The Emperor card in the Rider Waite Smith deck of Tarot Cards is rich in colour and symbolism. They are important because they can add extra depth and meaning to your readings.

Colours in the Emperor Card

The dominant colours of the Emperor card are Red and Orange.

Red is colour of the base chakra, represents energy, fire, making things happen, material and financial power and strength. Red is also the colour of Aries, a fire sign.

The Emperor wears rich red clothes over his suit of armour, indicating his power and status in the material world

The Orange of the mountains or the desert behind gives a very harsh, barren atmosphere to the card.

The armour is silver, a metal which adds to the harshness and starkness of the whole card.

The white/grey stone of the throne also adds to the austere feeling of the card. He has a white /grey beard which is traditionally associated with old age and wisdom. Grey has been associated with the planet Saturn, who was the Lord of Time in the Greek-Roman mythologies.

Symbols in the Emperor Card

The Emperor card has a lot of very important details in it.

The Rams' heads on the throne are a symbol of the zodiac sign Aries, which is ruled by Mars, the God of War. We'll talk more about that shortly in the Astrology section.

There is also the symbol for Aries on top of the jewelled crown, although it is not particularly clear and looks a bit like a propeller.

The water flowing behind throne, which flowed so freely in the Empress card, is down to a little trickle in the Emperor card. The water is barely able to penetrate the rigid rocks and lifeless scenery. This points towards the effects of passions and spontaneity in life having an overlay of rigid rules and convention.

He is holding an Orb and Sceptre, which indicate someone or something with power and authority, often a monarch or a ruler.

The Orb or Golden Globe was first carried by Roman Emperors to indicate their dominion of the world.

The Sceptre is an Egyptian ankh. This was one of the symbols of the Pharaohs and it brings life, health, happiness and good fortune to the person who holds it. It is also a symbol of life and immortality.

The ankh is made up of a male vertical line, rising through the female horizontal and being transformed into the immortal rising sun, which indicated the Sun God Horus.

Traditionally the holder of the ankh has the total power of life and death over the people and hopefully he will use that power well and wisely.

Armour can be a symbol of what is noble and excellent about a soldier, i.e. fighting for justice and what they believe to be right, for their principles and traditions. Armour is also a form of defence and that can be physical or psychological.

With the armour underneath there is a need to be strong in the outer world. Armour can be worn out of a fear of exposing oneself and of vulnerability, so we always have to ask whether the armour is a sign of strength or of weakness?

The details are all very important. This is especially significant if your eye suddenly falls on a detail in the card that you maybe have not noticed before or jumps out at you. That detail may have a vital message for you.

Amanda Goldston

Tarot Author and Coach

©2009 Amanda Goldston