his actions hurt no one, he's kept face and not lost friends.

Sometimes it's important to take note of the direction a character is facing when looking at symbolic imagery. In the RWS Deck this character is heading left but looking right. In the 5 of Swords our character looks left. The left represents the past and the right, the future. Our thief is looking to the future but he's heading backwards. He thinks he's being clever but his actions will set him back.

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7 of Swords in a Tarot Reading

The 7 of Swords concerns gaining an advantage through concealment instead of open negotiation. The figure takes five swords while leaving two behind, linking the card with the forceful acquisition of the 5 and the diplomatic option represented by the 2.

The method is quieter, but the underlying question remains: what is being taken or achieved, and what has been avoided to obtain it? Escaping immediate confrontation does not make the action harmless or ultimately successful.

Upright Meaning

Upright, the 7 of Swords can indicate withheld intentions, an evasive approach or an attempt to secure a result without giving others a fair opportunity to respond. The apparent cleverness may lie in avoiding the conversation that an honest agreement would require.

The figure looks towards the future while moving in the opposite direction. This suggests a strategy whose immediate advantage can undermine its longer-term purpose. Trust, cooperation or reputation may matter to the outcome even when the person focuses only on what can be obtained now.

The card can invite scrutiny of your own approach as well as another person's. It does not establish that theft or deception has occurred. Look for concrete inconsistencies and ask whether a straightforward request or negotiation is being bypassed for a reason that deserves examination.

Upright keywords: concealment, evasion, covert advantage, dishonesty, avoided negotiation, hidden intentions, short-term cunning, compromised trust.

Reversed Meaning

Reversed, the 7 of Swords may indicate concealed information becoming visible or a person deciding to abandon an evasive approach. An honest explanation can become necessary when the indirect method no longer works. Repair then depends on what is acknowledged and changed.

Alternatively, avoidance may become more elaborate. More effort can go into preserving the account than into solving the original problem. The reversal can also describe persistent suspicion when the available evidence remains incomplete.

Context helps distinguish disclosure, continued concealment and fear of being misled. Check what can actually be established. The useful response is greater clarity and accountability, not treating the card as permission to accuse someone without evidence.

Reversed keywords: disclosure, exposed inconsistency, honest reconsideration, elaborate avoidance, accountability, suspicion, abandoned deception.

Love and Relationships

In relationships, the 7 of Swords can describe avoiding a conversation about intentions, commitments or behaviour. A person may want the benefit of the connection without allowing the other person to understand the full position. Silence can become a way of directing the outcome.

The card alone is not proof of infidelity. Reversed, a concealed matter may be discussed, or evasiveness may continue. Ask direct, proportionate questions about observable discrepancies. A relationship needs enough honesty for both people to choose their participation with an accurate understanding of it.

Work and Career

At work, this card can concern credit taken quietly, information withheld or a strategy designed to avoid proper discussion. A person may regard the method as efficient because it sidesteps disagreement, while overlooking the cooperation lost when others discover what happened.

Reversed, an irregularity may need explaining or the team may choose a more transparent process. Keep the focus on verifiable actions and responsibilities. An indirect working style is not automatically dishonest, but bypassing an agreement can still create consequences that need addressing.

Money and Finances

For finances, the 7 of Swords can prompt attention to unclear terms, unexplained discrepancies or an arrangement whose full purpose is not being stated. It may also concern your own temptation to avoid a difficult money conversation through omission.

Reversed, a missing detail may emerge or an evasive arrangement may become harder to sustain. Review actual records and ask for clarification before reaching a conclusion. The card symbolises a concern about honesty; it cannot establish that a particular person or transaction is fraudulent.

Advice from the 7 of Swords

Examine the negotiation being avoided. If you are tempted by an indirect advantage, include its effect on trust in your assessment of the cost. If another person's account is unclear, seek the information needed for an informed decision without replacing uncertainty with accusation.

Ask yourself: What open conversation is being avoided, and what might that avoidance cost later?

The 7 of Swords questions a clever escape that gains something now while quietly weakening the future it was meant to secure.

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7 of Swords According to A. E. Waite

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
Arthur Edward Waite (1911)

A man in the act of carrying away five swords rapidly; the two others of the card remain stuck in the ground. A camp is close at hand. Divinatory Meanings: Design, attempt, wish, hope, confidence; also quarrelling, a plan that may fail, annoyance. The design is uncertain in its import, because the significations are widely at variance with each other. Reversed: Good advice, counsel, instruction, slander, babbling.

Introduction

The 5 of Swords is a card of an empty and pointless victory, embarrassing or humiliating situations, quarrels and even violence. 5s are never welcome cards in any tarot reading and Swords are often troublesome. This card especially is a warning not to be taken lightly. In the Rider Waite Smith (RWS) deck the imagery is one of the aftermath of a battle. The victor picking at the remains. The defeated have turned their backs and walked away. This is a man without friends. There's no real prize here for anyone and the bleak landscape and grey sky sums up the mood of despair for all. What was the purpose of the fight? To strengthen an ego hell bent on it's desperate need to be right? The pitfall of being viewed as sanctimonious? This tragedy could have been avoided through diplomacy, listening to what others have to say, accepting differing opinions and searching for, and reaching, common ground.

The RWS 5 of Swords scene is the aftermath of a quarrel with one person looking very self satisfied and the other two, backs turned, leaving the scene. There are no friends here, no unity, only loneliness and despair. Too often we allow our views of the world, our identities, our religious or political beliefs to drive a wedge between us. By placing less value and priority on these abstract mental constructs we can build bridges between us and create harmony for all.

All the cards in the Minor Arcana numbered 5 are problematic cards. The number 5, in numerology, has the negative qualities of being chaotic, unstable, self-indulgent, irresponsible or careless and Tarot's Minor 5s reflect those negatives. If we look to the 5s in the Major Arcana we find positive cards which offer a solution to this chaos. Card number 5 of the Major Arcana is The Hierophant which represents conformity, doctrine, laws and rules that bring order from chaos. It represents not just the church and religious law but all establishments of authority which people live and work under. The other 5 in the Major Arcana is card number 14 Temperance (numerology reduces 14 to 5) which represents self control. When dealing with the 5 of Swords in a Tarot spread these additional cards maybe the warning, or the solution, of what sort of control will be applied to the unruly behaviour of this card. External control or self control.

The central character in the RWS 5 of Swords holds 3 swords symbolising the numerological link to the 3 Of Swords, the card of despair and heart ache. The 2 remaining swords on the ground are a numerological link to the 2 Of Swords symbolising the ignored diplomatic option which could have prevented this situation from occurring. They also serve as a link to Judgement and Justice in the Major Arcana. Both cards have numerological values of 2 and this symbolic connection may carry a warning of the consequences of his actions.

The Suit of Swords, representing the Element of Air, symbolises the mental and intellectual aspects of life. The storms on the path of life that we have to apply our minds and intelligence to navigate through. Like the steel in the sword we are tempered by the hammer and flames of life's challenges and trials. The negative characteristics and meaning of the number 5, in numerology, are instability, chaos, self-indulgence, irresponsibility, procrastination, thoughtlessness and carelessness. This combination of element and numerology would suggest not focusing on doing one thing well but many things badly. Not thinking things through properly and being forceful in gaining the upper hand, or short term victory, only for it to later turn against you into isolation, defeat and humiliation.

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5 of Swords in a Tarot Reading

The 5 of Swords asks what has been won when a conflict leaves people divided and unwilling to cooperate. The apparent victor may hold the swords, but the scene offers little shared value. An argument can be technically won while the purpose for having it is lost.

The three gathered swords link with hurt, while the two abandoned swords suggest the diplomatic option that was ignored. The card therefore concerns both the cost of forceful victory and the possibility that a different method could have prevented that cost.

Upright Meaning

Upright, the 5 of Swords can indicate a quarrel in which being right becomes more important than reaching a useful understanding. Identity, pride or a strongly held view may make compromise feel unacceptable. The result can be humiliation or isolation rather than a workable resolution.

The number 5 brings instability and careless self-interest to Air. Thought can become a weapon used to gain the upper hand, with too little attention to what happens after the immediate exchange. The person who withdraws is not necessarily the person who has understood the situation least well.

External boundaries or internal restraint can offer possible responses. Rules may be needed where behaviour has become unacceptable, while self-control can prevent a disagreement from becoming a contest whose only purpose is domination.

Upright keywords: hollow victory, destructive argument, humiliation, ego conflict, lost cooperation, forceful advantage, careless reasoning, isolation.

Reversed Meaning

Reversed, the 5 of Swords can suggest a willingness to stop the contest and examine its cost. Someone may step away, acknowledge harm or seek a more constructive form of discussion. A useful change requires more than declaring the argument finished while preserving the same attitude.

Alternatively, resentment may continue beneath a quieter surface. The open conflict can end without the underlying wish to win disappearing. The reversal may also indicate repeated efforts to reopen a quarrel that no longer serves anyone.

Context helps distinguish de-escalation from suppressed hostility. Ask whether behaviour and expectations have changed enough for cooperation to resume. Where they have not, a clear boundary may be more realistic than demanding immediate harmony.

Reversed keywords: de-escalation, lingering resentment, reconsidered victory, unresolved hostility, attempted repair, withdrawal from conflict, repeated quarrels.

Love and Relationships

In relationships, the 5 of Swords can describe arguments conducted to defeat rather than understand a partner. Cleverness, old mistakes or sensitive information may be used to strengthen a position. Even a successful argument can leave the bond less safe for honest conversation.

Reversed, a couple may begin recognising the pattern or remain caught in its aftermath. Focus on how disagreement is handled, not only on which person has the stronger case. The card does not require accepting harmful behaviour in the name of compromise; respectful boundaries are part of preventing further damage.

Work and Career

At work, this card can indicate competitive behaviour that damages the team, public embarrassment or a dispute in which reputation matters more than solving the problem. A short-term advantage may create longer-term resistance from people whose cooperation is still needed.

Reversed, a team may choose a clearer process for disagreement, or the conflict may move into indirect retaliation. Keep decisions tied to evidence and shared objectives. A useful outcome should leave the work more possible, rather than merely establish who can exert the most pressure.

Money and Finances

For finances, the 5 of Swords can concern a dispute in which the effort to prevail begins exceeding the practical value of the issue. Pride may make it difficult to recognise the cost in time, stress or damaged relationships. That cost belongs in the assessment.

Reversed, a more proportionate discussion may become possible, or an old financial quarrel may keep returning. Clarify the concrete matter and the terms of any resolution. The card asks about the method and consequences of conflict, not who will win a legal or financial claim.

Advice from the 5 of Swords

Define the outcome that would actually be useful. If winning the argument would destroy that outcome, change the method or leave the contest where appropriate. Listen for what can be understood without treating every concession as a loss of identity.

Ask yourself: If I win this exchange, what will remain that makes the victory worth having?

The 5 of Swords exposes the difference between gaining the upper hand and reaching a result that serves life afterwards.

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5 of Swords According to A. E. Waite

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
Arthur Edward Waite (1911)

A disdainful man looks after two retreating and dejected figures. Their swords lie upon the ground. He carries two others on his left shoulder, and a third sword is in his right hand, point to earth. He is the master in possession of the field. Divinatory Meanings: Degradation, destruction, revocation, infamy, dishonour, loss, with the variants and analogues of these. Reversed: The same; burial and obsequies.

Related Tarot Cards

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Introduction

In the Suit of Swords there's a gradual build up of stress, worry and problems as the numbers ascend. Beginning with the initial challenge of the Ace of Swords, the attempt at diplomacy in the 2 of Swords, the disappointment and heartache of the 3 of Swords continuing on until reaching a crescendo of mental, sleep-depriving, anguish in the 9 of Swords. The scene in the 10 of Swords, which looks like a gruesome murder scene, is one of calm and peace. Whatever your plans were they are well and truly dead. There is a realisation here that no amount of thinking, planning, negotiation or intellectual manoeuvring can take things forward from this point.

The 10 of Swords is a card of total defeat, collapsed plans and failure. The element here is Air which relates to challenges, conflicts and the mental aspects of our lives. The storms on the path of life that we must navigate through. The number 10 reduces in numerology to 1 (1+0). The 10 of Swords, like the Ace of Swords, marks the beginning of new challenges, plans, or ideas. The difference between these cards is that the 10 marks the passing of one cycle and the beginning of a new one. An Ace makes no reference to the past only a completely new beginning. The 10 builds something new upon previous cycles, it is an Ace armed with experience. Seeing this card the message maybe to try again using a new approach with the experience of knowing what does not work.

In the Rider Waite Smith (RWS) deck the background scene is one of calm waters symbolising emotional peace and a dark night sky giving way to breaking day light and dawn symbolising a new beginning. If you go back one card in this suit to the 9 Of Swords you'll see a night time scene and someone who can not quieten their mind and sleep from worry and anxiety. In the scene depicted in the 10 of Swords night is ending, a new day is beginning and the mental fever has broken and passed. As dramatic and unpleasant as this card first appears it also has the positive, comforting, message that the worst is over. Remember that this card, and the Suit of Swords, deals with the mental and intellectual aspects of life therefore its dramatic depiction of a man impaled with ten swords does not refer to anything physical only to something abstract. Even though the imagery of this card would seem to imply Death this is not the case because the 10 is cyclic. You have no choice but to accept defeat, put whatever it was behind you and move on to a new day and new challenges.

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10 of Swords in a Tarot Reading

The 10 of Swords marks the point at which a plan or argument can no longer be carried forward. The mental effort that built through the suit has reached its limit. No additional negotiation or rearrangement of the same idea can make the old approach work.

Despite the dramatic image, the scene contains calm after the struggle. The dawn and still water suggest that the mental fever has broken. This is a cyclic ending, with experience available for a different beginning, rather than a prediction of physical harm.

Upright Meaning

Upright, the 10 of Swords can indicate accepting that an undertaking has failed or an approach is exhausted. The recognition may be painful, especially after considerable thought and effort, but it can end the uncertainty of repeatedly trying to rescue what no longer functions.

The number 10 reduces to 1, connecting the conclusion with a new cycle. Unlike the Ace of Swords, the next beginning carries knowledge of what did not work. The useful inheritance is experience, not an obligation to reproduce the previous plan with minor adjustments.

The card may therefore contain relief alongside defeat. Once the outcome is acknowledged, attention can move from arguing with the past to deciding what remains possible. The scale belongs to the question: a failed proposal can be enough to explain the image without inventing a wider catastrophe.

Upright keywords: exhausted plans, accepted defeat, finality, ended struggle, mental release, experience, new approach, dawn after difficulty.

Reversed Meaning

Reversed, the 10 of Swords may indicate difficulty accepting a conclusion. You might keep reopening the same argument or searching for one more intellectual manoeuvre that will revive the former plan. This can prolong the strain after the practical possibility has ended.

Alternatively, it can describe the first stages of recovering perspective. The old approach has been released, but confidence in a new one is still developing. A cautious beginning may be appropriate when it uses the lesson rather than pretending the failure never occurred.

Context helps distinguish resistance from recovery. Ask whether your current thinking creates a different route or merely returns to the scene of the same exhausted struggle. The reversal does not erase the need to understand why that struggle ended.

Reversed keywords: resisted endings, prolonged struggle, recovery of perspective, difficulty accepting defeat, renewed thinking, incomplete release, tentative restart.

Love and Relationships

In relationships, the 10 of Swords can describe the exhaustion of a particular argument, expectation or way of trying to make the bond work. It may accompany an ending, but the subject could also be an approach that both people need to stop repeating.

Reversed, a painful discussion may be reopened without any new information, or the couple may begin finding a different way forward after acknowledging what failed. The card does not decide whether the relationship itself must end. Identify precisely what has reached its limit before drawing that conclusion.

Work and Career

At work, this card can indicate a rejected plan, closed project or strategy that can no longer be defended. Continuing to polish the same proposal may consume effort better used to understand the failure and design a different response.

Reversed, a team may resist closure because of the work already invested. Alternatively, lessons may begin supporting a fresh attempt. A useful review separates what was learned from what must be abandoned. Experience strengthens the next plan only when the next plan is genuinely allowed to differ.

Money and Finances

For financial questions, the 10 of Swords may concern acknowledging that an expected outcome or strategy has not worked. Its Air emphasis points towards the plan and the thinking around it; it does not by itself establish total material loss.

Reversed, repeated attempts to recover the original expectation may extend an unhelpful commitment. Alternatively, a clearer assessment may allow a different course. Work from the actual position and remaining obligations rather than the wish to make the past turn out differently.

Advice from the 10 of Swords

Allow the exhausted approach to end. Record what experience has shown and distinguish the failure of a plan from a verdict on your capacity to think or begin again. A new cycle can use what you have learned without carrying every part of the old one.

Ask yourself: What would I do differently if I stopped trying to make this finished plan succeed?

The 10 of Swords offers the quiet in which defeat can become experience and experience can support a new beginning.

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10 of Swords According to A. E. Waite

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
Arthur Edward Waite (1911)

A prostrate figure, pierced by all the swords belonging to the card. Divinatory Meanings: Whatsoever is intimated by the design; also pain, affliction, tears, sadness, desolation. It is not especially a card of violent death. Reversed: Advantage, profit, success, favour, but none of these are permanent; also power and authority.

Introduction

It's important to note that The Lovers evolved into Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, with the publication of the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) Tarot deck in 1910. Traditionally this tarot card depicted a well dressed couple receiving a blessing of their union from a king. Above them, with the sun in the background, hovers cupid ready to shoot with his bow and arrow.

What theme was the artist, Pamela Coleman Smith, trying to capture with this break from tradition and inclusion of christian mythology? Many of the changes that Smith brought to Tarot could be attributed to her excellent understanding of numerology and a desire to enhance Tarot's symbolic cohesiveness. The key theme of the number 6 in numerology is one of responsibility to those closest to us; family, friends and colleagues. It is not a number of emotional union, the 2 Of Cups would be a better match. Comparing it to the emotional card of the same number, the 6 Of Cups, would suggest that it is more platonic than its name would suggest.

The nudity of Adam and Eve in the RWS deck, in addition to the card's name, often misleads to a theme of sexuality. The book of Genesis (2:25) states "Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.". The nudity of these characters represents innocence. After eating the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:7) they became self aware and covered themselves. Innocence lost, which is where this card makes a numerological connection to the 15th card of the Major Arcana, The Devil.

In numerology The Lovers and The Devil are both 6 as 15 reduces to 6 (1 + 5). The RWS Devil shows us the same couple from The Lovers chained to an alter with the Devil sitting on it. This connection between these two cards serves as a warning of the consequences of acting irresponsibly when you are in a good place. The Lovers will often appear as a reminder to appreciate what you have and protect it from un-wise choices and temptations. There are things we do in life, or choices we make, that cannot be undone. An innocent, platonic relationship between two friends changes forever when they become lovers.

The traditional, pre-RWS, depiction of what appears to be a marriage is probably based on Catholicism's prohibition on divorce. Once a marital union is made it cannot be broken until at least one person dies. The Lovers therefore symbolises an irreversible choice and course of action. The RWS change is probably in response to changing modern times with higher instances of divorce and re-marriage as well as the adoption of tarot in cultures not so heavily influenced by the catholic church (ie England where Waite and Smith were based.)

The sun in the background is the one symbolic feature from the traditional tarot decks that was retained by the RWS deck. In the RWS deck only three cards have the sun at its zenith in the background sky. The Fool, The Lovers and The Sun. The Lovers and The Sun are dominated by the element of Fire which is opposite to the element of Water (emotions and love). The element of fire, like the 6 in numerology, symbolises the home and community in which we live and work. The Sun brings success, abundance, fertility and growth which, according to The Book of Genesis, is what the Garden of Eden provided, everything man and woman could want in one place. A paradise that was lost due to temptation, a bad choice and evil influence.

There is a prevailing theme of darkness in the Major Arcana between card 6, The Lovers, and card 19, The Sun. Nothing good ever lasts and should be treasured and appreciated when received, each day taken as a gift. When the sun does finally set, and night falls, we are comforted by the knowledge that the sun will always rise again tomorrow.

Just as the appearance of Death in a Tarot spread doesn't generally indicate the death of someone nor does the appearance of The Lovers card indicate a new love interest or a romantic physical encounter. Tarot can be literal, and on occasion this maybe the message, but it is good practice when reading tarot spreads not to jump to literal conclusions each time these cards appear.

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The Lovers in a Tarot Reading

The Lovers is a card of relationships, choices, commitment and personal values. Although its name naturally suggests romance, its meaning is much broader. In a reading it can represent any important bond between people, but it can equally describe a choice where desire, responsibility and personal values must be weighed against one another.

At the heart of The Lovers is the idea that our choices have consequences. Some decisions change a relationship or situation permanently and cannot simply be undone. The card can therefore appear when you need to consider not only what you want now, but what you are willing to commit to afterwards.

Upright Meaning

When upright, The Lovers can indicate a strong connection, attraction or partnership. There may be harmony between two people, shared values or a willingness to make a commitment. This does not have to be romantic: the card can describe friendship, family relationships, business partnerships or any situation in which two people choose to work together.

The Lovers can also indicate an important choice or crossroads. Temptation may be involved, particularly when the easiest or most attractive option conflicts with your responsibilities. The card asks you to understand what matters most to you before making the decision.

Upright keywords: relationships, attraction, partnership, commitment, choice, values, responsibility, harmony, temptation.

Reversed Meaning

Reversed, The Lovers can suggest disharmony, conflicting values or difficulty making an important choice. Two people may want different things, or attraction may exist without the agreement or commitment necessary to create a stable relationship.

It can also indicate a poor choice, particularly one made for immediate gratification without considering its consequences. In this position The Lovers may ask whether your actions are consistent with your own values and with the responsibilities you have towards other people.

Reversed keywords: disharmony, conflicting values, indecision, temptation, poor choices, imbalance, separation, lack of commitment.

Love and Relationships

In a relationship reading, The Lovers can represent attraction, intimacy and a meaningful bond between two people. For an established couple it may indicate a deepening commitment or an important decision that must be made together.

However, The Lovers should not automatically be interpreted as predicting a new romance or soulmate. Depending upon the question and surrounding cards, it may instead concern the choices and responsibilities created by a relationship.

Reversed, it can indicate differences in values, uncertainty about commitment, temptation outside a relationship or a decision that places strain upon the partnership.

Work and Career

In a career reading, The Lovers can represent a partnership, collaboration or an important decision about the direction of your working life. You may have two opportunities to choose between, or need to decide whether a particular opportunity fits your longer-term priorities and values.

The card can also suggest that a successful working relationship depends upon both sides wanting the same outcome.

Reversed, it can indicate incompatible objectives, a difficult professional choice or entering an arrangement without fully considering its consequences.

Money and Finances

For money questions, The Lovers commonly points towards choice and priorities rather than wealth itself. You may need to choose between something you want and something for which you are financially responsible.

It can also represent joint finances or financial decisions involving a partner. Reversed, it can warn against impulsive choices or allowing immediate desires to override longer-term financial responsibilities.

Advice from The Lovers

When The Lovers appears as advice, consider what you genuinely value before acting. Look beyond the immediate attraction of a choice and consider where it will lead.

Ask yourself: If I make this choice, am I prepared to accept everything that comes with it?

The Lovers reminds us that freedom to choose and responsibility for our choices belong together.

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The Lovers According to A. E. Waite

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
Arthur Edward Waite (1911)

The sun shines in the zenith, and beneath is a great winged figure with arms extended, pouring down influences. In the foreground are two human figures, male and female, unveiled before each other, as if Adam and Eve when they first occupied the paradise of the earthly body. Behind the man is the Tree of Life, bearing twelve fruits, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is behind the woman; the serpent is twining round it. The figures suggest youth, virginity, innocence and love before it is contaminated by gross material desire. This is in all simplicity the card of human love, here exhibited as part of the way, the truth and the life. It replaces, by recourse to first principles, the old card of marriage, which I have described previously, and the later follies which depicted man between vice and virtue. In a very high sense, the card is a mystery of the Covenant and Sabbath.

The suggestion in respect of the woman is that she signifies that attraction towards the sensitive life which carries within it the idea of the Fall of Man, but she is rather the working of a Secret Law of Providence than a willing and conscious temptress. It is through her imputed lapse that man shall arise ultimately, and only by her can he complete himself. The card is therefore in its way another intimation concerning the great mystery of womanhood. The old meanings fall to pieces of necessity with the old pictures, but even as interpretations of the latter, some of them were of the order of commonplace and others were false in symbolism.

Introduction

Kingdom: a country ruled by a king (or queen).
Empire: a group of countries (under one ruler).

The Emperor is the King of Kings. Each King in the Minor Arcana reigns over one elemental domain. The King of Cups is the masculine ruler of Water. The King of Pentacles is the masculine ruler of Earth. The Emperor is ruler of all 4 Elemental Kingdoms.

In the Rider Waite Smith (RWS) Deck The Emperor has long white hair and a white beard in stark comparison to his younger Kings who have clean shaven, youthful faces. Unlike The Empress he puts on no show of his wealth and domains. No fertile lands behind him, only a hint of a river running at the foot of mountains that dominate the background view. The overwhelming theme here is one of rock.

As the Empress represents being creative, or expressive, with all the elements combined The Emperor represents the solidification of the elements into a rigid, unchanging, structure. This is where the number 4 links to the number of Death, 13 (1+3=4). To survive we must continuously evolve, adapt and change. The Emperor won't and his aged looks symbolise a man who is nearing his end, who might be a bit stuck in his ways and unwilling to compromise. However he is dependable, reliable, trustworthy, an anchor in a storm.
"Men are born soft and supple; dead they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.” - Lao-Tse

The Emperor represents masculinity, being in control, leadership and power. It can foretell the advancement of social, or career, status. The Emperor represents a reliable man upon whom others can depend. He is the husband to The Empress. If both of these cards appear in a Tarot spread it can indicate a married couple or a marriage. As the Empress is a mother so The Emperor is a father, or father figure.

Numerology: The Emperor is card number 4 of the Major Arcana. This is the number of stability and rigidity. This is key to The Emperor's strength but it is also a rigid and restrictive number which can also indicate a risk of stagnation or unwillingness to change. This card can sometimes represent an inflexible, rigid person, or situation, that needs to be worked around or through to reach a goal.

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The Emperor in a Tarot Reading

The Emperor represents an established structure on which others can depend. As the ruler above the four Kings, he brings their separate elemental domains under one authority. His strength is the ability to hold things together, provide continuity and make responsibility visible.

The same solidity can become a limitation. The dependable anchor can also become the rigid figure who resists change. The number 4 helps explain this tension: stability protects what has been built, but a structure that cannot adapt may eventually obstruct life within it.

Upright Meaning

Upright, The Emperor can describe reliable leadership, clear responsibilities and an arrangement that has enough substance to withstand pressure. Someone may be taking charge because others need consistency, direction or a decision they can act upon.

It can represent a father, father figure, senior authority or the role of providing dependable support. These qualities can be expressed by anyone. The relevant question is what the person does: whether they create security, accept responsibility and remain trustworthy when circumstances are demanding.

An established position can bring influence or recognition, but it also brings obligations. The Emperor is not merely the privilege of giving orders. His value is demonstrated when the structure he maintains allows those relying on it to feel secure and understand where they stand.

Upright keywords: stability, dependable leadership, authority, responsibility, structure, protection, established position, reliable support.

Reversed Meaning

Reversed, The Emperor can indicate rigidity, overbearing authority or rules maintained after their purpose has been lost. Someone may resist a reasonable change because it threatens their accustomed position. Security then becomes a justification for restricting everyone else's movement.

The reversal can also describe a failure of structure: unreliable leadership, unclear boundaries or responsibilities that no one accepts. Surrounding cards help distinguish too much control from too little dependable support. The remedies are different even though both situations leave people unable to function freely and confidently.

Ask whether the framework still serves the people within it. Strengthening a weak arrangement may be necessary, while tightening an already inflexible one may deepen the problem.

Reversed keywords: rigidity, domination, inflexibility, unreliable authority, weak foundations, restrictive rules, neglected responsibility, stagnation.

Love and Relationships

In relationships, The Emperor can indicate commitment expressed through reliability and practical responsibility. Someone may show care by being present, providing support or maintaining the framework of shared life. It can also bring attention to fatherhood or an established family role.

Alongside The Empress, this card can represent a married couple or marriage when the context supports that reading. Reversed, a partner may confuse being dependable with having the final word on everything. Equally, a lack of follow-through may leave the other person carrying the structure alone. Look at how responsibility and influence are shared.

Work and Career

At work, The Emperor can represent management, promotion or the need to organise responsibilities clearly. A reliable system may be more useful than another burst of enthusiasm. People need to know who decides, who acts and what standards apply.

Reversed, established procedures can become obstacles when conditions change. Alternatively, leadership may be absent just when a decision is required. Consider whether the workplace needs clearer authority or a leader willing to revise an old approach. Seniority alone does not settle which response is appropriate.

Money and Finances

For money questions, The Emperor concerns a stable material framework: regular commitments, clear ownership and dependable arrangements. The emphasis is the capacity to support ongoing responsibilities rather than the excitement of a new opportunity.

Reversed, excessive control can prevent useful adjustments, while lack of structure can make ordinary obligations harder to manage. Examine whether your arrangements remain suitable for current circumstances. A system that once provided security may need updating without abandoning the discipline that made it effective.

Advice from The Emperor

Make your commitments dependable and your boundaries understandable. Then test whether the structure you are defending still protects what matters. Authority is more useful when it can distinguish an essential principle from a habit that has become unnecessarily rigid.

Ask yourself: What must remain firm here, and what needs to adapt for that stability to remain useful?

The Emperor provides an anchor, but even a strong anchor must serve the life of the vessel it holds.

© Phuture Me Ltd 2026. All rights reserved.

The Emperor According to A. E. Waite

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
Arthur Edward Waite (1911)

He has a form of the Crux ansata for his sceptre and a globe in his left hand. He is a crowned monarch--commanding, stately, seated on a throne, the arms of which axe fronted by rams' heads. He is executive and realization, the power of this world, here clothed with the highest of its natural attributes. He is occasionally represented as seated on a cubic stone, which, however, confuses some of the issues. He is the virile power, to which the Empress responds, and in this sense is he who seeks to remove the Veil of Isis; yet she remains virgo intacta.

It should be understood that this card and that of the Empress do not precisely represent the condition of married life, though this state is implied. On the surface, as I have indicated, they stand for mundane royalty, uplifted on the seats of the mighty; but above this there is the suggestion of another presence. They signify also--and the male figure especially--the higher kingship, occupying the intellectual throne. Hereof is the lordship of thought rather than of the animal world. Both personalities, after their own manner, are "full of strange experience," but theirs is not consciously the wisdom which draws from a higher world. The Emperor has been described as (a) will in its embodied form, but this is only one of its applications, and (b) as an expression of virtualities contained in the Absolute Being--but this is fantasy.

Related Tarot Cards

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Introduction

The Star is the card of enlightenment, hope, renewal, direction, navigation, success and even fame. A positive card, The Star can point to good things to come in the other cards surrounding it in a spread.

The woman is commonly depicted with one foot in the water and the other on the land pouring water, from 2 vessels, on to the land and into the water. Notice the similarity between this card and Temperance (XIV). Here the woman is pouring one container on to the land and the other into the lake/sea symbolising a renewal (or refreshment) of body and soul. Land requires irrigation for growing crops and providing food to nourish us. The lake is being refilled, the drought is over. Change is being brought about by an action which is balanced both emotionally and materially. The water represents the sub-conscious and emotions, the land the material world.

Man has navigated using his knowledge of the stars for millennia. A clear nights sky gives reference points for the knowledgable to follow. There is truth and enlightenment in this card. Where The Tower (XVI) symbolises false beliefs that crumble when tested and The Moon (XVIII) symbolises clouded, altered or veiled reality The Star is the antidote. The light that shines here is the true light that shines from millions of distant Suns. It is empowerment through knowledge. The truth that sets you free.

Numerology: The Star has the number 17 in the Major Arcana. This is reduced in numerology to 8 (1+7). The number 8 is the number of success, good fortune, wealth, power and control.

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The Star in a Tarot Reading

The Star offers hope through clearer direction and the renewal of resources. Its light provides a point of reference after confusion or the collapse of an assumption. Its encouragement is connected with knowledge: understanding can make a way forward visible again.

The water poured onto land and into water joins material and emotional renewal. Both need attention. A promising idea becomes more useful when the practical circumstances and the inner willingness to pursue it are refreshed together.

Upright Meaning

Upright, The Star can indicate renewed confidence based on a better understanding of your situation. After a difficult period, you may recognise an opportunity, receive helpful guidance or rediscover a direction that feels worth following. Hope has something concrete to orient itself around.

The card's numerology reduces to 8, linking that understanding with capability and effective control. Knowing where you stand can restore a sense of agency even before every difficulty has been resolved. A small reliable reference point may be more valuable than an elaborate promise.

The Star can also concern visibility, recognition or success, particularly when your contribution is becoming easier for others to see. These possibilities belong within the question and supporting cards. The essential meaning is renewal and direction, rather than a guarantee of fame or effortless fulfilment.

Upright keywords: hope, renewal, direction, enlightenment, replenishment, clarity, confidence, recognition, informed possibility.

Reversed Meaning

Reversed, The Star may suggest difficulty recognising a way forward. Disappointment can make encouragement feel unconvincing, especially when practical or emotional resources are still depleted. The absence of confidence does not necessarily mean that all possibilities have disappeared.

Another expression is hope without enough grounding. An inspiring vision may receive attention while the ordinary conditions needed to sustain it are neglected. Returning to the image of land and water can help: which part of the situation actually needs replenishment?

Context distinguishes lost hope from unrealistic expectation. One needs a trustworthy reason to begin again; the other needs a clearer connection between the desired future and the actions that could support it.

Reversed keywords: discouragement, uncertain direction, depleted resources, unsupported hope, overlooked possibilities, weakened confidence, delayed renewal.

Love and Relationships

In love, The Star can suggest renewed trust in the possibility of connection. A relationship may be recovering warmth through honest understanding, or a person may feel ready to approach relationships again after disappointment. The renewal should include both feelings and the practical way people treat one another.

Reversed, hope may be attached to an idealised version of the relationship while present needs remain unmet. Alternatively, a previous hurt may make genuine kindness hard to receive. Look for consistent actions that give hope a reasonable foundation rather than asking either optimism or fear to decide everything.

Work and Career

At work, The Star can indicate a clearer professional direction, useful guidance or recognition that renews motivation. You may see how your abilities can contribute after a period of uncertainty. A goal becomes more workable when its route is better understood.

Reversed, an inspiring ambition may feel distant because the next practical step is missing. It may also be difficult to recognise progress while comparing yourself with a highly visible ideal. Identify the knowledge, support or replenishment that would make your direction usable now.

Money and Finances

For finances, The Star can describe regaining perspective and seeing a more constructive way to manage available resources. The encouragement may come from understanding the situation rather than from an immediate increase in money. Renewal can begin with clarity about what is possible.

Reversed, optimism may rest on an unconfirmed expectation, or discouragement may obscure modest improvements. Keep hopes connected to actual circumstances. The card's positive symbolism does not establish that a windfall or investment gain will occur; its practical value is renewed direction.

Advice from The Star

Find a reliable point of reference and begin replenishing what the difficult period has consumed. Give emotional encouragement and practical support equal attention. Let clearer understanding guide the next step rather than demanding that the whole future be visible at once.

Ask yourself: What real source of knowledge or renewal can help me find my direction again?

The Star's hope is most sustaining when it lights a path you can begin to follow.

© Phuture Me Ltd 2026. All rights reserved.

The Star According to A. E. Waite

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
Arthur Edward Waite (1911)

A great, radiant star of eight rays, surrounded by seven lesser stars--also of eight rays. The female figure in the foreground is entirely naked. Her left knee is on the land and her right foot upon the water. She pours Water of Life from two great ewers, irrigating sea and land. Behind her is rising ground and on the right a shrub or tree, whereon a bird alights. The figure expresses eternal youth and beauty. The star is l'étoile flamboyante, which appears in Masonic symbolism, but has been confused therein. That which the figure communicates to the living scene is the substance of the heavens and the elements. It has been said truly that the mottoes of this card are "Waters of Life freely" and "Gifts of the Spirit."

The summary of several tawdry explanations says that it is a card of hope. On other planes it has been certified as immortality and interior light. For the majority of prepared minds, the figure will appear as the type of Truth unveiled, glorious in undying beauty, pouring on the waters of the soul some part and measure of her priceless possession. But she is in reality the Great Mother in the Kabalistic Sephira Binah, which is supernal Understanding, who communicates to the Sephiroth that are below in the measure that they can receive her influx.

Introduction

The Fool is probably the most misunderstood but certainly the most important card in the Tarot deck. In the Rider Waite Smith deck, Arthur E. Waite and Pamela Coleman Smith's Fool is illustrated in a way that leaves The Fool's next step open to interpretation. Most who see this card just take his name and, as the human mind is so good at, fill in what's not there. A cliff and unheeded disaster. But is it a cliff? Could it just be a ledge? Is the dog trying to warn him, or is it just happy and carefree like its companion who is looking towards the heavens. The dog too appears, on closer inspection, to be looking in the same direction. Neither traveler is concerned with the ground falling away in front of them.

The Fool is related to the Pages in the Minor Arcana suits. Each minor page relates to a naive, or foolish, approach to their element. The Fool, just like the other Major courtiers (The Chariot, The Empress and The Emperor ), is a master of all the elements with a focus on the spiritual realm. He walks left, towards the past, which is symbolic of the wrong direction. Beautifully dressed he looks as if he has set out on an adventure in search for something. His focus on heaven symbolises his search for a meaning to life, a higher purpose and destiny. His intentions are good but he lacks experience and wisdom and may be going in the wrong direction. The imagery of The Fool asks a question of us. Who are we to look at someone else and think that they are going in the wrong direction? If their intentions are good, and they are following their heart not their head, how can they be wrong? The following 21 cards in the Major Arcana each symbolise the mysteries The Fool must solve, and lessons he must learn, once he finds the life path he must follow that will guide him to what he is looking for.

The Fool is unique among the Major Arcana for being the only card not to have a number. However some Tarot decks give this card a numerical value of 0 (zero). There is no numerology to constrain The Fool and he, and the Pages, are unique in being free from its cycle of numbers. The Fool represents an individual's journey through the trials of life, marked out by each of the 21 Major Arcana cards, ending with the Ascension to Enlightenment in the final card, The World.

Sometimes we need to follow our hearts not our heads or the perceived wisdom of others and trust in our own intuition.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the result of other people’s thinking.
Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice.

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
They somehow already know what you truly want to become.
Everything else is secondary.
Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish ”

- Steve Jobs, 2005 Stanford Commencement Address.

© Phuture Me Ltd 2010-2018. All rights reserved.

The Fool in a Tarot Reading

The Fool represents the individual setting out in search of meaning without already possessing the wisdom the journey will bring. Good intentions, curiosity and an inner sense of direction may be present even when experience is limited. The next step remains open to interpretation.

The open-ended image challenges the assumption that the figure must be heading towards disaster. A reader can mistake unfamiliar choices for foolish ones. The card therefore asks both how you approach your own path and how readily you judge a path that makes little sense from the outside.

Upright Meaning

Upright, The Fool can indicate a beginning guided by curiosity, intuition or the wish to live more authentically. You may feel drawn towards an experience before you can explain exactly where it will lead. The value lies partly in what can only be learned by participating.

Its relationship with the Pages reinforces openness and inexperience, but its scope includes the whole person rather than one elemental area. A change may challenge your ideas, attachments, ambitions and practical habits together.

The card does not require abandoning judgement. It suggests leaving room for a possibility that established expectations cannot fully describe. Listening to advice and examining practical circumstances can coexist with recognising that someone else's preferred life may not be yours. Beginning is an act of discovery, not a claim that you already know everything.

Upright keywords: openness, personal journey, beginnings, curiosity, innocence, intuition, exploration, freedom, learning through experience.

Reversed Meaning

Reversed, The Fool may indicate inexperience that is not being acknowledged. Enthusiasm can make it easy to overlook a relevant detail or assume that good intentions will resolve every difficulty. Pause long enough to understand the actual next step rather than an imagined adventure.

Alternatively, fear of appearing foolish may prevent any beginning at all. You might keep seeking permission from people whose values differ from your own. Surrounding cards help distinguish a useful warning from the self-doubt that makes every unfamiliar path seem unacceptable.

Both expressions concern the relationship between openness and awareness. The response is neither automatic caution nor automatic risk-taking, but a more honest understanding of what draws you forward and what you still need to learn.

Reversed keywords: unexamined risk, inexperience, hesitation, fear of judgement, avoidance of learning, misplaced trust, inhibited beginnings.

Love and Relationships

In love, The Fool can describe approaching a connection with openness rather than imposing a complete story on it immediately. There may be pleasure in discovering another person without knowing what the relationship will become. A fresh approach can also enliven an established partnership.

Reversed, one person may assume that attraction removes the need to discuss expectations, or fear of disappointment may prevent genuine engagement. Let the connection develop through actual experience. Neither a carefree manner nor an unconventional beginning establishes whether someone can meet your needs over time.

Work and Career

At work, The Fool may represent entering an unfamiliar field, learning a role or pursuing work that feels personally meaningful. Being a beginner can be productive when you are willing to ask questions and gain experience rather than defend an appearance of expertise.

Reversed, enthusiasm may outrun preparation, or concern about status may stop you accepting the learning involved in a new direction. Identify the first practical experiment you can make. You need not know the whole career path to discover whether the next stage teaches you something useful.

Money and Finances

For financial questions, The Fool can describe unfamiliar responsibilities or the material consequences of a new direction. Freedom may be important, but so is understanding what the next step requires. Curiosity works better when the commitments attached to it are visible.

Reversed, an appealing possibility may be accepted without enough attention to its terms, or fear may make any change feel impossible. Separate what you know from what you are hoping. The card invites exploration; it does not establish that a financial risk will be rewarded.

Advice from The Fool

Listen for your own reasons beneath the noise of other people's expectations. Then approach the next step with the willingness to learn that makes a beginner's openness valuable. You can trust your search without pretending you already know its destination.

Ask yourself: Is this the path I want to explore, and what am I willing to learn by taking its next step?

The Fool's journey becomes yours when curiosity is joined by responsibility for the experience you choose.

© Phuture Me Ltd 2026. All rights reserved.

The Fool According to A. E. Waite

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
Arthur Edward Waite (1911)

With light step, as if earth and its trammels had little power to restrain him, a young man in gorgeous vestments pauses at the brink of a precipice among the great heights of the world; he surveys the blue distance before him-its expanse of sky rather than the prospect below. His act of eager walking is still indicated, though he is stationary at the given moment; his dog is still bounding. The edge which opens on the depth has no terror; it is as if angels were waiting to uphold him, if it came about that he leaped from the height. His countenance is full of intelligence and expectant dream. He has a rose in one hand and in the other a costly wand, from which depends over his right shoulder a wallet curiously embroidered. He is a prince of the other world on his travels through this one-all amidst the morning glory, in the keen air. The sun, which shines behind him, knows whence he came, whither he is going, and how he will return by another path after many days. He is the spirit in search of experience. Many symbols of the Instituted Mysteries are summarized in this card, which reverses, under high warrants, all the confusions that have preceded it.

In his Manual of Cartomancy, Grand Orient has a curious suggestion of the office of Mystic Fool, as apart of his process in higher divination; but it might call for more than ordinary gifts to put it into operation. We shall see how the card fares according to the common arts of fortune-telling, and it will be an example, to those who can discern, of the fact, otherwise so evident, that the Trumps Major had no place originally in the arts of psychic gambling, when cards are used as the counters and pretexts. Of the circumstances under which this art arose we know, however, very little. The conventional explanations say that the Fool signifies the flesh, the sensitive life, and by a peculiar satire its subsidiary name was at one time the alchemist, as depicting folly at the most insensate stage.

Related Tarot Cards

Introduction

Just over 100 years ago Tarot went through a revolutionary change with the publication of the Rider Waite Smith (RWS) tarot deck. Up until this point the most popular Tarot decks had followed a structure and format based on the Marseilles Tarot. The cards in the Minor Arcana had no pictures and were closer to playing cards with pips than to the fully illustrated deck of cards that the RWS deck introduced. In addition to this radical evolution Waite and Smith also swapped the positions of two of the Major Arcana cards. Prior to the RWS deck Strength was card 11 and card 8 was Justice.

The majority of modern Tarot decks have continued with this altered numbering in the Major Arcana even though the reason Waite gave, which you can read below, was "for reasons that satisfy myself" which doesn't give much insight as to why it was so important to him or Pamela Smith. Tarot has a well ordered structure based on the foundations of the classical elements and numerology. The 8th card of the Major Arcana, according to the symbology of numerology, should have a meaning and interpretation of power and control. For this reason Strength is numerologically better suited to position 8 than Justice. In addition to this Justice as card 11, which reduces to 2 in numerology (1+1=2), links it directly to Judgement which is card 20 and also reduces to 2 (2+0=2). Therefore swapping these cards corrected and improved the overall structure of Tarot significantly.

As with all the cards in Tarot's Major Arcana Strength represents the mastery of the elements in combination with the numerology. It's worth reviewing the cards numbered 8 in the Minor Arcana to understand what it is this card has mastered. The common traits of the number 8 are ambition, discipline, practicality, being realistic and in control. Tarot's Strength card is mental strength (Swords, air and intellectual challenges), emotional strength (Cups, water and emotional issues and needs), physical and/or financial strength (Pentacles, earth and the material including health) and strength of resolve and ambition (Wands, fire and energy).

In the RWS deck the woman depicted in Strength has an infinity symbol placed like a halo above her head. This will be to remind us that the number 8 is an upright infinity symbol and that the laws of karma apply. Any action will have an equal and opposite reaction as the closed looped always returns. She is depicted as using gentle force to open the mouth of the lion. When you are in a position of strength over another remember to treat them as you would want to be treated yourself.

Strength is the card of physical well being, strength of will and controlling the inner beast. Mankind's dominance over the animal kingdom through the use of his superior intellectual strength. Impulsive animal instincts need to be controlled with strength of mind and will. In a very simple interpretation it can represent a pet or animal. Good physical health is a common theme with this card, it often represents good health if health is of concern and a focus in a reading. Surrounding cards will indicate if this health is at risk or how it can be achieved.

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Strength in a Tarot Reading

Strength brings together the forms of control represented by all four suits: clarity of mind, steadiness of emotion, practical capability and strength of resolve. It describes the ability to direct these resources without being ruled by an immediate impulse.

The woman and lion illustrate the difference between having power and using it well. Strength includes restraint and humane treatment of those over whom you have influence. The question is not only what you can overcome, but how you behave when you are able to prevail.

Upright Meaning

Upright, Strength suggests that patience, discipline and self-command can hold a difficult situation steady. You may have more capacity than the immediate pressure allows you to recognise. A measured response can be more effective than a display of force.

The number 8 connects the card with practical control and ambition. Its scope is broader than physical toughness: it can describe staying clear-headed during an argument, sustaining effort through frustration or managing strong feelings without denying that they exist.

Strength can also concern responsibility for someone more vulnerable, including an animal in the appropriate context. The useful quality is controlled power. Being able to impose your will does not make imposition the wisest response, and gentleness need not mean surrendering a necessary boundary.

Upright keywords: self-control, fortitude, patience, discipline, resilience, resolve, controlled power, compassionate firmness.

Reversed Meaning

Reversed, Strength may suggest that pressure is exceeding your current capacity. Confidence can weaken, frustration can become impulsive behaviour, or repeated demands can leave little energy for the restraint you usually exercise. Recognising a limit can be an act of sound judgement.

The opposite imbalance is also possible: an excessive need to dominate, suppress emotion or prove that nothing affects you. What appears strong on the surface may depend on refusing all vulnerability. Surrounding cards help distinguish depleted resources from the misuse of power.

The response should fit that distinction. One situation needs rest, assistance or smaller demands; the other needs a different way of exercising authority. Neither is improved by simply demanding that you try harder.

Reversed keywords: depleted resolve, insecurity, impulsiveness, overcontrol, intimidation, frustration, weakened confidence, misused power.

Love and Relationships

In love, Strength can describe staying kind and grounded while addressing strong emotions. Attraction, jealousy or anger may be present, but they do not have to determine the way partners treat one another. The card supports warmth with clear boundaries.

It may also indicate the patience involved in supporting someone through difficulty. That does not require one person to absorb every problem indefinitely. Reversed, a struggle for control or the exhaustion of always being the steady partner may need attention. The aim is a relationship in which strength protects both people rather than silencing one of them.

Work and Career

At work, Strength favours composed leadership and sustained effort. A difficult colleague, demanding project or setback may test your ability to respond without losing sight of the task. Calm authority can make others more willing to cooperate than forceful insistence.

Reversed, trying to prove competence through relentless effort may be undermining it. Alternatively, a manager may confuse authority with intimidation. Consider whether the situation calls for better support, a firmer boundary or more disciplined use of the power you already possess.

Money and Finances

For finances, Strength can concern control over impulses and the ability to maintain practical commitments. The relevant strength may be resisting pressure to spend, keeping attention on a difficult budget or discussing money without allowing embarrassment to end the conversation.

Reversed, spending may become a release for frustration, or rigid control may turn every financial decision into a struggle. Look for a workable level of discipline that can be sustained. This card describes your relationship with material pressures rather than guaranteeing wealth or the success of an investment.

Advice from Strength

Use the least force that will achieve a sound result. Identify which resource is actually needed: clear thought, emotional steadiness, practical help or renewed resolve. Strength becomes more reliable when you understand its limits as well as its reach.

Ask yourself: How can I hold this boundary firmly without turning my strength against someone?

The power of Strength is the ability to remain in command of your response when force would be easier.

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Strength According to A. E. Waite

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
Arthur Edward Waite (1911)

A woman, over whose head there broods the same symbol of life which we have seen in the card of the Magician, is closing the jaws of a lion. The only point in which this design differs from the conventional presentations is that her beneficent fortitude has already subdued the lion, which is being led by a chain of flowers. For reasons which satisfy myself, this card has been interchanged with that of justice, which is usually numbered eight. As the variation carries nothing with it which will signify to the reader, there is no cause for explanation. Fortitude, in one of its most exalted aspects, is connected with the Divine Mystery of Union; the virtue, of course, operates in all planes, and hence draws on all in its symbolism. It connects also with innocentia inviolata, and with the strength which resides in contemplation.

These higher meanings are, however, matters of inference, and I do not suggest that they are transparent on the surface of the card. They are intimated in a concealed manner by the chain of flowers, which signifies, among many other things, the sweet yoke and the light burden of Divine Law, when it has been taken into the heart of hearts. The card has nothing to do with self-confidence in the ordinary sense, though this has been suggested--but it concerns the confidence of those whose strength is God, who have found their refuge in Him. There is one aspect in which the lion signifies the passions, and she who is called Strength is the higher nature in its liberation. It has walked upon the asp and the basilisk and has trodden down the lion and the dragon.

Related Tarot Cards

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