Key 3 - The Nurturer

Traditional Title: The Empress

Venus

The Nurturer archetype produces by cultivating conscious mental imagery.

Affirmation: I cultivate beauty and abundance through creative care.

UPRIGHT: Abundance, Beauty, Supportive, Fertility, Creativity​

REVERSE: Creative Block, Possessive, Unsupportive, Dependence, Lack of Growth

DESCRIPTION

As we look at the imagery and symbolism of the Empress, we see a regal woman sitting on a luxurious cushion out in nature. The Empress is an embodiment of the goddess Venus, the goddess of love, beauty, art, sensuality, and childbirth. The symbol of Venus is depicted on a heart-shaped stone next to her throne. Although the stone itself recalls older tarot imagery, where the Emperor and Empress were depicted as worldly rulers with heraldic shields, in this deck, the Empress embodies the role of a maternal queen of love and life. The Empress represents the creative force. She wears a maternity dress decorated with Venus-shaped pomegranates. The Empress is shown enthroned and possibly pregnant, surrounded by a lush environment. The globe on her scepter symbolizes her dominion over her abode within nature.

The primary color for Venus is green, which is seen in the trees, the wreath around her head, and on the shield with a Venus symbol. The presence of evergreen trees near a waterfall could represent arborvitae or cypresses, recalling Aphrodite’s isle of Cyprus and emphasizing the goddess’s eternal and cyclical nature. This image depicts warmth, growth, fertility, and sensuality. The stream that flows in the background of the Empress, which then runs down a waterfall into a pool, originates from the flowing robe of the High Priestess. The stream of water makes the surroundings beautiful and fertile. The hair color of the Empress is blonde, which represents radiant energy. The Empress has a crown, or diadem, and on her crown are 12 stars, which symbolize the zodiac and the cycle of the year. The overall artwork seamlessly blends hewn stone, textiles, and natural elements, underscoring the idea that humanity’s creative arts are also born from the essence of the Empress.

The Empress embodies the powers of reproduction, regeneration, and renewal. As Mother Nature, she not only represents the feminine aspect, but the whole of creation, everything that manifests in time and space. The Empress represents the functions of our subconscious mind that govern creative imagination. The subconscious receives the impulses, the images, and the words of power from the conscious mind, which is a Magician. Through our consciousness of will and concentration, we implant these seeds or these ideas into the fertile ground of the subconscious. As the ideas take root, they then go into a cycle of growth beneath the surface of our awareness. At some point the ideas will sprout and bring forth new life—an epiphany, a plan, or inspiration.

In times past, the Empress would have been the Queen or the Lady of the House. Her main roles were associated with warm hospitality, sociability, beautification, and running a household. In contemporary examples, an Empress is a mother, whether she’s a mother of her own children or a mother-figure for a community. Possible careers might include nurturing professions like being a nurse, a doctor, or a healer. Her connection to nature might also drive her towards farming, landscaping, gardening, or veterinary work. Her sense of beauty and creativity might get channeled into being an interior designer, fashion designer, artist, or high-end chef.

SYMBOLS

Scepter: This scepter is surmounted by the globe and symbolic of her rulership of nature and the everyday world.

Twelve-Stared Diadem: The diadem, the metal crown with twelve stars, signifies the zodiac (heavens).

Long Gown with Pomegranates: The Empress is dressed in a garment representing her earthly royal status. Her gown is decorated with pomegranates that symbolize her fertility. She is a figure with rich vestments, which allude to her role as a daughter of heaven and earth.

Pearl Necklace: The pearls represent the birth of Venus from sea foam off the shore of Paphos in Cyprus.

Trees: The trees are rooted in the earth, but their branches point to the heavens. The trees symbolize sustainability. They withstand the onslaught of time and the elements, changing to reflect the seasons.

Stream of Water: Water gives life and purifies. It demonstrates how nature flows from one state to another.

Heart-shaped Shield with Venus symbol: In the Golden Dawn, the symbol of Venus was taught as representing unity, as it is the only planetary symbol when drawn that touches the whole of the Tree of Life. The glyph itself represents the spirit and the material.

Ears of Wheat: The ears of wheat, which symbolize germination and fertility, are in reference to the goddess Demeter who represents cultivated soil. She is known as the Goddess of the fruits (riches of the field) or the Corn Goddess.

 

Card Details

Key 3: The number three is prevalent in various frameworks that describe the relationship humans have with nature. The triangle, being the simplest polygon with the fewest number of sides, is the first stable geometric shape and thus defines the first surface. As the first and uppermost horizontal path on the Tree of Life, the Nurturer is positioned above the Abyss of Da’ath. In this metaphysical framework, Kether is conceptualized as a dimensionless point, Chokmah as a line, and Binah as a plane.

Tree of Life (Chokmah to Binah): The fourteenth path on the Tree of Life connects Chokmah (Wisdom) on the Pillar of Force, which corresponds to the first transpersonal planet, Uranus. This path leads to Binah (Understanding) on the Pillar of Form, which corresponds to Saturn, the outermost celestial sphere in the classical concentric model of the universe. 

Sephira 1 (Chokmah): Chokmah corresponds to Uranus, which represents the divine as an endlessly renewing force.

Sephira 2 (Binah): Binah corresponds to Saturn, which represents the slowing down of cosmic energy as it contracts unlimited potential into the structure of linear time and matter.

Value: The Empress is traditionally associated with the Hebrew letter daleth, which has a numerical value of 4. Daleth can be interpreted as the gateway or door to life. Since the Nurturer corresponds to daleth, this archetype represents the symbolic doorway that allows for creativity to take form. The Nurturer, which symbolizes subconsciousness as the generative womb of mental imagery, operates by means of deductive reasoning, subdividing the seed-ideas received from self-consciousness to produce diverse and manifold expressions. This archetype represents protection, self-preservation, and defense against harm, as well as the careful storage and nurturing of what is important.

Venus: Venus represents the principle of love and beauty. Venus creates beauty by conceptualizing and giving form to the wisdom received in the act of creation.

Platonic level (Metaphysical Principles):

Venus is nocturnal and feminine, characterized by a nature that is moderately hot and moist. The Venus archetype represents the principle of love.

  • Desire, love, beauty, and social relations.
  • To delight in sensual pleasure.
  • The ability to attract and be attracted.
  • To create aesthetic satisfaction.
  • Friendship, accord, and sympathy.
  • To engage in artistic expression.

Jungian level (Psychological Principles):

Positives

  • Pleasant, composed, and joyful.
  • Peace and serenity.
  • Graceful and harmonious.

Negatives

The negative expression of this archetype manifests as pretentiousness, superficiality, conceit, self-indulgence, and the tendency to avoid meaningful connections.

Venus in an Astrological Chart

A major astrological aspect involving Venus describes one’s capacity to give and receive love, the nature of their romantic partnerships and social connections, as well as their inherent aesthetic sensibility and appreciation for beauty.

Mythic level (Mythic Deities and Figures):

Greek Goddess: Aphrodite

Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, and desire, presides over the generative power of love and nurturing. Her nature is one of fostering growth, harmony, and connection, both within oneself and in relationships with others. These nurturing qualities resonate with The Nurturer archetype, which emphasizes the importance of care, sustenance, and the fostering of personal and communal well-being.