Royo Dark Tarot - The Empress III

On this card, there is a woman sitting upon a throne, surrounded by many insects. The throne itself has some imprints of insects, and she is wearing a hat that resembles the head of an insect with antennas. Usually I associate The Empress with femininity and nurturing, but this woman looks like she could also have a manipulative side. She likely represents all aspects of "the feminine principle" as its put in the booklet, light and dark. She definitely emits power, and intelligence. (it mentions intelligence in the booklet also, but you can tell from looking at her she knows what she's doing) I also generally associate The Empress with connection to nature, and this seems to be represented here by the insects. It also states in the booklet that she is the ruler of evolution, and "the moon queen who manipulates the insects." It's an interesting depiction of The Empress, since it doesn't necessarily give you a warm feeling of a nurturing motherly woman but rather an intriguing, mysterious woman who you'd want to approach with caution. That's not to say she is evil, I just get that she represents positive and negative aspects of femininity and is very capable of powers of seduction and manipulation if she chooses to exercise them. She also has the power to soothe, and "transform nausea to desire" as worded in the booklet. She seems to be a soothing and motherly force to the insects surrounding her. Thoughts?

I don't mean to "necro" this thread too much, but before I joined the forums I used this place to research several decks... so I'm hoping this information will be useful to anyone who might be contemplating getting this deck in the future. (I love it, personally.)

I'm a big fan of LR and so I actually have the art book this image is from. It should shed a lot of light on why this particular image was chosen for the Empress. From the book (which is Secrets, by the way):

"For some Native Americans, insects are the souls of the dead who come back to the realm of the living. On her throne sits Hecate, Greek goddess of sky and night, bearer of plagues and sudden death. Descended from the Titans, she presides over magic and spells with a torch in her hand. Creator of sorcery, the center of all paradoxes, a link to the shadowlands."

The Empress is my representative card (based on what I continuously draw for myself), and so this very much makes sense to me. I was a little frustrated when I first drew the Empress because, starting out, I only knew the usual descriptions for her: motherly, nurturing, fertile, loving, creative. All that's well and good, but I wouldn't say it really fits me. Yet this image didn't seem to follow the standard path either, as the OP notes.

Thankfully the Empress has come to represent something quite different to me while still incorporating certain elements of her "standard" qualities.

So here we have Hecate as the Empress - she is indeed a ruler, but a ruler of the night ("moon queen" as stated in the book) and the dead. She is mysterious and sensual, a truer representation of "feminine" principles than being matronly or smothering, as I see it - and she is the "mother" of witchcraft, an equally beautiful yet enigmatic practice.

She is independent, powerful and the "creator" of her own world, giving her love only to those most deserving. And indeed, Hecate is also the goddess of the household and newly born. She is most definitely a representative force of mother nature, at once gentle towards innocents, and altogether fearsome to those who are not.

She is wise and able to see into the Underworld, having become friend to Persephone and Hades alike. She looks on others with an understanding gaze where some would shun her company (often outcasts, the homeless and even ghosts), because she has seen this "dark" side of humanity.

I really like how this deck has fleshed out the Empress into a truly powerful role and not simply as a sign of fertility. She is every bit, and in fact, more powerful than the mortal emperor, a bearer of secrets and mysticism, yet she chooses to love and protect those who are oppressed.