EMPRESS - Thoth Study Group

Alobar

Fleur-de-lys - royalty, illumination. it also appears on the Emperor. the crown is symbolically similar (and try saying that three times fast!).
the fleur-de-lys can also represent the unity of mind, heart and spirit.

it's all the birds in this card that fascinate me.
generally, anything with wings represents spirituality, and there are many here!
the swan, in particular, is transformation. the Empress is looking forward towards a dove (wisdom, the soul), but behind her head is a sparrow (history, the past).
and the Phoenix is, once again, transformation. the two heads facing each other (as on the Emperor's shield) represent a sense of history AND future... completion.
the shield itself is a symbol of defense.

the 'dot' in the center of the circle is actually a crecsent moon (feminine). it being encircled with the heads of the Phoenix (transformation) symbolise to me the nurturing aspects of motherhood. we see this also in the way the swan is nurturing her young.

and the bees (more winged creatures!), also seen on the Emperor, are interesting.
the Egyptians saw the bee as the 'giver of life', and therefore a symbol of life, death and rebirth. the Greeks saw them as immortality. the Great Mother (Cybele) was also referred to as 'Queen Bee'. in Greece the bee was also associated with the Oracle at Delphi, and so may symbolise prophecy here (that 'looking forward to the future' thing again).

i LOVE this deck!
 

Kilraven

Baby floating in amniotic fluid

Hi all,
I'm trying to learn the Thoth deck with the help of Lon Milo's Understanding AC's Thoth Deck and AC's BoT.
I am stumped by Lon's sentance on page 105 of his book - 'the Empress, if you haven't noticed, is pregnant (her baby floating in a salty sea of amniotic fluid)'.
The problem is, I can't find the baby! Can someone point it out for me please.
 

Grigori

Hi all,
I'm trying to learn the Thoth deck with the help of Lon Milo's Understanding AC's Thoth Deck and AC's BoT.
I am stumped by Lon's sentance on page 105 of his book - 'the Empress, if you haven't noticed, is pregnant (her baby floating in a salty sea of amniotic fluid)'.
The problem is, I can't find the baby! Can someone point it out for me please.

I don't see a baby either. I read that sentence as a reminder that the Empress card is attributed to alchemical Salt, and her posture is the symbol for that. I just see pregnant belly, not actual baby :)
 

Zephyros

Hi all,
I'm trying to learn the Thoth deck with the help of Lon Milo's Understanding AC's Thoth Deck and AC's BoT.
I am stumped by Lon's sentance on page 105 of his book - 'the Empress, if you haven't noticed, is pregnant (her baby floating in a salty sea of amniotic fluid)'.
The problem is, I can't find the baby! Can someone point it out for me please.

Well, there isn't one. She hasn't given birth yet, she is merely pregnant. The Empress connects Chochma and Binah, and is attributed to Daled, the door. One of the symbols of Binah is an ocean, all encompassing and endlessly receptive, like her. The baby, in this case, is all the energy in the universe. In a way she isn't even pregnant, except with the abstract idea of pregnancy, since she hasn't yet reached Binah. Still, I'll fudge and say that the ocean is inside her womb.
 

ravenest

Well ... it IS an 'Egyptian' deck ;)

She is holding a Lotus aligned in position with her body (the base near her stomach and flower at her heart ) .

In the Memphite Triad ; Ptah : Sekhemt-Bast : Nefertum ( a triad depicting 'Articulation') it is Nefertum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nefertem (Note; " Nefertem the child comes from his earth father Nun's black primordial waters, and his sky mother is Nut. When he matures, he is Ra.")

Hence the mother is Empress ... a further manifestation of the Priestess who is a manifestation of Nut ... Nuit. The polarities and manifestations of the first tarot pentad give 'birth' to the Hierophant.